CerritosInk

Reviews of shows from the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and other local venues published by the Los Cerritos Community News. The writer and paper are in their twentieth year of covering these events.

My Photo
Name:
Location: Fear City, Ca., United States

"My name is Addison DeWitt. My native habitat is the theater. In it I toil not, neither do I spin. I am a critic and commentator. I am essential to the theatre - as ants to a picnic, as the boll weevil to a cotton field." George Sanders in "All About Eve"

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Ellsie Awards 2008





















Great 2008: Ellsie Awards Announced for the Performing Arts Center

By Glen Creason


While the economy may be nose-diving and mortgages floundering the cultural vitality of the southland continues to thrive in the case of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Somehow the wise ones at the Center manage to put first-class talent on the stages and plenty of people in the seats season after delightful season. While I have become grizzled over my fifteen years on the Performing Arts beat the glittering hall on Center drive offers youthful tonics of inspiration and intellectual invigoration that pull all of us upward and onward. The Center is a place where the music-makers and the dreamers of dreams can work their magic for kids and seniors and the boomers in between. 2008 was another year of jagged ups and downs for me but at the theater the direction was decidedly positive.
Once again I must mention those who make it all appear to be easy but very sweet for we who visit often. There is a lot of hard work and loving attention to detail that makes it look easy while it most certainly is not. This would start with big wigs like Executive Director Craig Springer or Performance Manager Michael Wolf or Theater Manager Dianne Cheney who really insist that the theater be word-class excellent. It also includes a superb staff dealing with the likes of word-slingers like me lead by Kim Bui, the publicist who stepped in to fill the classy shoes of my friend Lori Levine-Yonan and did a superlative job. We hope to see Lori back soon but Kim has made her sabbatical more than bearable. Also, Laurie Kajiwara is the Marketing Supervisor who makes all of this seem to purr like one of the spoiled cats in my household.
There are staff favorites who never let down and always give their best with a smile including the ageless Faith Lazzari at the hospitality room, the wondrous India Holloway directing what seems like the solar system, the elegant house manager Alan Strickland, problem-solving Tony Erdelji and the cast of volunteer hospitality workers that make the Center warm and inviting always. In my case I have a bond with the box-office where I must appear with hat in hand each week. This year I can’t mention favorites although there are young lights that deserve gold stars. They are lead by Nate` Chavez and Cristopher Laroco and their names are Alyson Otrambo, Don Hayes, Andrea Shepard, Heather Sheltman, Carla Madrid, Janice Blanco, JoAnn Halli, Julianne Altenbernd, MarieCris Sanchez, Kris Liquigan, Megan Guilford, Lisa Simmons, Michael Toledo, Marcie Marte, Michelle Tucker, Scott Cobos, Yasmin Sanchez, Shameemah Motala, Sondra Wilson, Victoria Lugo and the ever-smiling Daniel Penland. These guys are aces!
Finally, the real unsung and unseen heroes of the Center are the technical crew who show after show make the theater look great and function like a Swiss watch. These are lead by Director Tom Hamilton and include Stage Crew Supervisor, Jeff Thielke, Technical Events Coordinator, James King, Rigger/Master Carpenter, Rogan Girard, Audio/Video Engineer, Jack Hayback, Master Electrician, David Thibodeaux, now being replaced by Bob Harland and Event Services’ provider of niceties Cathy Bravo. And to make sure everything stays copasetic before, during and after each show there is the firm but friendly presence of security under the direction of John Townsend.
Oh yes, there is that other part of the Performing Arts experience, the one in front of the footlights. Despite the depressed marketplace the Center managed to fill the seats and put forward excellent shows that offered great inspiration, good humor and uplifting discovery. These are just a few of my own personal favorites; we like to call these the Ellsie Awards.
E-Word: the great Garrison Keilor came first and gave his best show ever in the big hall. I consider this man a bona-fide national treasure and along with great yarn spinning of tales about ice fishing disasters, Clarence Bunsen and the Herdsmen, and the Python under the Pederson’s porch he surprised us all with five really earthy sonnets.
E-Culture: one of the great teams in American music; composer William Bolcomb and mezzo-soprano Joan Morris visited for a matinee of delectable songs from a full century of American popular music. Her “After the Ball” and “You’re Lucky to Me” made the historical tunes shine like gold and his playing of his own composition “Graceful Ghost” was absolutely enchanting.
E-Musical: tie
Hairspray” was great fun but the amazing performance by stand-in Sharon Malane made her the surprise musical star of the season, just barely nudging Anthony Lopez who played the vice-principal in the show that shares this award “the Putnam County Spelling Bee” which was a very clever new-style musical.
