A significant and truly wonderful aspect of the entertainment scene in America is the American Musical Theater. Gifted and creative composers and lyricists have created many memorable shows over decades bringing joy, excitement, fantasy and the love of music to millions.

Dating back many centuries, even before Christ, the musical drama or musical theater was a part of ancient Greek life, as evidenced by their tragedies and comedies. However, the American Musical Theater had its beginning in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in England.

Progenitors of the American Musical were music dramas and comedies by British composers and writers such as Gilbert and Sullivan and others. The French composer, Jacques Offenbach, composer of the “Can-Can,” was very popular. Most of the early musicals came from Europe. Our American composers had many models to study and improve upon when writing their own musicals. The first successful original American show was the Black Crook which premiered in New York in 1866. it included what was to become part of the American Musical—chorus girls, production numbers, costuming, dance numbers and songs.

Not withstanding the European influences, Americans wanted to create their own style of original musical theater. Early examples of this expression were somewhat similar to the British models. The March King, John Philip Sousa, penned an operetta El Capitan in 1896. George M. Cohan (1878-1942) in 1904 produced Little Johnny Jones. Cohan was an important contributor in the early 20th century to a uniquely adaptation of the British style. He believed that almost any storyline will work if the proper songs, dances, routines and comic episodes were present.

Victor Herbert (1859-1924) was a giant in terms of early American Operettas. His most famous were the Fortune Teller produced in 1898, Babes in Toyland in 1903, The Red Mill in 1906 and Naughty Marietta in 1910. Jerome Kern (1885-1945) was another influential composer after the turn of the century. “Kern’s later works demonstrated that a musical could combine light, popular entertainment with continuity between its story and songs” said John Jones in his book Our Musicals, Our Selves. Kerns influence on musical theater can still be felt to this day.

In 1927, the production of Show Boat by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II was a breakthrough in the development of musical theater. This show was termed a musical play where book and music were equal partners thus distinguishing it from musical comedy.

The 1930’s brought the musical to a different type of storyline. In 1935 George Gershwin wrote Porgy and Bess setting the stage for a new era of political and social storylines. These plots were later developed in West Side Story in 1957 by Leonard Bernstein and Sweeney Todd in 1979 by Stephen Sondheim.

The 1940’s through the 1960’s ushered in what is known as the Golden Age of Musicals. Rogers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma in 1943 is still considered a blockbuster musical today. With this show, a significant American art form was born. After Oklahoma ran for 2,212 performances it was made into a film. Other smash hits by Rogers and Hammerstein followed: Carousel in 1945, South Pacific in 1949, The King and I in 1951 and The Sound of Music in 1959. Many other great shows were produced during this period including Guys and Dolls, Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, and Music Man.

In the 1960’s Fantastics was first produced off-Broadway. Hit shows from this era include Funny Girl, Man of La Mancha, Cabaret, Company, A Little Night Music, Hello Dolly, Mame, and Hair.

The 1970’s saw the rock musical rise in number and popularity. Notable shows were Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, The Rocky Horror Show, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Chorus Line, and Chicago.

Mega musicals and pop operas emerged in the 80’s and 90’s with smash hits such as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita and The Phantom of the Opera. Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil’s Les Miserables is still a long-running international hit. The Disney Company produced the popular Lion King and Beauty and the Beast.

John Kenrick in his book, History of Stage Musicals, sums up this genre of music very well when he writes, “Is the musical dead? Absolutely not. Changing? Always! Change is the clearest sign that the musical is still a living, growing genre. Will we ever return to the so called ‘Golden Age’ with musicals at the center of popular culture? Probably not. Public taste has under gone fundamental changes, and the commercial arts can only flow where the paying public allows.”

We, the fortunate public, have been blessed by the plethora of outstanding musicals in our lifetime to enjoy and preserve for future generations of theater-goers.

Please submit your questions and comments to banddirector01@comcast.net. Visit our website at www.danvilleband.org for up-to-date information about the Danville Community Band.

