Arroyo Monthly March 2008 by Southland Publishing

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M O N T H L Y MARCH 2008

“The Mikado” goes American

San Marino Public Library’s $16 million marvel

Jazz King Bobby Bradford’s school of bebop

“Mask,” the musical at the Pasadena Playhouse

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ARROYO VOLUME 4 ~ NUMBER 3

M O N T H LY

11 11 ART WORLD “On the Road Again”: Side Steet Projects unveils its new mobile offices, which are entirely self-sufficient and sustainable. –By Brenda Rees

14 COMMUNITY “1 For the Books”: San Marino opens the doors of the new, $16 million Crowell Public Library. –By André Coleman

16 OPERA “The Mikado’s” Extreme Makeover”: Pasadena’s Intimate Opera Company sets Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic “The Mikado” in mid-century America. –By Carl Kozlowski

34 MUSIC “Friday Night Prayer Meeting”: Jazz fans flock to the Sierra Madre “church” of legendary musician Bobby Bradford. –By Kirk Silsbee

40 THEATER “A Pop-Rock Musical Unmasked”: Behind the scenes of the Pasadena Playhouse’s world premiere of “Mask” –By Jenine Baines

DEPARTMENTS 8 FESTIVITIES U.S. Fund for UNICEF, the Pasadena Museum of History and Kidspace Children’s Museum

33 THE ART OF SCIENCE A new optical technique makes skin virtually see-through.

43 REAL ESTATE What to look for in your next address 44 THE LIST “Maillol’s Miniatures” at the Norton Simon Museum, the United States Marine Corps at the Rose Bowl and more

47 TASTE TEST Tokyo Table offers Japanese fusion cuisine from the global village.

48 KITCHEN CONFESSIONS Use your noodle. 50 MERRIMENT Pasadena – Birthplace of Petite Sirah ABOUT THE COVER: Photo by Michael Germana, www. superstarimages.com ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 5

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EDITOR’S NOTE

For this recovering New Yorker, the change of seasons is pretty subtle, not much more than the difference between boot weather and sandal summers. After being pounded by New England blizzards in my youth, I happily settled into an adulthood that left me reasonably oblivious to the thermometer. So let’s measure the passing of time in music instead. March may bring the daffodils of spring, but it also brings the opening of “Mask” — the Pasadena Playhouse’s latest world premiere, the fifth in only two years. It’s also the theater’s third new musical in that brief timespan, with a score that comes courtesy of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, the team behind such mega-hits as “On Broadway” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” Jenine Baines spoke to them, as well as book writer Anna Hamilton Phelan, who wrote the Oscar-nominated 1985 film of the same name about biker mom Rusty Dennis, her grievously disfigured son, Rocky, and the life-affirming example they gave the world. On a totally different note, there’s the Intimate Opera Company’s new production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado,” which the Pasadena-based group has reset in 1940s America. The better to restore the wildly popular 1885 operetta’s satirical sting, my dear. Carl Kozlowski checked out a rehearsal of the brave new production by Stage Director Mark Lamanna, company founder Wendy Kikkert and Music Director Kristof Van Gryspeer. Finally, Kirk Silsbee braved a Sierra Madre downpour to bring us an evening with 73-year-old jazz legend Bobby Bradford, who still appears with his Mo’tet once a month at Café 322. Bradford played with the Pulitzer Prizewinning musician Ornette Coleman in the 1950s and ‘60s, when the latter was an innovator in the free jazz movement. Silsbee talks to the master musician, whose work remains as fresh as the century is new. — Irene Lacher

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ARROYO MONTHLY EDITOR IN CHIEF Irene Lacher PRODUCTION MANAGER Yvonne Guerrero ART DIRECTOR Joel Vendette • ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Stephanie Piechowski CONTROLLER Michael Nagami • HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Andrea Baker OFFICE MANAGER Joe Beauvais CONTRIBUTORS Jenine Baines, Joe Beauvais, Jake Belcher, Leslie Bilderback, André Coleman, Steve Coulter, Mandalit del Barco, Noela Hueso, Carl Kozlowski, Brenda Rees, Arlene Schindler, Kirk Silsbee, John Sollenberger COPY EDITOR John Seeley PHOTOGRAPHERS Michael Germana, Christopher Rainone, Evans Vestal Ward ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Fred Bankston, Dana Bonner, Hilary Chen, Andrea Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Guzman, Leslie Lamm, Rochelle Reiff, Cynthia Wagner, Noelle Watkins ADVERTISING DESIGNERS Maricela Estrada, Carla Marroquin TRAFFIC MANAGER Jake Belcher • jakeb@pasadenaweekly.com ACCOUNTING SUPERVISOR Angela Wang ACCOUNTING Archie Iskaq, Tracy Lowe, Ginger Wang PUBLISHER Jon Guynn

CONTACT US ADVERTISING jon@pasadenaweekly.com • EDITORIAL editor@arroyomonthly.com PHONE (626) 584-1500 • FAX (626) 795-0149 MAILING ADDRESS 50 S. De Lacey Ave., Ste. 200, Pasadena, CA 91105 www.ArroyoMonthly.com ©2008 Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

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FESTIVITIES

Pasadena’s fashion-minded set engaged in guilt-free shopping on Feb. 7, bidding on purses in a silent auction benefiting the Pasadena Museum of History. The event, inspired by the museum’s current show, “The Purse and the Person: A Century of Women’s Purses,” took place at the Raymond Avenue branch of CATZ (Competitive Athlete Training Zone). Guests sipped Finlandia vodka and munched on “purse”-decorated cupcakes from Violet’s Cakes and Bon Appetit Catering’s snacks, while Ian Whitcomb and one of his Bungalow Boys, bassist 1

Tim Emmons, kept the crowd entertained. The event drew local designers JoAnne Page,

Sharlenna Bernard,

2 PICTURED: 1. Ed Marzek, board member Sharon Davis, Gray Davis, board member Dotty Ewing, Dr. Stanley Toy and board member Pete Ewing; 2. Donor Vibeke Cloud, Anne Kelly, regional director, USA Fund for UNICEF and board member Suzanne Marx; 3. Michelle and Greg Smith, Doris Palmer

More than 300 donors to the U.S. Fund

Jamila Starwater

for UNICEF were honored for their support

Tazewell, Signe Dupuy,

at a Feb. 10 reception in Pasadena hosted

Kristen Shattuck and

by board members Pete and Dotty Ewing.

Jeanne Joe, as well

U.S. Fund for UNICEF dignitaries who

as local artists who

turned out to thank the charity's supporters

created purses for the

included Anne Kelly, director of the

auction: Janel Thurber,

Southern California Regional Office, and

Denise Seider and Emily

Westside board members Sharon Davis (who attended with

Hopkins. Student

her husband, former Governor Gray Davis), Carol Levy and

and faculty designers

Suzanne Marx. Guests included Vbeke Cloud and Paul

were represented by

Skerritt, Andrew Ewing and Tiffany Smith, Michelle and Greg

Pasadena City College’s

Smith, Janice and Mackenzie Arouh and James Schoch.

Karl Grimm and Charlotte Chen, Susan

Guests sipped Trader Joe's beverages while they listened to

Monte of Woodbury University and Alice

presentations on UNICEF's work. Pete Ewing explained why he supports the leading international children's organization:

Weltner of Azusa Pacific College.

“Dotty and I find UNICEF’s concise mission, ‘Whatever it

Museum supporters who attended

takes to save a child,’ extraordinarily compelling and incredi-

included board president Karen

bly important in today’s global environment. We are more

Craig, Louise Coffey-Webb, Karen

than happy to extend our efforts and our home to share

and Paul Hackett, Jane and Christy

UNICEF’s successes and challenges with the generous

Armel, Elizabeth Pomeroy, Richard

donors from our area.”

and Ann Ward, Hanna Wood and Richard and Jan Sanders. 3 PICTURED: 1. Gardening enthusiast Fran Shellgren with fuschia purse designed by Janel Thurber; 2. Brenda and Bill Galloway with Val and Ira Galloway; 3. Danielle Quintanar and Karen Craig

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the 16th annual Kidspace Children’s Museum benefit hosted by its Circle of Friends support group. Dubbed “Circle Ride 2008 – 2

Let the Good Times Roll,” the fundraiser celebrated two American classics: motorcycles and rock ’n’ roll. The event, though casual, also raised serious money for the popular Pasadena venue: more than $300,000. Guests in leather pants, boots and tattoos arrived to find a “biker bar” — four Harley Davidsons parked in front of the reception tent and another among the silent-auction items — assembled by arrangements co-chairs Leslie Kevorkian and Anne Ryan as well as benefit co-chairs Shiraz Fagan and Carrie Walker. After guests moved into a tent for a three-course dinner, Circle of Friends President Anna-Marie Grizzell and Kidspace Executive Director Tracy Bechtold roared in on bikes to welcome the crowd and kick off the live auction.

PICTURED: 1. Charisse Tolleson, COF membership administration co-chair, and her husband, Rob; 2. COF President Anna-Marie Grizzell, Chris Popovich, Kidspace Museum board member Jane Popovich and Kidspace Executive Director Tracy Bechtold; 3. Benefit co-chairs Shiraz Fagan and Carrie Walker, Kidspace Museum board member Jim Ellis and Grizzell; 4. Lauren Bender, COF immediate past President Jennifer Allen, COF membership events co-chair Michelle Esbenshade and Eileen King Photos by Theresa Sheikh

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN SIDE STREET PROJECTS UNVEILS ITS NEW MOBILE OFFICES, WHICH ARE ENTIRELY SELF-SUFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE. BY BRENDA REES | PHOTOS BY LAUREN KROIZ

A NEW BUSINESS MODEL GAINING GROUND IN PASADENA SUGGESTS COMPANIES CAN BE SUCCESSFUL WHEN THEY DOWNSIZE — REALLY DOWNSIZE. WITH RISING RENTS AND A VOLATILE REAL ESTATE MARKET, SOME ORGANIZATIONS – ESPECIALLY NONPROFITS – ARE STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY TO HOLD ONTO OFFICES AND WORK SPACES. BUT IN THE VIEW OF SOME VISIONARIES IN THE LOCAL ART COMMUNITY, THE ERA OF THE BRICK-AND-STONE STOREFRONT MAY SOON BE OVER. DON’T LOOK FOR THE ANSWER IN VIRTUAL OFFICES; THEY SAY IT’S TIME TO GET NOMADIC AND DITCH THE CONCRETE FAÇADE.