E-Spectacular: Moiseyev Dance Company was an awesome experience of color, music and dance that absolutely dazzled the full house for two excitement-drenched hours. Moiseyev finished with the “Polovetsian Dances” that can only be called magnificent. I only hope they can be coaxed our way again soon.
E-Roots: John Hammond and Marcia Ball just knocked out the joint with authentic blues and New Orleans style roots music. Typical of Hammonds superb playing was the hurt blues of “You Know That’s Cold” that was only matched by Marcia Ball’s fiery finish to her set including a “Crawfishin’” that made you believe you were sitting in the Big Easy.
E-World Music: “Shidara” is yet one more proponent of the pulse pounding art of Taiko, performed passionately by this group lead by a woman named Chabo. “Niebuchi” was typical of the intense focus the music can achieve but the final number celebrating a Harvest Festival (“Hana Mitsuri”) in their home village was truly grand with many of the audience joining the musicians on stage. On this night West met East with results that would make summit makers envious.
E-Rock: In one of the musical surprises of the year the unlikely rock winner was an orchestra. “The Music of Led Zeppelin” took the rather precarious leap into the unknown acceptance of such a show and passed with flying dark colors. With the help of guitarist George Cintron and elastic voiced Randy Jackson the young Windborne Symphony made Led’s music come back to life in living color.
E-Vocal: The towering in more ways than one, Ronan Tynan set the standard for singers in a late summer sizzler that was long on Irish tunes and short on ceremony. His reading of “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” was about as romantic a song as you will ever hear. An added treat to this show was Tynan’s accompanist, Billy Lewis who tossed in a delectable “Blackberry Winter” that put a bittersweet ache in the old ticker.
E-Lex Education: “Whose Line Is It Anyway” set up shop at Cerritos once more with Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie just performing one word miracle after another without as much as one little goof. The packed house roared with laughter and participated gleefully as the word puzzles unraveled on the stage in a totally improvisational show.
E-Vintage: Jack Jones who must gargle with water from Ponce de Leon’s fountain came to the Center with credentials that go back before even 8-track and demonstrated that sometimes you really do get better with age. A singer’s singer, the septuagenarian gave a class in vocal artistry. When he sang “Somewhere” from “West Side Story” it was really and truly mesmerizing.
E-Blues: Robert Cray put on a fully packed and perfectly paced show at tax-time with astounding, face melting guitar work on “I’m Walking” that defined the depth and emotion of the blues
E-Class Classic: Judy Collins, always the most elegant lady on any stage stunned the big hall into complete rapt attention when she sang “Send In the Clowns” like only she can.
E-Conscience: Sweet Honey in the Rock extended the olive branch and antiseptic six-part harmony in one of the best shows of the year highlighted by the inspirational “Peace” that was offered with the most sincere hope possible.
Newcomer of the Year: Sweet faced Meaghan Hinkis of ABT II danced exquisitely with confidence and style that showed her to be a future star of ballet. We were privileged to see her on a night back in September.
E-Holiday: At the Charlie Brown Christmas show it was not just the brilliant playing of pianist/composer David Benoit and his fine quartet on comfort Christmas tunes like “Skating.”. There was an absolute abundance of presents under this Christmas tree. Benoit produced a show that transcended others by bringing in the youthful but accomplished Asia America Youth Orchestra to swell the sounds and a fantastic chorus of kids from “Lunada Bay Elementary School Music Department Choir” who quite literally stole the show with voice and visions of holiday joy.
Performance of the year: It is virtually impossible to reach higher heights than Sonny Rollins and anytime that Cerritos lures him into the hall they are making musical history. In his April show the Saxophone Colossus blazed totally new paths including a reading of his trademark “Why Was I Born” that answered the question fully in my mind. Awesome!
Show of the Year: funny that the best show was one with the least hullabaloo, no bells and whistles or fancy staging. On this literate and jocular evening it was just Loudon Wainwright III and Leo Kottke playing and singing some of the best songs in music. Wainwright’s “Another Song in C” and Kottke’s “Ice Miner” alone would have made this show a blue ribbon winner.
Honorable Mention: even though my visit to the “Colorado Folks Festival” was clearly outside of Cerritos it did contain some great music, including Patty Griffin, Todd Snider, Missy Higgins and Greg Brown showing us what the human potential is when you are holding a guitar and a genius for songwriting.
Last and certainly not least the good folks at the Los Cerritos Community News who stay late to put these words on the page and shouts out to those who have stayed on as long as I have. Brian Hews, Linda Bock, Jerry Bernstein, Loren Kopf and others stained by community news ink Helen M. Brown, Chris Callard, Shelley Henderson and Angela Crannon.. Without all of them I would be standing in the Towne Center with a sandwich board.