Sometimes it is difficult to remember that the Bay Area has two major league baseball teams. The task of making sure we don’t forget about the team that did not win the World Series last year falls on veteran sports public relations professional Bob Rose, who has 30 years experience working for teams and leagues at the college and professional levels and is now Director of Public Relations for the Oakland A’s.

“We take pride in providing great value to our customers,” Rose said. “We think our promotions and pricing include everyone under the baseball tent.”

Indeed, the A’s go far beyond the traditional giveaways to make attending their games as affordable as possible. Guests on Tuesdays can park for free at the Coliseum, on Wednesdays thousands of tickets are priced at $2, and on Thursdays there are free hot dogs available for the first 10,000 fans.

“The value we provide should resonate more than ever before,” Rose said. “We are sensitive to people who might be struggling with the recession, with unemployment, with underemployment and with just deciding if they can afford to go to a game. We try and be one of the best live entertainment options by remaining affordable.”

Affordability is one thing, but people must also be entertained. A huge advantage held by the A’s is that baseball’s two primary glamour franchises, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox visit the Coliseum at least once each every season. The Giants also visit once a year, making it an easier trip for fans in Alive East Bay territory to see a team many of them followed from childhood.

As the clear second team in this market, Rose has challenges most of his colleagues across major league baseball do not face. The big local sports radio station, the largest Bay Area sports cable TV channel are both dedicated to the Giants, and the ballpark in San Francisco is newer and more picturesque. This forces Rose to get creative in disseminating his message.

“We work extra hard at servicing the media to make sure they have our messages and can provide them to our audience. We also work with our broadcast partners (the radio and TV stations that cover the A’s games) to use the three hours of air time to communicate our story to our fans. Social media is a big part of our strategy. We have thousands of friends on Facebook and we tweet to reach out.” Rose also mentioned that the A’s have a traditional ad campaign with TV, radio, print ads and billboards throughout the region.

Winning of course is the biggest factor in a team’s success, and the A’s have not done a great deal of that lately. The team has not been to the post season since 2006 and has struggled most years to win half its games. “Winning and star players drive free media coverage,” Rose said. “There is no doubt about that.”

Since winning has been a challenge, the A’s have relied on promotions, and being relentless with the media when there is a story. They promote the players who achieve outstanding individual success (like making the All Star team or the perfect game Dallas Braden pitched) or seize upon a fresh young star like new second baseman Jemile Weeks.

“We have to be more aggressive than the Giants because we do not get half their coverage,” Rose said. “We try to be the more organic baseball organization and try to sell the product that is on the field.”

For ALIVE East Bay fans the A’s provide a much lower cost alternative and in some ways a more attractive schedule. Oakland’s ballpark is a shorter ride and there is no bridge to cross to get to a game. We are fortunate to have two teams within easy driving distance and we should remember that both deserve our support, especially if we want to see all the teams from both the American and National League continue to visit the Bay Area.

                                                   TRIVIA
 
Some random posers to pass away the summer:

1. Who played Miles Archer, Sam Spade’s murdered partner, in “The Maltese Falcon?”
2. Who was the second baseman Charles Finley attempted to fire after he made two errors in the 1973 World Series?
3. What songwriting team wrote “Over The Rainbow?”
4. Who played the Joker on the “Batman” TV series?
5. Who was the star of the radio show “Restless Gun?”
6. What was the name of the Cuban boy that had to be returned to his Cuban home under the Clinton administration?

JULY ANSWERS:

1. The chalice from the palace, the flagon with the dragon and vessel with the pestle
2. Todd Helton
3. Bob Oscar
4. Ira Gershwin lyrics, but not George Gershwin music
5. Jack Lemmon
6. Tom Lehrer

JULY WINNER:
SORRY, MR. NOBODY WINS AGAIN! 