Earlier this year, Side Street Projects, a local nonprofit that teaches the ropes of the art business to visual artists, unveiled its new executive headquarters in an empty lot near Fair Oaks and Orange Grove Boulevard, where a bail-bond building and taco stand once stood. There, amid the rush of traffic and smell of nearby fast food restaurants, Side Street has plopped down two restored vintage travel trailers to serve as its central offices. A nearby “power plant on wheels” contains a satellite dish for Internet connectivity and 12 photovoltaic panels connected to an inverter and battery array. The system can deliver 3,600 watts of power at any moment. This technology, along with cell phones, makes the organization 100 percent off the grid and self-sufficient, organizers say. “Other than that water spigot over there, we have pretty much everything we need,” says Jon Lapointe, the organization’s creative director, noting the port-a-potty at the far end of the lot. “We can be mobile in a matter of minutes.” In fact, says Lapointe, it took the crew only one hour and 20 minutes to move here in January from its last location outside the Armory Northwest. “We can exist in a 16-car parking space,” he says, adding that the only requirement is a clear southern exposure for the satellite and solar panels. Side Street Projects was founded in 1992 by artists Karen Atkinson and Joe Luttrell. Since its inception, the group has served, on average, 300 artists a year; last year alone, it worked with 400. Side Street was originally housed in the 18th Street Art Complex in Santa Monica. Now, it’s a far more portable

Pictured: (left to right) Jon Lapointe, Emily Hopkins and Otoño Luján

—CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 11

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“I ADMIRE SIDE STREET’S TRAILERS. BY BEING MOBILE AND SELF-SUFFICIENT, THEY ARE ACTUALLY MORE STABLE. IT’S A WONDERFUL PARADOX WE ARTISTS CAN APPRECIATE.” — PASADENA-BASED ARTIST VICTORIA HIBBS

—CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

group. “We used to joke that when we started, all we really needed was a parking lot and some mobile vehicles,” says Atkinson, who has since handed off the directing reins. “I do think that the No. 1 problem for nonprofits is finding adequate space. Dealing with landlords and lease requirements can just kill some organizations. But that joke [we told in 1992] has turned into reality. It really can be done now — and it is.” Indeed, Side Street has seen its share of addresses in its lifetime, including a Skid Row–adjacent section of downtown LA, a former plastics factory (the Armory Northwest) and an ex-nursery on Orange Grove Boulevard (the old Hortus locale). There’s no full-time need for large meeting rooms; the organization’s workshops and lectures are held at rented halls, warehouses and gallery spaces. Instead, it’s work as usual inside the smooth beech-and-walnut-finished walls of the 1953 Spartan Imperial Mansion, where phones ring, the internet connects and folders are filed. Originally designed by J.P. Getty for soldiers coming back from WWII, these aircraft-grade constructed trailers are enjoying a second bohemian life. Still, this not-so-empty lot is not a permanent location: Side Street leases the land from the city and understands that one day developers will push the group on to its next encampment. Even so, the so-called “wandering office” model suits the organization just fine; members consider it a public art experiment and a way to reach out to the community they have been serving for many years. So it’s not surprising that the artwork christening Side Street’s new entryway is also on wheels: a white, fiberglass limousine crafted by the Chicano artist Gilbert Luján (better known as “Magú”), which adorned the MTA Red Line station at Hollywood and Vine. Magú will work with community members and students to transform the limo into, as he puts it, “a cultural vehicle” that will be used in parades and other public events. “It will become a canvas for ideas,” he says, outlining how the car will be retooled inside and out to become a working vehicle. At a recent open house for Side Street, Magú and fellow artists sketched designs on the limo as curious pedestrians and motorists looked on. “This kind of visibility is wonderful,” says Emily Hopkins, Side Street’s director of youth education. “We have people coming in here all the time wanting to know what we’re doing.”

Hopkins coordinates the goings-on of another vehicle on the premises – a colorfully decorated yellow school bus (a.k.a. the Woodworking Bus), which houses Alternative Routes, an art program for kids ages 5 through 11. More than 10,000 children have participated in wood-design workshops there, spreading out among the 10 workstations inside the bus. Hopkins is proud of the workstations’ antique wood drills (“We call them eggbeaters”) that have been used to make bookends, airplanes and even wooden cell phone replicas (“a very popular item these days”). Chugging to public and private schools as well as community centers around Los Angeles County, the bus fits nicely into the “wandering office” model. In fact, Hopkins says the group hopes to create a similar youth art program for older students, which would involve a trailer equipped with advanced hand tools. Side Street’s fluidity inspires artists it works with to aim for self-sufficiency in their own careers. Michael Markowsky is one of them. After attending a host of well-respected art schools for seven years– including Art Center College of Design in Pasadena – Markowsky was wary of filling out grant applications. “There was such a fear associated with them. Where do I start? How come they’re so long?” he asks. Side Street’s four-weekend workshop paid off instantly for Markowsky, who soon won an individual grant from the City of Pasadena as well as a prestigious Robert Rauschenberg Award. He’s says he’s busier than ever.“Now, it’s exciting,” Markowsky says of his jump-started career. “I’m seeing the bigger picture. I feel like I have more confidence about what I what to do – and how to do it.” Tending to the business side of their vocation can be hard for artists who “are often are anti-social by nature,” says Pasadena-based artist Victoria Hibbs, who has taken workshops and now volunteers for the group. “I admire Side Street’s trailers. By being mobile and self-sufficient, they are actually more stable. It’s a wonderful paradox we artists can appreciate.” AM To learn more about Side Street Projects, visit www.sidestreet.org. Side Street offers free woodworking workshops for children on Saturdays. Call (626) 798-7774 for details. ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 13

COMMUNITY

FOR THE

BOOKS SAN MARINO OPENS THE DOORS OF THE NEW, $16 MILLION CROWELL PUBLIC LIBRARY. BY ANDRÉ COLEMAN | PHOTOS COURTESY OF CROWELL PUBLIC LIBRARY

SAN MARINO MAY HAVE BEEN IN THE THROES OF RAINY SEASON, BUT NEITHER RAIN NOR SLEET COULD DOUSE THE SPIRITS OF RESIDENTS AND CITY OFFICIALS GATHERED TO CELEBRATE THE GRAND OPENING OF THE NEW CROWELL PUBLIC LIBRARY – LEAST OF ALL, THOSE OF FORMER MAYOR “This is a magnificent day for the city,” she told a THE STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY AS WELL AS HER TREASURE, standing-room-only crowd. “We can all thank each other DONATING A QUARTER OF THE $16 MILLION TAB. for making it happen.” The former mayor gifted $4 million in memory of her husband, Don, who died in 2004. The couple, who had strongly supported the community’s dream for a new library, had initially planned to make an anonymous donation. But Crowell later told the press that she was proud to attach the family’s name to the project because of her husband’s deep admiration for the city. At the opening on Jan. 26, Crowell’s grandchildren cut the ribbon, officially opening the doors to the new 29,000-square-foot facility, built under a public-private partnership between the city and local residents. The partnership came about after state and federal officials denied the city’s request for library improvement funds three times, from 1999 to 2005. After local officials struck out for the third time, they appealed to residents. Library staff made the case for private funding by giving residents tours of the crumbling building, noting such highlights as water damage in the cellar. The response was enthusiastic. In less than a year, residents of this wealthy community of 13,000 — including school kids who donated $1 each — had raised $10.6 million for the new library. The city contributed the remaining $6 million.

SUZANNE CROWELL HERSELF. CROWELL LENT HER NAME TO

14 ~ MARCH 2008 ~ ARROYO

“We have a wonderful new space,” said City Librarian Carolyn Crain, a 17year veteran of the San Marino institution. “This will broaden the world of libraries for young people. We have Internet access for all age levels and a small group-study room. We have the kinds of spaces they need to work in, and I think this will make the experience great for them.” The library boasts a computer training lab for kids and seniors, a children’s library and homework center, community and conference rooms, a collection of Chinese books and a patio garden. While the building’s interior is designed to serve the community, the exterior reflects it, with Spanish-style roofing and high arches typical of its cultural heritage and architecture. San Marino used to be part of a Mexican land grant, given in 1830 to an Englishman’s widow named Señora Victoria Reid. Prior to that, the area was part of the San Gabriel Mission lands. The earliest known residents were the Gabrielino Indians, whose village was located at the present site of the Huntington School. “It’s been a great journey,” said San Marino Mayor Matthew Lin, MD. “This is progress. [The library] belongs to San Marino, and the people who live here will get a lot from this.” San Marino’s first library was built in 1932 on West Drive; the building now houses the headquarters of the San Marino Unified School District. In 1951, the city constructed a 17,000-square-foot library at the corner of Huntington and West drives to accommodate the post-war population boom.

But by the millenium, that building’s infrastructure was failing. The heat and air-conditioning units were so outdated that replacement parts had to be custom made because they were no longer in production. The advent of computers placed new demands for updated electronic services on the facility, which also needed more space for books. The old library’s trove of 95,000 volumes strained its capacity. “It just wasn’t serving the community,” Crain said. “This is something the community really needed. This will take us into the future.” Dignitaries who turned out to salute the new library on opening day included keynote speaker Steven Koblik, president of the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens; Lee Mothershead, president of the library’s board of trustees; and Bob Sievers, president of the San Marino Library Foundation. KPCC talk-show host Larry Mantle served as emcee, and Paul Sheraba, resident educator and host for the Independence Hall replica at Knott’s Berry Farm, entertained the crowd with a rousing performance as Benjamin Franklin, who founded America’s first public library in Philadelphia in 1731. Joining “Franklin” was Curious George of the popular children’s series, as well as local children’s book authors Tony Johnston, Eve Bunting, Tricia Riley Hale and Rikki and Tavisha Simons. Resident Phillip Wang, who attended the event with his 7-year-old son, Timothy, beamed with satisfaction as he observed the festivities. “This is what people can do when they have a purpose,” he said. “Our purpose here is community.” AM ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 15

OPERA

“THE MIKADO’S” EXTREME MAKEOVER PASADENA’S INTIMATE OPERA COMPANY SETS GILBERT AND SULLIVAN’S CLASSIC “THE MIKADO” IN MID-CENTURY AMERICA. BY CARL KOZLOWSKI

It may have seemed as though tout Pasadena was huddled in front of a television on Super Bowl Sunday. But for a devoted band of 20 opera singers, a 14-member chamber orchestra and two directors, the day was

While mounting such an ambitious show may sound like a dauntdevoted to an entirely different game: reinventing the Gilbert and Sullivan ing and even odd challenge for the modest group, it’s one the Pasadenaoperetta “The Mikado” by shifting it from its original setting in 19th-century based Intimate Opera Company has taken on before. Unfazed by limitaJapan to an office in 1940s America. The production debuts on March 8 tions of scale and budget, this small ensemble has produced such imporat Duarte’s Packard Hall. tant works as Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” and Verdi’s “La Traviata” in its 11 years treading the stages of the San Gabriel Valley. As the company’s founding director, Wendy Kikkert notes, resetting “The Mikado” in corporate America may sound like a radical concept, but it’s actu-