Sunday, December 28, 2008

Jungua: Descendents of the Dragon December 27, 2008


Jungua: the Dragon Comes to Cerritos


By Glen Creason





Oh the feeble English language and the thesaurus that has such a limited amount of terms for incredible. Astonishing, astounding, marvelous, unusual are all words that would fit in describing the show “Jungua: Descendents of the Dragon” which is purported to be reflective of ancient Chinese culture using acrobatics, contortions, traditional dance and martial arts. Certainly the physical virtues of balance, flexibility and strength are in great evidence but there is also discipline, grace and courage shown in good measure here also. To make all of it more of a spectacle there are dramatic costumes, evocative sets and music that seemed more Cirque du Soleil than Zhou dynasty. Only the music was canned and modern with the rest being inspired by traditions that go back untold generations. The show is basically split in half with the men doing the kung fu or Qigong and the women showing their own style of strength, daring and grace in the acrobatics and dance. The gents have mostly trained in Henen where the world famous Shaolin temple exists and this 1500 year old discipline makes great demands on the body, requiring complete dedication and concentration. The ladies are drawn from the Beijing Acrobatic Troupe near the Forbidden City in Beijing and they also practice arts passed on for centuries.
The program featured about twenty-five segments and each has its appeal and each challenged the viewer’s belief in the stamina and strength of the players. There were many exhibitions of the kung fu with flying lances, swords, hands, feet and other weapons too esoteric for my descriptions. There was “Animal Kungfu,” “Kungfu with weapons,” a sit up and take notice “Bullwhip Kungfu,” a “Kungfu Fighting” that had nothing to do with Carl Douglas and even “Chinese Fans Kungfu” that came very close to dance choreography. There were also feats of will and discipline including “Trident Quigong” which placed a spear into an artist’s stomach which would have pierced the flesh of almost anyone or thing. There was “Iron Head Quigong” that involved huge chunks of concrete and metal bars being smashed off a player’s cranium with a sledge hammer and the one that really had the audience squirming which placed men on sharp swords and beds of nails as they piled upon each other three layers high. No harm, no blood, no foul!
The ladies represented beauty and charm but also some unbelievable strength of their own. They enchanted in dances like “the Long Sleeves Dance,” or astounded in balance by spinning multiple colorful carpets with all available hands and feet, then actually used their mouths to make it five spinning at once. They deftly juggled umbrellas with their feet in a display of dexterity that would have been incredible had it been done with the hands. Yet, these were not the most incredible of their doings on this night. By far the most mind-bending of the ladies adventures was the single hand stand act that required the balance and contortion of an entire person on one dainty little hand supported by a shoulder of such strength it seemed absolutely impossible.
Not only did the audience learn a lot about Kung Fu and acrobatics we learned about the differences between Eastern and Western audiences who were represented in equal numbers on this night. Around my seats cries of amazement and appreciation rang out including the Chinese “Hoo Hoo!” and the Californian “Sheesh!” My sentiments exactly.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Holiday Show Deember 17, 2008


Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Swings Christmas at Cerritos