WIN LUNCH ON BEN!
The first person to email or mail, no calls please, the correct answers to all of the above questions will win a $25 gift certificate at The Uptown Cafe in downtown Danville, compliments of Ben Fernandez!
Entries must be received by August 20, 2011. In the event of a tie, the winner will be drawn at random. Please email your answers to info@aliveeastbay.com, or mail to ALIVE East Bay, 199 East Linda Mesa Avenue, Suite 10, Danville, CA 94526. Employees and family members of employees of ALIVE East Bay are not eligible.
Restaurant may be changed without notice.

Welcome… to the “Italian Issue” of ALIVE, as this month our lead story chronicles the history and influence of Italian Americans in the East Bay. Our feature article (page 16), appropriately penned by Anita Venezia, was motivated in large part by author Rick Malaspina’s terrific book, Images ofAmerica—Italian Oakland. The photographs that give Anita’s story much of its flavor were provided to us, courtesy of Mr. Malaspina and the book’s publisher, Arcadia Publishing. Thank you Rick and Arcadia!

Certainly, the influence of Italians is apparent on many levels throughout much of the world. After all, would Friday nights in America be the same without pizza? Would Starbucks be the dominant force in the coffee universe if not for Cappuccino and Espresso? In terms of culture—art, food, science and more — the Italians have always been leaders.

As is true elsewhere, you need not venture far into the history of our region to encounter significant contributions made by Italian immigrants. And while North Beach in San Francisco is well known as an Italian cultural hub, many readers may be surprised to learn of the far reaching influence that Italian Americans have had in the East Bay.

One of the grand institutions of the East Bay’s Italian community is the Colombo Club in Oakland. While it boasts a colorful and influential history that includes names like DiMaggio and Marciano, it continues to be a place where life-loving Italian Americans gather to revel and enjoy each others company, maintaining a vibrant expression of their rich traditions.

When Anita and I first discussed the idea for this story, I was excited. Being half Italian on my mother’s side, much of my childhood was spent in the company of my Nonno and Nonni. I grew up learning to speak the Genovese dialect, and have fond memories of helping in the garden and kitchen—harvesting Fava beans, grating hard Parmesan cheese and filling wine bottles from Nonno’s wooden barrel under the front porch.

I was also well acquainted with the Colombo Club, as my grandparents and parents attended numerous events there. In fact, some thirty-six or so years ago, part of my wife’s introduction into my family’s cultural ways came by way of the Colombo Club, as we attended an event there when we were first dating. She won a door prize at that event that I suspect was what won her over and convinced her that I was “the one” — it was a box of fresh produce!

To be sure, the Italian American heritage in the East Bay is something to celebrate, but even more, and in keeping with the rich traditions of these great people, it is something to enjoy.

Spero che ti piace questa rivista!

During the last few years, mortgage rates have been so attractive, it is unusual to find someone who has not refinanced their home or rental property. Many lenders are not willing to finance a property that is held by a Living Trust, resulting in the homeowner agreeing to remove the property from the Living Trust in order to get the loan. Commonly, the Title Company handling the escrow for the refinance will create and record a Deed to remove the property from the Living Trust. The refinance of the mortgage loan is completed, and all is well.

Or is it? Now the property is out of the Living Trust, and has lost the protections that the homeowner intended when he or she spent the time and money to set up a Living Trust. Many times the homeowner is unaware that the property is out of the Living Trust, or has been reassured that the property would be put back into the Living Trust at the conclusion of the refinance process, and occasionally that is true. However, I have seen many times that the transfer back into the Living Trust has never occurred.

There are a number of problems this can create. Depending on what the Deed taking the property out of the Living Trust says, if it is a joint Living Trust, and one of the spouses passes away, a Probate can be required to put the deceased spouse’s share back into the Living Trust. The goal of setting up a Living Trust is to make things easier, but having to do an unexpected Probate is frustrating and expensive.

I tell all of my clients to call me if they refinance, so that we can ensure that this does not happen to them. Want an easy way to check on whether your home is in your Living Trust? Take a look at your current property tax bill. If you have refinanced, and the letters “TR” are not after your name, you should investigate. Better to find out now than later!