16 ~ MARCH 2008 ~ ARROYO

ally in keeping with the operetta’s historical role as sociopolitical satire. In fact, W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan set their blisteringly witty operetta in Japan so they could more freely satirize British politics and institutions, which they disguised as Japanese. For this production, the company’s stage director, Mark Lamanna, decided to refresh the show’s satirical sting for contemporary American audiences by creating a new context that would resonate with them. Using the traditional score, he set the operetta in the American office of a Japanese company in the 1940s, “because that’s the last time working in an office was still perceived as fun,” Kikkert says. “‘The Mikado’ has all these broad jokes about the Mikado having ridiculous rules that result in your head getting chopped off if you break them,” she says. “Offices have rules where you can lose your job over flirting, and in our version the Lord High Executioner hands out pink slips.” Instead of kimonos, the cast sports the snappy suits and swirly skirts typical of mid-century America. Above: (left to right) Mark Lamanna (stage director), Gilbert and Sullivan’s Conrad Immel (the Mikado), Aubrey Coles (Pitti-Sing) two-act operetta was a smash and Joseph Buhler (Pish-Tush); Below: Music Director Kristof Van Gryspeer rehearsing Intimate Opera hit from its London debut in Company’s chorus for “The Mikado.” Photos courtesy of Intimate Opera Company. 1855. The comic brew of misOpposite: Gilbert (left) and Sullivan (right). taken identities and romantic and political entanglements among characters named Yum-Yum, Pish-Tush and Peep-Bo went on to become one of the most frequently performed pieces in theater history. While “The Mikado” is a giant in the musical canon, this isn’t the first time Intimate Opera has shifted the time period of a major work. For a production of Mozart’s opera “Cosi fan Tutte,” the troupe moved the romantic opera buffa to the 1960s. “The girls wore short skirts and the coffee shop owner who looks out for them became a beatnik,” says Kikkert. “The two guys were ROTC students who went off to Vietnam, and they come back as hippies, which works hilariously. You change very little dialogue – it’s an American kind of weird purist idea to do all shows in their original language. Mozart himself wrote in letters to his father that he thought his comedies should be done in the native language of the audience, because comedies don’t translate as well.” The Intimate Opera Company’s home stage is located at Westminster Gardens in Duarte, a retirement community with a 200-seat theater. The group rehearses and opens most productions there before taking them around the San Gabriel Valley; two favorite performance venues are the elegant Gold Room in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and Harbison Hall at Pasadena City College. —CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 17

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As the performers take their places at a recent rehearsal at Pasadena’s Trinity Presbyterian Church, Kikkert looks on with pride. After all, she has seen her once-humble troupe grow into a thriving operation that performs three major works a year before audiences numbering in the hundreds. Kikkert launched Intimate Opera in 1997 to give members of opera choruses an opportunity to play leading roles. A mezzo soprano, she had studied voice at Wellesley College and earned a master’s degree in voice at Cal State Long Beach when she gathered together a small group of singers at a bookstore and coffee shop on Holly Street. “When they lost their lease, we decided we didn’t want to stop,” Kikkert recalls. “We said, ‘Gee, we’ve got the cast for “Hansel and Gretel” among us.’ And so we took on a ‘let’s rent a barn and put on a show’ mentality.” The group began holding auditions, and its shows morphed from small affairs with piano accompaniment into productions with chamber orchestras in 200- to 400-seat theaters. While the company’s productions may be intimate, making them come to life is a huge undertaking, requiring significant resourcefulness. One violin takes the place of an entire section, and the same applies to the flute, oboe and clarinet. The person responsible for calibrating such delicate adjustments is Intimate Opera Music Director Kristof Van Gryspeer, an assistant conductor for the Costa Mesa-based Opera Pacific, who joined Intimate Opera “on an emergency basis” to conduct “Hansel and Gretel.” “What makes it special is that it’s a tiny little company compared to giants like LA Opera,” he says. “But I’m glad that we can make high art on a very low budget. It’s unique because you get to see opera up close, see every emotion and hear everything crystal clear.” Over the years, the company has strived to maintain high standards, requiring auditions for every role. It may have made some herculean efforts to compensate for its size, but small is beautiful too: Company soprano Katharine Terray notes that bite-size productions can give artists increased attention. “I like working with Kristof in particular because he challenges singers,” says Terray, who sings the role of Yum-Yum. “It’s really great to work with someone who wants more than notes on a page. That makes us feel more like actors than singers, and coming from a theatrical background makes it more fun and helps me learn. It’s an encouraging environment and a great place to check out roles without a lot of pressure, because people are willing to work with and help you.” AM The Intimate Opera Company performs “The Mikado” at 2 p.m. March 8 at Packard

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18 ~ MARCH 2008 ~ ARROYO

Hall in Westminster Gardens, 1420 Santo Domingo Ave., Duarte. The show will be repeated at 2 p.m. March 16 in the Gold Room of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. Tickets cost $33.50 for adults; $28.75 for seniors; $19.25 for students; and $14.50 for children. Visit www.ticketmaster.com or call (626) 274-7342 for more information.

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estimate. Call 818-952-1078 and have a look at the complete list of services at www.canadatreecare.com Carol Cobabe Design — With a philosophy of “good design resulting in the creation of harmony in one’s environment,” Carol’s goal is to enrich, inspire and instill feelings of comfort. With an extensive career since 1988, her disciplined usage of the basic elements of space, color, texture, light and nature succeeds in reflecting the unique style and purpose of each client. Carol’s work has been published in Designers West, Better Homes and Gardens, Window and Wall Ideas and F. Schumacher’s Classic Directions. She has participated in several showcase houses, the Los Angeles Assistance League Design House, the Venice Family Clinic Design House and Little Company of Mary Design House in Palos Verdes. Carol is also a winner of the coveted First Place Award of the L.A. Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. Call (626) 441-6052. Carson-Magness Landscaping — From the overall exterior vision to the implementation and construction, this magnificent team makes a name for itself with its handcrafted, handson detailed approach. Complete exterior design services include horticulture to structures, such as pergolas, loggias, outdoor kitchens, pool house, bar and bath and even outdoor furnishings! In the spirit of being commissioned to create a piece of artwork, Melissa Carson, Barry Magness and their team bring their rich and varied backgrounds in painting, sculpture, water design and lighting to each one-of-a-kind project. Barry specializes in the lusty organic with walkways, walls and original water features of metal, glass, wood and fire. The clean, understated elegance of Melissa’s artistic studies reflect her brilliantly placed foliage, flowers and trees for the deepest and most subtle impact. Together they create the most extraordinary masterpieces of mystery and romance. Barry Magness and Melissa Carson were selected as designer advisers at the 2006 Pasadena Showcase House of the Arts. For more information call (818) 241-2128, or visit www.carson-magness.com.

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—Continued

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Carousel Floors — This familyowned, 38-year-old company provides a superb selection along with remarkable service. For hardwood, select from all the top names, including Appalachian Hardwood Floors, pre-finished or finished by expert craftsman. For linoleum, Marmoleum is a natural, eco-friendly, stylish flooring with multiple patterns. Carousel is a Mohawk Color Center, carrying Fabrica, Karastan, Masland and Schumacher to name a few. Free consultations; designers welcome. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sat.; or by appointment. 676 E. Green St., Pasadena. Call (626) 795-8085. Craypo's Pool & Spa — We have been in the swimming pool business for more than 16 years. We understand all phases of construction and maintenance. We also understand that your yard is an extension of yourself and we will treat your project with the dedication and attention to detail you deserve. Call our office — (626) 355-6145 — to make an appointment. We look forward to making your backyard your own private oasis! Cynthia Bennett and Associates – This celebrated designer and general contractor, along with her staff of 11 designers, architects and project managers, have created some of the most beautiful spaces in the San Gabriel Valley. The term “Full Service” does not give them enough credit. They will take any project from concept, plans, lighting, construction through furnishings and acces—Continued

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—Continued

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—Continued

QUALITY SINCE 1946

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the look you desire, from traditional to contemporary, and anywhere in between. 2850 N. California St., Suite 110, Burbank, CA 91504 (818) 847-1332. Prime Building Materials is a family owned business that has been serving the Southern California building industry for over 20 years with pride and traditional values. Our experienced and knowledgeable staff work with homeowners, developers, landscape contractors, general contractors, designers and architects alike to achieve your exact goals, dreams and beyond. Our huge supply yard features acres of building materials for all phases of building and home improvement, with a specialty showroom featuring a host of interior and exterior products. From formal residential landscapes and masonry to large, track home developments, Prime Building Materials can provide all the materials to create the perfect living environment. 5 locations to serve you - Call us at 626-284-2222 for a free consultation or estimate on your next project. Day of Design With Terri Julio — “My mission is to offer more people an opportunity to consult with a professional designer and afford them a service that fits into their budget.” Those words capture Terri Julio’s practical and thoughtful approach to her profession. A full day of design consultation (six hours for one flat fee) is a great way to begin any project. The job will run smoothly, and, most importantly, Terri will help you avoid costly mistakes. Terri’s philosophy also extends to “putting the client’s wants first.” She simply guides those desires to a beautiful conclusion. Call (626) 447-5370.

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A RT,

Novotny’s Antique Gallery

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Art and Antiques on Lake – Our shop is an all-inclusive place where experienced dealers will help customers in all aspects of art and antique purchases. With the focus these days on remodeling kitchens, baths and living spaces, average homeowners lose touch with what makes their house a home, its individuality. At Art & Antiques, we present fine art, furnishings, lighting, etc., in a way that will give the homeowner a choice of quality vintage items that have stood the test of time. Our dealer’s are also always interested in buying and handling fine estate items, with expertise of over 50 years. Combined to help you with all your selling and estate questions in regards to evaluation and selling. 60 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena; (626) 356 - 0222

John Moran Auctioneers — Expertly serving clients since 1969, John Moran Auctioneers is a full-service auction house offering quality objects and complete personalized dedication. Monthly estate and fine furniture auctions are where collectors, dealers, decorators and others gather to buy the finest antiques, silver, American Indian, oil and watercolor paintings, jewelry, unusual accessories and much more. They also hold an auction (three times per year) for exceptional California and American paintings. Consignment and the purchasing of estates. 735 W. Woodbury Road, Altadena. Call (626) 793-1833 or visit www.johnmoran.com.

Art Source — Ripsime Marashian has been a remarkably successful art dealer and consultant with her own ArtSource Gallery for over 10 years. Not only does she have her B.A. in art and music, she has an extraordinary passion for the visual arts that instantly becomes clear when you meet her. That’s why any artist should rely on her to help their artistic visions come to fruition! Make ArtSource your Licensing Link - if you have artwork that you’d like to see on greeting cards, calendars, collector plates, wall décor, or any other products that people use, Ripsime can help. She is your consultant for helping you to get your very own designs on any item that a savvy shopper, looking to have unique and beautiful artwork on everyday items, would seek. Break into this largely untapped Licensing Market with your artwork! The gorgeous interior of the gallery and ambience created with light and music will keep you coming back to see what is new at ArtSource! Offering both American and European works from many brilliant artists, Ripsime is very happy to invite you up to this stunning 9th floor penthouse gallery to talk about what you have in mind for your designs! Call her today at (818) 244-0066. The Penthouse Gallery is at 401 North Brand Blvd., 9th Floor in Glendale.