By Glen Creason



Big Bad Voodoo Daddy brought some intoxicating Christmas cheer to the Center for the Performing Arts at midweek, leaving the holiday clichés out and injecting a swinging eclecticism into the proceedings that pleased the packed house from the boxes to the balconies. The solidly stylish group dressed up some little known classics in double-breasted suits and fedoras while eschewing the soft stuff and swinging the big and festive hall for a full-throttle ninety minutes of fun. It was like one of those exotically named cocktails of Yule yore, a delicious concoction filled with old libations that mixed appropriately can have a euphoric effect. On this chilly night outside, it all worked to warm the faithful who even sang along a bit after loosening up with some chair boogie and a lot of blasting brass. The band came out strong, rather like shot from cannon and did not take a breath that wasn’t full of rhythm. Leader Scotty Morris stands up front, singing and playing his guitar alongside smiling, Der-Binglesque bassist Dirk Shumaker while drummer Kurt Sodergren applies a swinging steady beat. On one side of the colorful stage is the very fine barrelhouse piano player Joshua Levy and on the other the essential and wildly wonderful horn section of Andy Rowley on saxophone, Glen .The Kid. Marhevka on trumpet, Alex Henderson on trombone and Karl Hunter on saxophones and clarinet. The thing that really sets the show apart, however is the song choices that ranged from all over the musical world.
Maybe some of these won’t appear on that K-Tel Christmas hits list but they are well worth adding to the Yule play list including the show-opening “Rockabilly Christmas,” “Santa Claus Boogie,” “Mister Heat Miser” “Christmastime in Tinseltown,” and the wild “Last Night I Went Out with Santa Claus” that all gave sounds of the season a sweeter outlook. There were others that were just turned a bit and made strangely tasty by the band’s outlook like a “Blue Christmas” with Louis Prima’s and Elvis’ groove made into a hybrid sound that worked well. Along with the holiday sounds the BBVD also played some fine old distilled gems like “Zig Zaggy Woop Woop” from the Big Easy and “A Party for Santa” straight out of the most obvious Christmas stronghold: the Caribbean. A set dedicated to the great Cab Calloway featuring “Jim Jam Jump,” “Hey Now,” and “Reefer Man” was sandwiched in between slices of other Yule candy including the sparkling “Go Santa Go” and the “Is That You Santa Claus” that while it wasn’t Satchmo is was pretty good. Tossed into the bag were some other hot numbers like the fiery “Jumpin Jack” that allowed every band member to shine and the evergreen “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Aint Got That Swing” along with the band’s hit “I Just Want to Be Like You” As the party progressed the horns just got tighter and stronger, finally reaching some crescendos that blew the brimmed hats off the gents in the audience. This kind of Christmas party you can get used to.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

A Charlie Brown Christmas December 8, 2008




A Family Affair: Charlie Brown’s Christmas at Cerritos

By Glen Creason


For those who think 1965 was a long time ago they might believe Charlie Brown’s Christmas has been around as long as Santa Claus and mega-malls. Most of us do not start to get into the holiday groove until we hear “Linus and Lucy” and one of my pals does the Charlie Brown happy holiday dance at this time of the year. This is a sight to see since he is a 6’5” middle-age man. As the Cerritos Yule starts to build up steam what better icon to signify the beginnings than our beloved Peanuts character and the memorable music from these animated Christmas specials that date back those forty-three short years. The perfect music man for the shows based on the cartoon strip drawn by the legendary Charles “Sparky” Schultz has been David Benoit for the last twenty years and certainly today he is the number one keeper of the Charlie Brown flame began by Vince Guaraldi in the original shows.
On this lovely night at the Performing Arts Center Benoit quite literally filled the sold-out hall with music and young people who were part of a grand celebration of the season. It is not that the musical proceedings were like a Raffi concert but the evening contained a perfect blend of Christmas, Charlie and even a little Be-Bop thrown in for flavor. The first half of the show was mostly the broader idea of Charlie Brown and David Benoit’s jazz quartet serving up slices of delicious, somewhat improvisational jazz along the show music themes. “You’re in Love, Charlie Brown,” and “Buggy Ride” warmed the chilled crowd and announced like a sleigh bell that this concert was not going to be a nodder or a plodder. “The Great Pumpkin Waltz” and “Wild Kids” stayed in the Charlie Brown repertoire but strayed from the Yule theme without losing any of the good cheer. The first half closed with some fine Benoit compositions including his current radio hit “Human Nature” that sounded fine in the context of the evening. Benoit has an excellent quartet lead by saxophonist Andy Suzuki who seems to have every nuance down. Of course, bassist David Hughes and tireless drummer Jamie Tate form the chain of excellence in this group, each outstanding at their instruments.
The second half of the show added much in the way of people and sentiment. This time David Benoit had the inspiring Asia America Youth Orchestra behind him and some other sparkling surprises to make the holiday merry and bright. Sticking to the familiar and beloved tunes of the Christmas specials the group performed stellar renditions of “Christmas Is Coming,” “Skating,” and a jazzy “O’Tannenbaum” with a Charles Schultz favorite “Pebble Beach” thrown in like a box of Sees candy. For dazzle he brought out gorgeous to see and hear Ashley Muniz who perfectly sang the little gem “Just Like Me” that contains a great message for the holidays. Here the show took a quantum leap in warmth as the “Lunada Bay Elementary School Music Department Choir” took the stage and took over the show. Cute they were in great variety but the surprising thing was how great they sang “My Little Drum,” and “Christmastime Is Here” plus contributing choreographically to Benoit’s sendoff “Linus and Lucy” that really and truly gladdened hearts all over the big, happy hall.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

