On Broadway
There's a very welcome late addition to the Broadway San Diego lineup for the 2005 season. The touring Broadway production of Little Women has been booked into the Civic Theater in downtown San Diego from August 30 through September 4. Multi-media star Maureen McGovern will recreate her acclaimed role as the Little Women matriarch, Marmee. As you may surmise, this Broadway musical is an adaptation of the novel loved by so many generations who have read it silently and aloud over and over again. Fans of the book have also enjoyed two important film adaptations of the novel. A performer's performer, McGovern has the voice and physical presence to engage audiences once more in this beautiful story. Many people have heard McGovern in live concert in a variety of venues, and others have encountered her in recorded performances in those (famous or infamous) PBS pledge drives, but what they may not know is that she has a solid professional theater background, having appeared on Broadway in The Pirates of Penzance, Nine, and 3Penny Opera. She also headed a national tour of The King and I, in what would seem to be perfect type casting. Regionally, she's performed in a slew of productions, which covers a wide range of genres. They include such an array of shows as Elegies, Dear World, Letters from 'Nam, The Lion in Winter, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Of Thee I Sing, Let 'Em Eat Cake, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, and I Do, I Do. The last one is typically what one would immediately link with McGovern, but The Lion in Winter? The point is, for all the glamour of the biz, McGovern is a working actress, and, along the way, she's also recorded 25 solo albums and been nominated twice for Grammy Awards. Does she crave luxury, comfort when traveling? Certainly not. The lady is a trouper, so this Women road tour will be no hardship for her. She says, "I've lived my whole life on the road! In fact, for the first six years of my career, I didn't have a home anywhere. I literally lived out of seven suitcases. This is old hat for me!"

The Little Women announcement leaves very short lead time for subscribers and single seat patrons to amend their summer theatrical calendar. A really big attraction, of course, is Disney's The Lion King, which will visit San Diego December 9 through January 5. Our bet is this will be a hot ticket. Get in line now. (619/231-8995, www.broadwaysd.com) — Darlene G. Davies

Gritty Art
Two hundred Laguna Beach artists will soon display their arts and crafts along sawdust-covered paths at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna. Since 1966 this event has drawn visitors from around the world who are looking for one-of-a-kind artwork, including paintings, jewelry, ceramics, photographs, sculptures, hand-blown glass and more. Meet and purchase directly from the artists. Varied art demonstrations including glass blowing, complimentary art workshops, children’s art activities, refreshments, and live entertainment make this a don’t-miss event. July 1 through September 4, 10am—10pm. (949/494-3030, info@sawdustartfestival.org) — Shana K. Wilson

Art On The Move
The La Jolla Festival of the Arts has consistently been recognized as the number one art show in San Diego County and one of the top rated shows in California. But this year, its more than 180 award-winning local and national artists, plus various cuisines and live entertainment, will change venues and will take place at the University of California San Diego’s East Campus parking lots.

Over the past 15 years, the festival has been held on the La Jolla Country Day School campus; however, the school has initiated a major campus development project and will be unable to host the festival again this year.

The festival will take place June 25-26, 9am-5pm, at the UCSD lot on the corner of Genesee Avenue and Regents Road. Admission to the event is $10 for adults and children 10 and under are free. Parking is also free. The La Jolla Festival of the Arts proceeds benefit over 30 programs for San Diegans with disabilities. (858/456-1268, info@lajollaartfestival.org)
— Shana K. Wilson

Oy Vay!
Tradition. Fiddler on the Roof celebrated it in one of the most beloved songs of the play. Be certain to be a part of the Jewish theater tradition this month when the 12th Annual Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival takes place. Featuring music, dance, and theatre artists from around the world, it celebrates the diversity of the Jewish diaspora through art and performance.

Among the many outstanding performances not to be missed is the Tango for Three on Sunday, June 5, at 7pm. The Tango, and dancers Noemi, Daniel, and Teresa, all hail from Argentina. After performing all over the world, they now live in Los Angeles, where they have performed at the LA Latino Film Festival, and the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Renowned soloist, Cantor Israel Ghelman, who has performed in Argentina, Latin America and the US, accompanies them.

One more of the many outstanding offerings at the festival will be the 5th Annual Klezmer Summit on Monday, June 20 at 7:30pm on the Lyceum Stage. Festival veterans, Hollywood Klezmer, will be bring their joyous sounds to the San Diego stage once again.

These fascinating cultural offerings are too rich to miss. And after all, it’s a tradition.
The Festival runs from June 1 through June 20, at the Lyceum Theatre, the North Coast Repertory Theatre, and the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego. (www.sandiegorep.com) — Shana K. Wilson

Looking Past History
San Diego is a city in constant transition. Older dwellings we have taken for granted suddenly disappear, to be replaced by contemporary buildings, structures with which we may have no connection or emotional response. We feel a pang, maybe a sense of loss. How do we relate to a new environment when part of our personal history has been erased? The newest photographic exhibition Developing San Diego: Making History Every Day deals with that issue. A subtitle to the show might be “from then until now.” Photographic images in the exhibition include many historical ones from the Booth Historical Photograph Archives, as well as 30 contemporary images by Chris Travers from 2000-2002. There is much to contemplate. For instance, this show will give the viewer a sense of the changes of the Lake Cuyamaca area between 1897 and 2001 (not including the devastating fires in 2003). Each visual fragment in the photographs is frozen in time, and we hold it to us as if to never let go, in a kind of denial. The truth, of course, is that with every moment the present slips away and becomes the past. For a look at some moments in time, visit the San Diego Historical Society in Balboa Park. (619/232-6203, www.sandiegohistory.org)
— Darlene G. Davies

California the Beautiful
Fearless artists will try and capture the beauty of our state for Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild exhibition, California Scenes, running through May 1. Only the brave (and the talented) need apply.

The show will feature a variety of mediums, such as oils, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, multimedia, sculpture, photography, and jewelry depicting landscapes, seascapes, architecture, and animal life as only California offers.

The Rancho Santa Fe Art Gallery is located at 6004 Paseo Delicias in The Union Bank Building. (858/759-3545) — Ana Kessler

Record Breaking Melody Maker
Famed Italian instrument maker Antonio Stradivari created over 1,100 stringed instruments during his lifetime in the 1600s. Today his instruments are considered the pinnacle of instrumental craftsmanship. So coveted are his creations that they are rarely sold by their owners. About 600 of his works still remain today, in both public and private collections.

Thus, it may come as no surprise that the sale of a Stradivarius violin at auction in New York in late April has broken the world record for a musical instrument. The previous record was $1.8 million, also for a Stradivari violin that was sold at Christie’s in 1990. The violin that sold in New York, named The Lady Tennant, went for $2,032,000. — Ryan Thomas