Everyone is talking about Novotny’s Antiques new location in Pasadena’s designer destination in the Heart of East Pasadena. Novotny’s Antiques Gallery is owner operated with over 25 years of experience. Shauna’s staff at Novotny’s is very enthusiastic and motivated. Novotny’s offers quality dealers with fine furnishings, antiques, rugs, art, lighting, estate jewelry, and one of a kind decorative items. They offer appraisals and estate services. Stop by or call today and you will be pleased at what they have to offer! Novotny’s Antique Gallery 2552 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. (between Altadena Dr. and San Gabriel Blvd.) (626) 577-9660.

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Rick Kaplan Antique and Fine Arts — A New York-style antique store, located right in Antique Row in Pasadena, Rick Kaplan Antique and Fine Arts has been buying and selling fine quality antiques for over 35 years! Whether you are a collector, decorator, or dealer, Rick offers the best selection of authentic antiques in all Southern California. Top dollar paid for fine antiques. Come see for yourself. www.rickkaplanantiques.com. (626) 793-6841. 450 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena.

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A RT,

Novotny’s Antique Gallery

ANTIQU ES

& JEWELRY

in the heart of East Pasadena

Located at:

2552 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, 91107 Between Altadena Dr. and San Gabriel Blvd.

626-577-9660

www.novotnysantiques.com Since 1979 A great selection of quality dealers with fine furniture, antiques & accessories, lighting, jewelry & art. We buy and sell estates.

RICK KAPLAN

Art Antiques

ANTIQUES & FINE ART

VISIT US AT THE BUSTAMANTE ANTIQUE SHOW PASADENA CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION CENTER MARCH 7 – 9 SPACE #301 · PAINTINGS · DECORATIVE ITEMS · CALIFORNIA PAINTINGS

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32 ~ MARCH 2008 ~ ARROYO

THE ART OF SCIENCE

Thin Skinned A NEW OPTICAL TECHNIQUE MAKES SKIN VIRTUALLY SEE-THROUGH TO AID IN THE DETECTION OF DISEASE. BY STEVE COULTER Body Worlds made such a splash during its run at the California Science Center in 2004 that the pioneering exhibit of “plasticized” human cadavers is returning to Exposition Park on March 14. But not all the buzz has been good: Concerns have been raised about the source of the dissected bodies, eternally posed skateboarding,

A KEY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JELLYFISH AND ME

swimming and playing soccer. And California lawmakers are mulling a bill requiring proof that they came from willing donors, evidence the German exhibitor has said it can readily provide. But the public’s fascination in what makes us kick has been undeniable, and crowds have been drawn to the traveling exhibits, which reveal the anatomical structure of humans engaged in various activities. Indeed, the show’s organizers say the purpose of Body Worlds is to educate people about “the human body, its functions, diseases and physical changes.” In one of its most engaging exhibits, a man “inhales” a cigarette with one lung exposed to demonstrate the damaging effects of smoking. You can practically see the tumors begin to develop right before your very eyes. But what if the inner workings of living beings were just as easy to see – especially those riddled with disease? That’s the focus of a new optical technique from a team headed by Changhuei Yang, assistant professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering at Caltech. Yang developed and tested the technique along with Zahid Yaqoob, a postdoctoral fellow in electrical engineering at Caltech; Demetri Psaltis,

TRANSPARENT

professor of optics and dean of engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland; and Michael S. Feld, a professor of physics at MIT. “We take a light wave and reverse the direction of the propagation, and when that happens the wave will actually propagate back through and give you back the original light view you put in. It brings back the information about the body that’s encoded into the original light field that you put onto it,” Yang said. “I have a hard time explaining this phenomenon.” Uh, yeah. Thankfully, Yang is able to offer this pop-cultural reference to make himself clear. “If you have seen the movie ‘Minority Report,’ [Tom Cruise] was playing a movie of ripples on a pond and then he was replaying it in reverse. This is exactly like that.” “Minority Report”? Didn’t that come out way back in 2002? For those of you whose short-term memory doesn’t extend beyond a certain Scientology-based YouTube video from a couple of weeks ago, let’s try another analogy: Whether or not you are a Fast Eddie Felson (from “The Color of Money,” with Tom Cruise and Paul Newman, 1986 – add it to your queue), we can all probably understand the basic

NOT TRANSPARENT BEING TRANSPARENT WILL REALLY HELP WITH DISEASE DETECTION

concept behind shooting pool.

Excerpt from Changhuei Yang’s Powerpoint presentation on TSOPC.

In the game called eight-ball, you get 15 balls in the shape of a triangle, and you strike them using the white cue ball. The balls scatter across the table, and then you

One possible use of TSOPC lies in photodynamic therapy, where a “highly

and your opponent go about shooting the balls into various pockets until one of you

focused beam of light is aimed at cancerous cells that have absorbed cell-killing,

eventually sinks the black eight ball and wins.

light-sensitive compounds.” The light hits the cancerous cells, and the compounds

Now imagine that your opponent strikes the rack of balls, and then on your first turn, you are able to hit the cue ball in such a way that all of the balls rearrange themselves back into the shape of a triangle. This isn’t likely to happen any time soon at

are activated to destroy them. Yang also believes that this technology could provide a less invasive method of treating Parkinson’s disease. Time will tell how and when this cutting-edge technology will be implemented,

your local pool hall, but it is exactly what Yang and his team are doing with photons of

but there is little doubt in Yang’s mind that it will have a positive effect on the detec-

light in a process called “turbidity suppression by optical phase conjugation (TSOPC).”

tion of disease.

“This technology really opens up a lot of possibilities that very few people have

“Right now, we’re really in the early stages,” he said. “We recently discovered

begun to think about yet,” Yang said. “The fact that we can control light to a higher

this technology, and there are a few applications we can work on, but it will probably

degree now really opens up a lot of different applications that aren’t out there.”

take a few years before we can demonstrate the finding.” AM ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 33

MUSIC

FRIDAY NIGHT PRAYER MEETING

JAZZ FANS FLOCK TO THE SIERRA MADRE “CHURCH” OF LEGENDARY MUSICIAN BOBBY BRADFORD. BY KIRK SILSBEE | PHOTOS BY MICHAEL GERMANA

IT’S THE FIRST FRIDAY NIGHT OF THE NEW YEAR AND THE DRIVE FROM SANTA MONICA TO PASADENA HAS BEEN AN ORDEAL. THE PERISTALTIC TRAFFIC IS ENOUGH TO MAKE ONE QUESTION THE WISDOM OF LIVING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND ON SIERRA MADRE BOULEVARD, THE WIND Inside the brown stucco building is the congenial restaurant and bar Café 322, where light and activiMARKED 322, THE SOFT GLOW OF INTERNAL LIGHT ACTS AS A SILENT ty aren’t the only things that vanquish the cold and damp. Past the BEACON IN THE DARKNESS. IT’S A NIGHT WHEN BEACONS ARE WELCOME. bar, at the far side of the dining area, sonic heat emanates from the north wall. Musicians are playing in a spirit that combines the jocularity of a fraternal order gathering, the purpose of a communal chemistry experiment, the shared faith of a séance, the adrenaline rush of an athletic contest and the fervor of a prayer meeting in a storefront church. Of course, money is involved too. It’s the first Friday of another month, which means the Bobby Bradford Mo’tet has convened for its regular gig at Café 322. Almost all of the players are bandleaders, but the leader of this pack is Bradford himself, a compact, neatly groomed man with close-cropped gray hair and cocoa-brown skin. He comes by his bespectacled, professorial look honestly: Bradford is a semi-retired teacher who still teaches jazz ensemble and jazz history at Pomona College in Claremont. More than that, he has lived a significant chunk of jazz history.

BLOWS THE RAIN ACROSS THE ROAD IN SHEETS. BUT AT THE BUILDING

34 ~ MARCH 2008 ~ ARROYO

Bradford was one of the first musicians to take the leap of faith that free jazz innovator Ornette Coleman needed from his supporting players when he formulated his revolutionary music. A developing young bebopper when they began playing together in 1953, Bradford was awed by the alto saxophonist and composer’s radical departure from standard chord changes, harmony and methodology. It was a bleak musical existence at the time; Coleman’s persistent belief in himself and his music earned him scorn, and his crew faced hostility, indifference and ignorance. Nonetheless, it would earn Coleman a Pulitzer Prize in 2007, and Bradford was one of the first musicians anywhere to internalize the jazz pioneer’s groundbreaking modus operandi. “Ornette would come to these jam sessions,” Bradford recalls between sets, “and he got treated really badly in Los Angeles by a lot of people.” While Coleman’s compositions sparked interest, they also led to evictions: He was thrown off many bandstands for departing from the musical structure when he improvised. Bradford notes that Coleman’s detractors dismissed him as being “totally illiterate. But I never once doubted that this guy was a genius.” Before he ran headlong into the music of Coleman (another Texan), Bradford was, like so many young black musicians of his generation, schooled in rhythm ’n’ blues yet forging an identity in bebop and modern jazz. Coleman had broken the bonds of standardized keys and chord changes.