"We Three Kings" by Perla Batalla, Eva Batalla-Mann and Claud Mann


“We Three Kings” by Perla Batalla
By Glen Creason


I must preface this by saying I am a Christmas music crab-ass who has searched since 1977 for the perfect Yule mix. I am sick unto death of re-hashes of “the Christmas Song,” “Jingle @#*&g? Bells” and “Have Yourself a…” no no I just can’t go on. Some songs MUST be left alone because they are the personal property of one singer or artist. No one but Nat King Cole should sing “Christmas Song,” even Mel Torme who wrote it and only Peggy Lee can do “Christmas Waltz.” Same for Judy Garland: that song I mentioned before and “White Christmas” shall be the private property of Der Bingle. I can’t imagine anyone working as hard as Mister Dynamite on “Christmas in the Ghetto” and certainly Frank Sinatra peaked not on “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” but on a radio performance of a swinging “Away in the Manger” where he refers to the savior as “that little cat Jesus.” Now, that’s good Christmas music!
Each year a new artist takes a crack at the little cat’s birth and despite their big talents they often flop due to tame choices. Even the deep deliciousness of Aaron Neville’s pipes can be made bland by too tried and true. There are the gold plated classics like John Fahey’s “New Possibility,” Emmylou Harris’ “Light of the Stable,” Saint Tony Bennett’s anything, the Roches “We Three Kings”or even my white-bearded brother Burl Ives who just rocks that “Holly Jolly Christmas.” And yes, I admit it, “Andy Williams Christmas,” its like wearing warm polyester again on a cold winter’s morning. These are the evergreens that never really get tired. Then there are more esoteric choices including the Bonanza Cast singing “We Wish You…etc.,” Cary Grant cooing “Christmas Lullaby,” Dale Watson’s wondrous “Christmas in Vegas” and the sweet evil of “Back Door Santa” by my man Clarence Carter.
All this brings me to the arrival in my mailbox of another “We Three Kings” this one by Perla Batalla with some help from her handsome hubby and talented teen daughter. This is not one of those holiday CDs you put into your computer and drag a single song to the old Imusic Xmas play list. You will want to import the whole disc and visit it often through December and beyond. The closest Ms. Batalla comes to forbidden territory is to poach on the Harry Simeone Chorale’s sacred “Drummer Boy” but Perla deftly sidesteps the minefield of sameness by transforming the wee percussionist and his story into a mixture of Spanish and ethereal English, turning it into a nice narrative where you don’t count the drumbeats until it is over. The title track, “We Three Kings” is impressively expansive and the melody is opened up to make the journey feel real and regal in auditory space. It helps that the voice is strong enough to take the ride from the Orient to Bethlehem leaving no notes behind. The oft heard “Joy to the World” is also sculpted around the surprisingly perfect “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” making for a treat as fine as fudge and divinity. The suddenly underrated “Christmastime Is Here” a la Charlie Brown with rarely heard lyrics and “Mary Had a Baby” are given a family harmony that really elevates their meaning along with showcasing the amazing voice of the then tweener Eva Batalla-Mann. We know Perla is one of the best in the land but is her kid going to get musically taller than her? “Noche de Paz” or “Silent Night” is an unexploded bomb of arcanery but Perla manages to pull it off, making it a lullaby, like the comfort of memories of the best Christmas morning ever.
There is more to avoid the trap of the Aunt Ladybug’s fruitcake kind of programming in the form of four secular songs that comprise a very strong set of pillars for this musical cathedral. Eva’s “Danny Boy” is incredibly sweet, filled with childlike innocence and purity that is hard to capture under any circumstances. You won’t find a song more beloved in the English language and this performance is as good as you will hear it sung. Nuff said. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as her mom just does her best singing ever on the remaining trio of songs. “The Water is Wide” seems tailored to the Perla Batalla voice and there is musical proof that she CAN cross over this melody with those pipes. This cut on this album is simply magnificent. The longtime Perla mentor and inspiration Leonard Cohen lends his former band-mate the majestic “Hallelujah” and she returns the favor by pouring heart and soul into a version that will be hard to top at any time of any year. Finally, the old dear chestnut “Auld Lang Syne” sadly finishes off the work which really is not for the broken of heart. Here it is a month from New Year’s Eve and I am already feeling a bit weepy.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