Tonal centers and linear themes required musicians who were willing to step into the unknown and, with a small band of adherents like Bradford, Coleman willed his music into existence. Bradford had heard Coleman play once in Texas, and when the two ran into each other on LA’s Red Car in 1953, they renewed their acquaintance. They worked mostly on Fifth Street, in some of the most dangerous bars of the red-light district. Their association ended in 1954 when Bradford entered the Air Force. The trumpeter rejoined Coleman in New York at the end of 1961 for about a year. There they finally recorded together, on 1971’s “Science Fiction” (Columbia) album. By then, Bradford was a confirmed Angeleno, and the group he co-led with clarinet virtuoso John Carter had formed one of the cornerstones of new music in SoCal. The 73-year-old Altadena resident is the last remaining pillar of the triumvirate that spearheaded the new black music here in the turbulent 1960s. Carter and Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra founder, pianist Horace Tapscott, have passed on. (It was shortly after Carter’s death in 1991 that Bradford formed the Mo’tet.) Like those Texas transplants, he retains the South in his soul. His Mississippi birth and Texas upbringing are always evident in his highly personal cornet syntax, no matter how cutting edge the musical context. —CONTINUED ON PAGE 37 ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 35

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MUSIC

—CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35

Although he began on the trumpet, in the early 1970s, Bradford switched to the cornet, that instrument’s more pugnacious brother. The cornet’s sound is comparatively blunt and capable of more guttural sounds, especially in the lower register. Bradford likes those dirty tones; they serve him well in his music, which is seldom very far from the feeling or the forms of the blues. Back at Café 322, Bradford seems pleased as he surveys the crowded tables. “When we play at LACMA, people are socializing and walking around,” he says. “I wouldn’t think of calling some of these things we do here, that just kind of hang in the air. Those spooky, gauzy things that we do would just get lost there. But we can do them at 322. “The band has never had the kind of continuous exposure we’re getting here. Up to [last fall when] we started to work here, we didn’t work very often. So I’m trying to figure out how to keep this going and do something special with it. We recorded here last month.” On the stand at 322 is pony-tailed trombonist Mike Vlatkovich, who favors Hawaiian shirts (even on a rainy night) and splits his time between LA and Portland. Tenor saxophonist Chuck Manning is a seasoned, prolix improviser who always looks 10 years younger than he really is, while guitarist Ken Rosser looks like a bank president after hours. Pianist Don Preston, the electronic genius of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention in the late ’60s, is also a soundtrack composer of note. Contrabassist Roberto Miranda exudes simmering passion without losing his air of studiousness. One of the hallmarks of a great band is the ability to surprise even its most knowledgeable listeners. But tonight at 322, drummer William Jeffrey is conspicuous in his absence. Absent drums would probably sink almost any other jazz-oriented vessel, but for the Mo’tet (a play on the polyphonic form of music introduced in medieval times — in Bradford’s band, there’s always room for mo’ musicians), it just means a new set of sound possibilities. Bradford chooses “A Little Pain” from his now venerable “Death of a Sideman” suite. Written with the under-appreciated supporting players of jazz

in mind, the piece has provided the backbone of the band’s repertory for nearly 15 years. “Pain” has a brisk tempo, and it’s usually propelled by dotted drumbeats. Tonight, the sonorous harmonies of the horns and Rosser’s guitar lines take on a rough quality, like a choir of alley denizens. Miranda’s bass provides the pulse. Rather than be overwhelmed, Miranda seems to thrive on the challenge. His notes are strong, and his time is sure. He maintains the beat — leaning on the backbeat notes — yet still plays figures that complement or offer counterpoint to other voices. As in any restaurant with music, there are tables of people who are oblivious to the sounds. They socialize under the colorful, framed opera posters; in such a setting, it’s the price of the ticket. But there are also Mo’tet partisans who are as intent on the musicians and the music as a paroled convict at a strip club. One bearded face is a familiar sight: George Herms, the LA assemblage artist and teacher, who can be seen at most Mo’tet gigs. His eyes light up between sets as he considers the importance of the music to his work. “I saw Thelonious Monk at the Renaissance,” he recalls of the modern jazz architect and a now-forgotten Hollywood club of the early ’60s (on the site of what is now House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard). “He set the bar so high with his music that I thought I had to reach at least that high in my own work. Later on, I heard Bobby and John Carter at the Century City Playhouse, and I loved the way they organized their music. I’ve tried to retain that sense of the organic in my own pieces.” When the applause dies down, Bradford roots around his sheaf of charts and makes a selection. He gives instructions to the band, and Rosser begins the number with an eerie, out-of-tempo guitar intro. Now the horns and guitar are voicing the dirge-like wail of “Have You Seen Sideman?” — the funeral march of the suite. The bass expands, filling the void where the press rolls of the drums would be. The horns congeal with tones that cling to each other for one bar and separate the next until suddenly, the ceiling becomes the oppressively humid sky that hangs over one of the crumbling New Orleans cemeteries. They’ve made more than a little magic and defied nature’s pall this night. AM ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 37

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CAMP SHI’INI — Since 1947, Camp Shi’ini has provided active and entertaining camp activities for children without a prolonged absence from home. Our goal is to provide an enjoyable and safe environment for kids, while also educating them about Native American folklore through interactive and action-packed surroundings. Our American Indian theme is portrayed in several daily events and an extraordinary month-long treasure hunt! Sign up today! Call (626) 922-0945 or visit campshi-ini.com. CLAIRBOURN SCHOOL — The Preschool and Kindergarten Programs include games, arts, crafts, music, science activities, story time, free play and water play. 1st through 8th graders can choose their own summer adventure by selecting from over 50 workshops. Go online to www.clairbourn.org/summer for a list of classes and an application form or call (626)286-3108. Register by June 23rd, 2008. DAYJAMS — We’re heading into our 10th Season! Never played an instrument? This is a fun way to jump-start. Experienced player? It’s your chance to study with the best musicians in town. Our friendly and creative curriculum-based environment guides campers in songwriting, instrument lessons, clinics, art and concert performance. Ages 8-15. Call 800-295-5956 for free brochure or visit our website www.dayjams.com. HILLSIDE SCHOOL AND LEARNING CENTER has more than 30 years of experience at creating programs that respond to the individual learning needs of students. With the taxing demands of college admissions, the need for personal attention and guidance is imperative! Your child will receive the attention they deserve. Classes are small, and offered day and evening. This isn’t learning just to get a grade – it’s learning for success! Call Bob Frank with any questions at (818) 790-3044. MAYFIELD JUNIOR SCHOOL's Summer Program offers students aged 3 to 14 from all schools the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of academic, creative and athletic activities. Mayfield provides a warm and welcoming environment that encourages creative expression, scientific discovery and the uncovering of hidden talents. PLAY SMARTER BASKETBALL — For the past ten years, Coach Marquis has been actively coaching throughout China while training their men’s and women’s Junior Olympic teams and also training at two different universities. Satisfaction is Guaranteed, or Your Money Back. Call (626) 482-8267.

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THEATER

A POP-ROCK MUSICAL

UNMASKED BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE’S WORLD PREMIERE OF “MASK” BY JENINE BAINES | PHOTOS BY BLAKE LITTLE

When Florence “Rusty” Dennis optioned the rights to her life story for $100 and a six-pack, screenwriter Anna Hamilton Phelan scored a creative windfall. In the intervening 30 years, Phelan wove Dennis’ life with her severely disfigured teenage son, Rocky, into the 1985 film “Mask,” which starred Cher and garnered six Oscar nominations. Now the late Rusty and Rocky will live again in an original musical with a book by Phelan, which opens March 21 at the Pasadena Playhouse. “Mask” the musical – starring Ovation Award-winning actress Michelle Duffy, Greg Evigan of television’s “My Two Dads” and newcomer Allan E. Read – comes to the stage with a score by the songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who wrote such memorable hits as “On Broadway” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” The show is directed by Tony Award winner Richard Maltby, who created the hit musicals “Fosse” (1999) and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (1988). The blue-chip credentials of “Mask’s” creative team gives the playhouse another shot at creating a hit musical headed for greener pastures, which could be a financial boon for the regional theater. The La Jolla Playhouse struck gold with its smash hit “Jersey Boys”: The show went on to Broadway, where it won four 2006 Tonys and celebrated selling its 1 millionth ticket last October. “Jersey Boys” has toured the country, and now a resident production in Las Vegas is in the works. The playhouse has already demonstrated its interest in sending original musicals to world theater capitals: Its 2006 world premiere of “Sister Act” moved to Atlanta immediately after its Pasadena debut, and producers are currently in negotiations for a London run. Producers of last fall’s “Ray Charles Live!” — directed by the Pasadena Playhouse’s Tony-winning artistic director, Sheldon Epps – made no secret of their Broadway aspirations; in the wake of harsh reviews, they gave final-weekend audiences questionnaires about how they might fix the show for the New York run they hope to mount before the end of the year. Now comes “Mask,” the fifth world premiere – and third original musical – to take the Pasadena stage in the past two years. Epps carefully words his hopes for the show. “We all try to do good work, the best work that we can, and if we produce something that moves forward commercially and provides some income for the theater, that’s great,” he says. “However, it’s all far too unpredictable to depend on that as a way to finance the work of a theatre on a long- or even short-term basis.” Epps acknowledges, though, that a New York run would be sweet. “Of course it’s exciting if, when people are talking about a production on Broadway or in London, our audience can say they saw it here first,” he says. Indeed, it was because Pasadena audiences were seeing so many original shows that producer James B. Freydberg brought his “baby” – he frequently describes himself as “a midwife” for the musical – to the playhouse. He came to see “Sister Act” and, after running into Epps at intermission, asked if he could send him a script. “Something different was happening in Pasadena,” says Freydberg, whose producing career has been dominated by world premieres – 14 over the past 20 years. “Sheldon seemed to be taking the next step forward and moving toward the area of original productions. He’s a brilliant artistic director, whose understanding of the creative process enables him to create works that will move on to become part of the American theater library.” 40 ~ MARCH 2008 ~ ARROYO

Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann

The seeds of the musical version of “Mask” go back more than 10 years, when Cynthia Weil first approached screenwriter Phelan with the idea. Weil was particularly captivated by the “amazingly poetic and tough world” inhabited by Rusty Dennis, a free-spirited, drug-addicted biker who dedicated herself to providing her 15-year-old son, Rocky, with as normal a life as possible – despite his bizarre, lion-like appearance. Phelan, who also wrote the films “Girl, Interrupted” (1999) and “Gorillas in the Mist” (1988), encountered Rocky Dennis only once, when she met him in 1975. She was working at Harbor General Hospital in Torrance at the time and remembers standing at a window, watching as Rocky, his mother and stepfather arrived for a yearly appointment at the hospital’s genetic clinic. They were there because Rocky suffered from an extremely rare condition – it strikes one person in 22 million – called craniodiaphyseal dysplasia. “I saw this tall boy with this enormous head and this stoplight-red hair,” Phelan recalls. “And next to him, which was almost as interesting, was this 5’3” package, his mother, in leathers, with the same red hair and attitude like you wouldn’t believe. On the other side of this young man was his stepfather, carrying an unsheathed bowie knife.”

But what struck Phelan far more deeply than Rocky’s appearance was his personal dignity. “It was the way he stood, tall and very proud,” says Phelan. “He was smiling. He made the younger children, who were frightened by his face, feel at ease.” That Rocky had lived as long as he had – most children with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia die by age four; Rocky died in his sleep a few months after the encounter – was for many years a mystery to the geneticists studying him. Ultimately, however, they came to believe that it was Rusty and the positive attitude she instilled in her son that kept him alive. “Rusty would win no PTA awards, but she was the perfect mother for this child,” says Phelan. “If Rocky came home crying that no one would play with him because of the way he looked, she’d say, ‘You don’t have to be beautiful to play second base. Get out there.’” It was this larger-than-life quality of the main characters – their strength, resilience and refusal to feel sorry for themselves – that convinced Weil that “Mask” was the perfect vehicle for a rock musical. The biker milieu was also appealing. “It fit naturally into a pop-rock score that my husband would want to write,” Weil explains. —CONTINUED ON PAGE 42 ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 41

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Anna Hamilton Phelan

“As Rusty grew older, she became more open about her feelings, and the story continued to reveal itself,” Phelan says.

—CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41

Mann notes, however, that Mask is “not a rock and roll musical about a bunch of motorcycle creeps. The bikers just happen to be in it,” he says. “They’re family. It’s an inspirational, very spiritual and uplifting story about a mother and child.” Epps recognized this quality in the musical the moment it crossed his desk and believes that “Mask’s” pop-rock score and biker casting will have broad appeal for audiences. “I was moved by the pretty incredible, true story of a young man’s bravery and desire to fulfill his dreams despite the physical challenges he faced,” Epps says. “But ‘Mask’ is also about how parents have to let go of their children and allow them to pursue their own lives. Sooner or later you have to back off and say, ‘It’s your life. You be an adult and take care of yourself.’” Freydberg says that “Mask” resonates with the artistic director for another reason, as well. As a child, Epps, who is African American, attended an allwhite school. He knows what it feels like to be different. But before Mask could touch those deep chords within Epps or anyone else, Phelan had to write the story. Her first step was to contact Rusty Dennis, with whom she’d stayed in touch. To Phelan’s surprise, as she and Rusty began a series of new interviews, there was much she had yet to learn. “Whenever anyone asks me if the musical is like the movie, I say no,” says Phelan. “As Rusty grew older, she became more open about her feelings, and the story continued to reveal itself.” Relaying that story, however, was no easy task. Weil estimates that, over a period of nine years, at least 34 drafts of the script were written. “Sometimes a song you love changes because the scene changes, and sometimes you write something and you think it’s fine,” Weil says. “But then we’d have a reading and hear the stuff sung and I’d think, ‘I can do better than that. It’s not good enough.’” Phelan made changes as well. Once the team was close to completing a final script, she flew to San Francisco, where Dennis then lived, and read it aloud to her. She offered to make any changes Dennis wanted, but the older woman made only two requests: A scene where she was ironing had to go; biker chicks have an image to maintain, and it does not include ironing boards, she told Phelan. Another scene showed Rusty drinking. “I was never a drinker of alcohol,” Dennis said proudly. “I was a dope fiend.” It was on her way to a Narc Anon meeting in November 2006 that Rusty Dennis’ journey ended. At 70, she was still riding a bike, albeit a three-wheeler. The right back tire of her motorcycle came off and she flew through the air, hitting a telephone pole. Says Phelan: “I swear she was saying, ‘What a bitchin’ way to go.’” AM

REAL ESTATE

The heart of home buying WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN YOUR NEXT ADDRESS BY JOE WILSON Most buyers want more house than they can afford, but generalizations about the

While pragmatism must be part of the equation, the most satisfied buyers

kinds of things people look for in real estate stop there. When it comes to fea-

are usually those who manage to buy the home they bond with when they first

tures they must have and those they can live without, buyers vary as much as

walk through the door. I once sold a home that had been in one family for

homes with “for sale” signs – although there is one more generalization we can

40 years, sheltering a mom and dad, two daughters and two cats. When the

throw out there: Most people want a home that speaks to the heart.

parents passed away, the daughters — who both lived very far away —

For one buyer, that may mean a formal dining room because it reminds him

allowed the cats to continue to live at the home. Each day, someone would

or her of holidays at Grandma’s house and other happy moments from childhood.

come by to feed the cats, and once a week, the gardener and cleaning lady

Another buyer will pay more for a home with a big oak tree in the backyard or a

visited to maintain the property. The daughters eventually sold the home to a

koi pond or a sitting porch, because such amenities elicit an emotional response.

couple who wrote them a letter saying they loved the house and wished to

My parents bought their first Pasadena home after walking into an open house

raise their daughter and two cats there. The daughters accepted their offer,

they didn’t like – although they liked the house next door. That house had painted

even though it was $80,000 less than another they received, because the letter

open beams and carvings in the hardwoods, and for the 46 years it has been in

struck an emotional chord – the buyers and sellers all loved cats, and that

the family, it has surrounded us with the warmth and memories of Mom and Dad.

made all the difference.

Such emotions compete with pragmatic considerations like these, as the heart

Still, it pays to examine one’s emotional template before shopping for prop-

struggles with the mind: People who work in downtown Los Angeles or West LA often

erty. Couples should make a list of their wants and needs and then try to compro-

look in the San Rafael and Linda Vista neighborhoods on Pasadena’s west side, since

mise and prioritize. Of course they want it all, but what is at the top of the list?

the city’s crop of new condos can make rush-hour traffic gruesome. A half-hour can

What’s next? What follows after that?

make all the difference when parents are rushing to soccer practice. Of course, a home’s size and price are two pragmatic considerations that cause

Some agents never find out what their buyers really want. They just climb in a car, fill the tank with gas and show their clients all 50 homes in a certain price

stress for nearly every buyer. Most must grapple with choices like this one: a home

range. At the end of the day, the buyer is confused and hungry. The gas tank is

on a busy street with a swimming pool versus a home on a quiet street with no pool.

empty. The agent misses the mark.

Sometimes, a preference for a school district can trump all other concerns.

Buyers know they need to talk to their lender before purchasing a home, but

Some people buy in La Cañada Flintridge, San Marino, South Pasadena and

they really should talk to each other as well. The result will be a happy home for

Arcadia because they like the public schools there. In South Pasadena, residents

years to come. AM

may locate east of Fair Oaks Boulevard so that their children can attend the wellregarded Marengo Elementary School.

Joe Wilson is a broker associate in the Pasadena office of Coldwell Banker. ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 43

THE

LIST

A HIGHLY SELECTIVE PREVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS

BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER

FAMILY FESTIVAL AND NEW EXHIBITS AT THE

PACIFICA ASIA MUSEUM SAINTS AND SINNERS AT THE FOLK TREE March 1 — Latin American religious folk art and artifacts are on display in “Saints & Sinners XXI,” the latest installment of the Folk Tree’s annual Easter season exhibit, opening with a reception from 2 to 6 p.m. Some 25 artists from Mexico and the Pasadena area show their painting, printmaking, assemblage, cut paper and paper mâché, drawing, mixed media and more. To honor the holiday that’s so important to many Mexican Catholics, the Folk Tree also includes old religious medals, vintage Mexican prayer cards and a huge assortment of crosses from Mexico, South America and Haiti. Our Lady of Guadalupe is interpreted in wood carvings by Eleazar Morales, paper maché by Joel Garcia and ceramics by Demetrio Aguilar. In addition, santos (wood carvings of saints) from Mexico and New Mexico and milagros (miracle offerings) are also included. The exhibit continues through April 5. The Folk Tree is located at 217 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 795-8733 or visit www.folktree.com.

MARINES DISPLAY THE COLORS March 1 — The United States Marine Corps’ Battle Color Detachment comes to the Rose Bowl to strut its stuff in a free ceremony involving marching and music played by military men from Washington, D.C., Marine Barracks, the corps’ oldest post. The Drum and Bugle Corps performs choreographed drill movements in a program of traditional marching music and contemporary songs called “Music in Motion.” The Silent Drill Platoon performs a precision drill with fixed bayonets on M-1 rifles in a routine staged without verbal commands. The Marine Corps Color Guard carries the corps’ official battle colors with 54 streamers and silver bands commemorating USMC campaigns throughout the nation’s history. Gates open at 9 a.m. and the performance starts at 10 a.m. The Rose Bowl is located at 1001 Rose Bowl Dr., Pasadena. Call (626) 577-3101 or visit www.rosebowlstadium.com.

MUSICAL MAVERICKS AND MAGICIANS March 2 — Pacific Serenades commissions new chamber music works and showcases them alongside standards in intimate settings. The Los Angeles-based company, a two-time winner of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, continues the tradition under the guidance of Artistic Director Mark Carlson with “Mavericks and Musicians,” featuring works by Mendelssohn, Debussy and Academy Award nominee Bruce Broughton’s “New Work for Violin and Piano.” The program, featuring violinist Belinda Broughton, cellist David Speltz and pianist Joanne Pearce Martin, starts at 4 p.m. The performance takes place at the Neighborhood Church, 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. Call (213) 534-3434 or visit www.pacser.org.

A GEM OF A SHOW March 8 and 9 — The nonprofit educational Pasadena Lapidary Society hosts its 50th annual “Tournament of Gems” show — “Fifty Golden Years of Rockhounding” — at the San Marino 44 ~ MARCH 2008 ~ ARROYO

Masonic Center. The free event showcases distinctive crystals, gems, minerals and jewelry from members’ collections. Dealers are on hand with gem materials, beads and tools, while members demonstrate lapidary crafts, silver work, gemstone carving and beading. Children can participate in gem-themed games. Raffle prizes include a metal detector, rock tumbler, binoculars and jewelry. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 8 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 9. The San Marino Masonic Center is located at 3130 Huntington Dr. San Marino. Call (626) 564-0935.

SPEAKING OF INVESTING March 11 — Caltech’s 2008 DuBridge Distinguished Lecture Series features Charles Munger, friend and business partner of Warren Buffett. Munger is vice chairman of Buffett’s investment firm, Berkshire Hathaway Corp., and chairman of Pasadena-based Wesco Financial Corp., a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. Known for his simple yet strategic approach to business and investment, Munger advocates holding a concentrated number of stocks that will produce superior long-term returns. The free event starts at 8 p.m. in Beckman Auditorium. Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium is located at 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 395-4652 inside Pasadena or (888) 222-5832 outside Pasadena.

ART TAKES OVER THE NIGHT March 14 — Pasadena hosts a massive, free celebration of the arts in the latest incarnation of ArtNight Pasadena. Shuttles whisk guests to and from the city’s top cultural venues, and local restaurants offer ArtNight discounts. Participating organizations include: Armory Center for the Arts; Armory Northwest; Art Center College of Design; Light Bringer Project; One Colorado; Pacific Asia Museum; Pasadena City College; Pasadena Conservatory of Music; Pasadena Jazz Institute; Pasadena Museum of California Art; Pasadena Museum of History; Pasadena Playhouse; Pasadena Public Library; and the Pasadena Symphony. For information, call the hotline at (626) 744-7887 or visit www.artnightpasadena.org.

MAKING A RUN AT CANCER March 15 — The Los Angeles County chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure hosts the 12th annual Race for the Cure at the Rose Bowl. Some 15,000 women, men and children are expected to participate in a day of activities. Entrants can run, walk and join in “Jazzercize” after registering between 7 and 9 a.m. in Area H, directly south of the Rose Bowl. Donation drawings run from 7 a.m. to noon, and a health-and-fitness expo takes place from 8 to 11 a.m. A breast cancer survivor “Sea of Pink” ceremony starts at 9 a.m., followed by a 5K walk/run and a 1K fun run. “In Memory Of” and “In Celebration Of” back signs will be available for all participants. A runners’ awards ceremony takes place from 10:30 to 11 a.m. Register for the race or start a team online at www.komenlacounty.org. Business sponsors can call (626) 577-2700, and volunteers can contact info@komenlacounty.org. Race proceeds provide breast cancer screening, education, diagnostic tests and treatments for the county’s women, with a focus on the uninsured and medically underserved. Seventy-five percent of revenues go to direct services in LA County and 25 percent goes to Komen’s national organization for research. The Rose Bowl is located at 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena. Call (626) 577-2700 or visit www.komenlacounty.org.

March 1 — A free family festival celebrating childhood offers crafts, performances, storytelling and exhibitions from noon to 4 p.m. March 2 — In conjunction with the exhibit “Rainbow Colors: The Woodblock Prints of Paul Jacoulet,” Ken Brown speaks on “Paul Jacoulet’s Third Space” at 1 p.m. Brown discusses how Jacoulet, a French artist who grew up in Japan, dealt with dual cultural identities and transcended the opposites of East vs. West, masculine vs. feminine and modern vs. traditional, creating a cultural “third space.” Call to RSVP. March 9 — Loren Stephens, an author, editor and award-winning documentary filmmaker, conducts a “Writing Your Life Story” workshop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The program, which is limited to a small group, is open to novice as well as seasoned scribes. Participants read excerpts from memoirs, perform short writing exercises and get immediate feedback. The fee is $75. Call to register. To learn more about the instructor, visit www.writewisdom.com. March 13 — The opening reception for “Chinaman’s Chance: Four Views of the Chinese American Experience” runs from 6 to 9 p.m. The exhibition features the works of contemporary artists Amanda Ross-Ho, Zhi Lin, Arthur Ou and Rene Yung, tracing Chinese-American history from the building of the Transcontinental Railroad to the present. The exhibition opens to the public March 14 and continues through July 27. Call to RSVP for the reception. The Pacific Asia Museum is located at 46 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 449-2742 or visit www.pacificasiamuseum.org.

PASADENA SYMPHONY CELEBRATES MOZART March 15 — The Pasadena Symphony performs three Mozart concertos at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, featuring British pianist and Mozart interpreter Howard Shelley in his sixth appearance with the symphony. The works include Concerto for Piano, No. 18, K. 456 in B-flat major; Concerto for Piano, No. 9, K. 271 in E-flat major; and Concerto for Piano, No. 27, K. 595 in B-flat major. Byron Adams gives a 7 p.m. lecture preceding the 8 p.m. event, which repeats on March 16 at Cal State - Northridge. The Pasadena Civic Auditorium is located at 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. Call (626) 584-8833 or visit www.pasadenasymphony.org.

LECTURE CHRONICLES PLEIN AIR MOVEMENT March 20 — The Sydney D. Gamble Lecture Series presents art historian Ronald Steen, an instructor at Cal State - Fullerton, in a discussion of the plein air (open air) movement. The lecture, “Plein Air: From Giverney to the Arroyo,” is sponsored by Friends of the Gamble House. The movement started in France with Monet and other Impressionists and spread to the eastern United States before its widespread acceptance in Southern California. Early local advocates of the naturalistic painting style followed the lead of the French masters and carried equipment outdoors to capture delicate landscapes. The lecture starts at 7:30 “Impression Sunrise,” p.m. at Pasadena’s Neighborhood Claude Monet, 1872 Church. Tickets are $25 for the general public, $20 for Friends of the Gamble House and $15 for students. At 4:30 p.m. on March 22, Steen will also lead a tour of the current contemporary plein air exhibition at Highland Park’s Judson Gallery of Contemporary and Traditional Art at Judson Studios, where he is curator of exhibitions and director of programming and education. Tickets for the Judson Gallery tour are $20 for the public and free for Friends of the Gamble House. The Neighborhood Church is located at 2 Westmoreland Pl., Pasadena. Judson Studios is located at 200 S. Ave. 66, Los Angeles. Call (626) 793-3334, ext. 52, or visit www.gamblehouse.org.

PRAGER SPEAKS AT ELIZABETH HOUSE BENEFIT March 29 — Elizabeth House, the San Gabriel Valley’s only shelter for homeless pregnant women, holds its gala benefit at Glendale’s Oakmont Country Club. Themed “An Era for Change,” the event features a speech by nationally syndicated radio talk show host Dennis Prager. The fundraiser starts at 6:30 p.m. with a reception and silent auction, followed by dinner at 8 p.m. Tickets are $150 per person, $2,500 for a table of 10. The Oakmont Country Club is located at 3100 Country Club Dr., Glendale. Call (626) 577-4434 or visit www.elizabethhouse.net. AM

ART IN

MINIATURE March 7 — “Maillol’s Miniatures,” an exhibition featuring work by the French artist Aristide Maillol, opens at the Norton Simon Museum. The tapestry artist-turned-sculptor began exhibiting wood carvings, wax statuettes and ceramic objects in 1896. Norton Simon acquired nearly 50 of his pieces, some of which are on permanent display. The bronze and marble works in the show introduce his larger sculptures throughout the museum. The exhibition includes a taped interview with Dina Vierny, the artist’s muse and director of Musée Maillol in Paris, who posed for some of the pieces on display. The exhibition continues through Aug. 18. The Norton Simon Museum is located at 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 449-6840 or visit www.nortonsimon.org.

ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 45

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It’s the Real Thing TOKYO TABLE OFFERS JAPANESE FUSION CUISINE FROM THE GLOBAL VILLAGE BY IRENE LACHER While hordes of Americans spend car payments on sushi dinners, regular working stiffs in Tokyo are chowing down on pizza and burgers. Noodles too, of course. As for sushi, that’s a rare treat for the average Japanese Joe. So if you really want to go for authentic food, you might try the new Tokyo Table Restaurant & Bar in Arcadia, which offers an Eastern take on fusion cuisine. And you know that can mean only one thing – sushi pizza. It’s one of the most popular dishes at the reasonably priced Tokyo Table, which has also had a restaurant in Beverly Hills for more than a year. Tetsuya Emura, president and CEO of Tokyo Table’s parent company, Dream Dining California, was an executive for a chain of restaurants in Japan. He decided to launch his own empire here, and the new location in the Westfield Santa Anita Shopping Center is only No. 2. According to the restaurant’s web site, Emura has big plans for Tokyo Table: “Vision: In 10 years, 50 restaurants nationwide.” My favorite entry on the site’s Asian-flavored company info page comes under the heading of “Value,” which makes Dream Dining’s goals sound like a yoga pose: “Triangle Theory: Strike a harmonious balance among our Customers, Employees and Company, while enriching these three elements.” The earth-toned space, created by Nagoya City- and Los Angeles-based designer Toshinori Kamiya, strikes a balance as well, between forward-looking design and the shapes and materials of the natural world. Blond woods in open rectangular forms are clustered to form a chandelier, and black leather banquettes and colorful embroidered silk pillows offer tempting nooks for diners to sink into. As my companion and I pored over the illustrated menu, sake sommelier Yuji Matsumoto came over to suggest sake pairings with food, introducing us to the wonderful world of sake taken seriously. Indeed, Matsumoto noted that there’s a wide variety of sake – light to full-bodied, clear and unfiltered,

Tokyo Table Restaurant & Bar Westfield Santa Anita Mall 400 S Baldwin Ave. Arcadia (626) 445-4000 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday

sweet and dry — and going to a Japanese restaurant and simply ordering sake is akin to going to a French bistro and asking for wine. Among the more interesting menu offerings were sake flights, which

the commercial grade most of us are used to. Other highlights included the

allow customers to sample several different choices with their meal.

hamachi carpaccio (tender yellowtail slices on fresh cucumber and jicama with a

Back to the sushi pizza. No, it’s not a Wolfgang Puck–style slab of dough

spicy ponzu dressing) and the chicken karaage (crispy fried chicken marinated in

with raw fish sprinkled on top. Sushi pizza is like a deconstructed sushi roll – crab

soy sauce and garlic with a Dijon tartar sauce). Do take note of the delicious

meat blended with spicy mayonnaise atop crisped sushi rice and a layer of nori

Yukari French fries, but diner beware: The shiso salt is added with a liberal hand.

(seaweed). The restaurant encourages plate-sharing, so instead of noodles or what the menu describes as “oh-zara big plates,” we opted to dine tapas style. In the realm of Japanese comfort food, the sushi pizza was outdone by the

For dessert, we went with Tokyo Table’s signature sweet – honey toast, which comes in six flavors: original, cinnamon, caramel, chocolate, strawberry and sweet red bean. We ordered the cinnamon and were astounded when the dish arrived.

heavy mochi cheese, which consisted of chewy rice cakes drenched in melted

It’s simply huge – not that that’s a bad thing – a tower of hollowed-out toast, filled

cheese, an odd texture on the tongue but quite tasty. Tofu lovers shouldn’t miss

with crispy, buttery, honey-and-cinnamon-covered toast chunks, topped with vanil-

the homemade agedashi tofu, which was so creamy it bore little comparison to

la ice cream. Next time, I’m going for the toast and calling it a day. AM ARROYO ~ MARCH 2008 ~ 47

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS

Use Your Noodle A COMFORT FOOD THAT MAY BE BETTER THAN PROZAC – AND IS DEFINITELY TASTIER BY LESLIE BILDERBACK I recently gathered hundreds of recipes for a book about comfort foods. You know, foods that people turn to in times of stress. If I learned anything doing that, it is that comfort foods are not supposed to be sensible. People aren’t usually comforted by broccoli or rye crisp. More often, it’s something like a pint of Ben & Jerry’s or a fried peanut butter and baloney sandwich that soothes the soul. This kind of indulgence is fine once in a while, all in the name of sanity. If you need to indulge more than once in a while, though, you should be reading a different column. Try Ask Amy. For me, there is only one comfort food — noodles. I don’t care what kind they are: whole wheat, egg, udon, spaghetti, ramen, spaetzle or weird black noodles colored with squid ink. There are a zillion noodle varieties out there, and I’ll eat every one of them. If you’re a fan of the noodle, too, take a trip to 99 Ranch Market in Arcadia or San Gabriel; the noodle aisle there is awe-inspiring. While I appreciate unique noodles, when my cup is half empty, any noodle will do. I was once in such desperate need of noodles that I crumbled and boiled lasagna noodles. I don’t require fancy sauces or clever toppings for noodles to work their magic for me. Plain butter and a little salt will do. Preparation must be quick, so that the healing can begin. Comfort food is not about making a good impression. In fact, it is best enjoyed alone, so that you can smack, slurp, groan and moan appreciatively. Being able to eat alone is important, especially when even using a bowl is too much trouble. I know I don’t want anyone watching as I administer my noodles while standing over the sink, pot in one hand, giant stirring spoon in the other. Please do not lecture me on the fattening nature of comfort foods. I am fully versed in the wonderful world of nutrition, and its rules do not apply here. My noodle eating is not about health. It is about relief from melancholia. Happily, this is not a state that I frequent. Occasionally, though, the grocery clerk will smush my bread, or a

nutritious, and they made exploration possible. So it appears that the Italians did-

thoughtless driver will decide that he doesn’t need to follow the rules that apply to the

n’t invent them. Twist that around your fork, Mr. Batali.

rest of us. It is then that I turn to noodles for solace. You may be wondering about the difference between noodles and pasta. The

Despite the overwhelming evidence of their Chinese roots, the origin of noodles is still hotly debated (mainly by Italians). Sorry, Italy, but no one really cares who had

only real difference is attitude. Pasta is Italian for paste, which is what grain is

noodles first, as long as we can have them now. You don’t really want to claim dried

made into before it is shaped into noodles. Italians can make anything sound

gruel as a part of your national heritage, anyway, do you? It’s not nearly as glamorous

good. For instance, instead of saying, “I’m really sick,” try saying, “Malato critico.”

as, say, gelato. Oh wait, the Chinese invented that, too. AM

(It almost sounds sexy.) The history of noodles reaches far back, before Romulus outsmarted Remus.

Bilderback is a South Pasadena resident and the author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide

Four-thousand-year-old noodles were recently unearthed at an archeological site

to Spices and Herbs” (Alpha; Dec. 2007); “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Comfort

in northwestern China. They reveal that noodle technology is 3,500 years older

Food” (Alpha; Sept. 2007); and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Success as a Chef”

than previously thought. The earliest noodles were probably nothing more than

(Alpha; Feb. 2007). A former executive chef of the California School of Culinary Arts,

dried gruel, rolled thin in an attempt to preserve grain. They were portable and

Bilderback teaches her techniques online at www.culinarymasterclass.com.

NOODLE KUGEL Here is my most comforting noodle recipe. May it relieve your stress and make your cup half full. Ingredients Directions 2 quarts water 1 tsp. kosher salt 1 (12-oz.) package wide egg noodles 2 cups cottage cheese 2 cups sour cream 3/4 cup honey

5 eggs 2 tbsp. olive oil 2 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/4 cup bread crumbs 1 tbsp. cinnamon

48 ~ MARCH 2008 ~ ARROYO

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring water and salt to a full rolling boil. Add noodles, stir and cook until half done, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together cottage cheese, sour cream, sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla and nutmeg. Add the cooked noodles and mix well. Transfer to baking dish. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and cinnamon, and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350°F until firm, about 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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Fancy That! Has certainly mastered the art of gifting for the upcoming season of engagement parties, showers & weddings, including personalized gifts for the bridal party and reception guests. No toasters or blenders here, but rather an amazing selection of gifts the Bride & Groom will enjoy for years to come. Continuing in their tradition of finding unique contemporary & traditional accents for the home from Italy, Poland, Mexico and the US, Jim & Paula have added a collection of gifts & home accents from Spain & Germany featuring unrivaled workmanship & design in glass, leather and metal. Posh Accessories and Baby Chique Boutique – Two stores in one beautiful location, where they’re celebrating their ONEYEAR ANNIVERSARY, and they’re inviting you to the party! March 1st through March 4th, Posh and Baby Chique are having a sidewalk sale! Come and see why Posh and Baby Chique are La Cañada’s favorite shopping destination, where they’ll be offering fabulous items at amazing markdowns for this big sale, which is FOUR DAYS ONLY! Don’t miss out on all-new accessories like gorgeous, one-of-a-kind Iris Braunstein bangles, with crystals, sparkles and hand-painted illustrations on each dazzling piece! As always, you’ll find Isabella Fiore handbags, Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, just to name a few, and all the designer fashion jewelry you need to complement any outfit at Posh! Freda at Baby Chique has the most unbelievable kids’ couture, including designer clothes and accessories for babies and children sizes 0-12 years, Pediped and Naturino kids’ shoes, and the most adorable outfits by Deux Par Deux and MiniMan for your little tikes! Make sure you don’t miss this one-time-only event – their One-Year Anniversary Sidewalk sale, March 1st thru March 4th! 838 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Call (818) 952-1600 or (818) 952-0133.

Baby Chique Boutique (818)952-0133

Match PEWTER MADE IN ITALY

Gracious dinnerware and serving pieces make the classic gifts for... Anniversaries Engagements Showers Weddings

Adobe Design 852 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada 818-952-2004

Inspired Gifts for Engagements, Showers & Weddings 818.790.6525

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Fancy That!

838 Foothill Blvd. La Cañada, CA 91011

MERRIMENT

Pasadena – Birthplace of Petite Sirah LIVERMORE'S CONCANNON VINEYARD, WHICH INTRODUCED AMERICA’S FIRST BOTTLES HERE IN 1964, STILL PRODUCES ITS AWARD-WINNING VARIETAL. BY IRENE LACHER It won’t surprise anyone in Pasadena to hear that the city is fertile ground for won-

his first visit to Livermore wine country, “Our walk

ders, but you expect people here to cure cancer and discover new stars. Here’s a first

through the rocky vineyards and our tasting of their

that’s lesser known, but to some aficionados of the grape, nearly as earth-shattering:

signature varietals prompted an untutored ques-

Petite Sirah made its American debut in Pasadena in 1964.

tion: ‘How could such fine grapes and wine come

It’s a story that Jim Concannon of Livermore’s Concannon Vineyard likes to tell.

from such stony and austere land?’ The response

Petite Sirah vines had been on the family-owned property for decades when

was the first time I heard the expression: ‘Struggle

serendipity struck, inspiring Concannon, a grandson of founder James Concannon, to

in the vineyards puts character in the bottle.’”

bottle the varietal. In those days, Petite Sirah grapes went into Burgundy blends,

Pasadena’s romance with its first taste of

along with Carignane, Mourvèdre and Zinfandel. Jim’s brother Joe Concannon, who

Petite Sirah inspired the Concannons to replant

helped him run the operation, had a sales contact in Pasadena named Denny

some of their vineyards with more grapes from

Caldwell, a knowledgeable wine merchant who would serve as a judge at state fairs.

Sonoma and other California wine-growing dis-

Caldwell sometimes took the bus up to Livermore to taste Joe’s wine and talk about

tricts. They expanded their production — but lim-

their mutual enthusiasm. During one such visit, Caldwell suggested separating the

ited it so they could control the quality — and

Petite Sirah from the Burgundy and bottling it as a varietal wine.

refined their winemaking techniques. Some 140 of

The Concannon brothers mulled it over for a year and then agreed to produce a couple of hundred cases of the 1961 vintage, figuring they had nothing to lose, since Caldwell had committed to taking it all. “It was almost an afterthought for us,”

the Livermore vineyard’s 200 acres of estate plantings are currently Petite Sirah. “Petite Sirah used to have a reputation for

Concannon wrote in his book, “Concannon: The First One Hundred and Twenty-Five

being a mean wine, too tannic, especially when it

Years” (Andy Katz Photography; 2006). The brothers didn’t even bother putting a vin-

was young, but we were able to make a wine that

tage date on the first label. They were stunned when the wine turned out to be a hit,

came out smooth and balanced,” Concannon

selling out completely.

wrote. His advocacy for Petite Sirah, coupled with

Of course, it took longer for the country to catch on to the charms of the fullbodied offspring of Syrah, but today, some 3,200 acres of Petite Sirah grapes are planted in California. At Concannon, one of the state’s oldest wineries, an hour east of San Francisco, the rocky soil is ideal for its flag-

the winery’s contribution to the spread of great Cabernet Sauvignon in California, won him a lifetime achievement award from the California State Fair last year. The winery produces four tiers of its intensely flavored varietal: select vineyards ($9.99); limited release ($14.99); reserve ($17.99 to $34.99); and, in years

ship wine, as well as its

when the wine is exceptional, heritage ($49.99). I tried the 2004 reserve, a full-

other top varietals,

bodied, deep garnet wine, with an aroma of blueberry and dark cherry, a hint of

Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

vanilla on the palate and a smooth, lasting finish. Concannon’s 2004 Captain

That surprised even the Wine

Joe’s Petite Sirah Reserve, named after Jim’s dad, won a gold medal at the

Institute’s executive vice chairman,

Orange County Fair and best of class at the California State Fair. That’s a pretty

John De Luca, who said of

50 ~ MARCH 2008 ~ ARROYO

PICTURED (from top): Jim Concannon; Concannon Vineyard gate; Concannon’s grounds

smooth end for a wine with a mean beginning.

WEDDINGS At Angel’s Nest Stationers, you are invited to celebrate all of life’s special occasions! Offering everything for a wedding: invitations, including William Arthur, Crane, Elite, Encore, custom designs and many more, plus, favors, gifts, candles, servers and organizers. Trust Yvonne Navarro with everything you need to perfectly punctuate your special occasion with her extensive experience in helping you, the bride, pick out the invitations for your special wedding theme – she’s not just your bridal stationers consultant, she’s a person you can count on in a pinch. Please note: Angel’s Nest will remain in their current location at 468-A Foothill Blvd. in La Canada. Take time to make an appointment to order those invitations today at (818) 790-4019. Fancy That! has certainly mastered the art of gifting for the upcoming season of engagement parties, showers & weddings, including personalized gifts for the bridal party and reception guests. No toasters or blenders here, but rather an amazing selection of gifts the Bride & Groom will enjoy for years to come.

Continuing in their tradition of finding unique contemporary & traditional accents for the home from Italy, Poland, Mexico and the US, Jim & Paula have added a collection of gifts & home accents from Spain & Germany featuring unrivaled workmanship & design in glass, leather and metal. (818) 790-6525. Masis Bakery — When you walk into Masis Bakery you feel as if you have walked into one of those wonderful European bakeries. Everything looks elegant and delicious! Everything is made with the fresh ingredients, real butter and dedicated to pure excellence. Masis Bakery is filled with a fresh, flavorful and unique assortment of pastries and mini deserts. Owner, Martin Minasyan is a second generation baker and will cater your wedding or special event. Wedding cakes are one of his specialties and can be made in every shape, size and flavor combination from 5 inches to 10 feet tall. Delivery service is available. Be sure to stop by one of his convenient locations in Burbank or Montrose!

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Contact Your Wedding Cake Specialist at (818) 919-8020 468 8A Foothilll Boulevard d • La a Cañada a • (818)) 790-4019

321 E. Alameda Ave., #D Burbank, CA

Inspired Gifts for Engagements, Showers & Weddings Fancy That! (818) 790-6525 838

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Foothill Blvd. La Cañada, CA 91011 A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Specializing in … •Wedding Cakes •Mini Deserts •Mini Snack Foods for Weddings & Special Occasions •Delivery Service Available 2064 Verdugo Blvd, #E Montrose, CA