An Irish Christmas in America December 2, 2008


An Authentic Irish Christmas at Cerritos

By Glen Creason


The show “An Irish Christmas in America” came to Cerritos to commence the holiday celebrations here while demonstrating great originality and a refreshing adherence to real Celtic country traditions. No re-hash of the Christmas musak hall of shame warhorses, this concert lived up to its name and actually taught the locals a thing or two about the Irish Yule ways. So instead of stale readings of “Jingle Bells” or one more trudge through “the Christmas Song” we got to learn about “wren day” and the significance of January 6th and the celebration of St. Stephen, the day after Christmas. All this along with some lively jigs and reels mixed with the beautiful singing of sweet Cara Dillon.
This Irish Christmas was lots of Irish and a little Christmas but the spirit was in the air and the mood was light and joyful. The show is driven by the group Teada, four young fellas who play wonderfully together and keep it close to the traditional as can be done with electricity involved. The group provides fiddle (Oisan MacDiarmada) guitar (Sean McElwain), flute (Damian Stenson), pipes (Tommy Martin) and Irish drum called bodrhan (Tristan Rosenstock) along with lovely Grainne Hambly on Irish harp. The proceedings were enlivened by Sean-nos dancer Brian Cunningham who boosted the energy level every time he took to the stage. The feeling is homey and cozy for the most part but the ballads sung by Ms. Dillon were often bittersweet and tugged the heartstrings.
The songs Yanks might readily identify were “O Holy Night,” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” but our Christmas playlists were expanded along with our cultural literacy by hearing “Mary Bore a Child for God,” “White Blanket,” “Christmas Eve,” “Christmas in the Morning” and “a New Year Blessing” done in Gaelic mixed with English. There were a dozen excellent blood-stirring reels or jigs including “Ivy Leaf,” “Snow in the Hills, “Morning Star,” “Apples in Winter,” and “Frost is All Around,” in the holiday theme along with old favorites “Farewell to Erin,” “The Ships Are Sailing,” “Ellen McClain,” “Brittany O’Reilly” “Lark in the Clear Air,” “Wallop the Spot,” and “Leg of the Duck.” The young and nimble Mister Cunningham often bounced on stage to put body into music and Cara Dillon sang like a nightingale, especially on the very moving “Parting Glass” “the Chilly Winds of Winter” and the aforementioned “Mary Bore a Child for God.” One of the high points of the evening was harpist Grainne Hambly’s exquisite solo that was not identified from the stage.
Along with the merriment and the pathos of this Irish repertoire the audience was schooled in the lesser-known yuletide traditions of the Emerald Isle. Many of these take place in the time after Christmas day when the celebrations continue for a couple of weeks. There is the tale of “Wren’s day” when weird costumes are donned and revelers roam the streets searching for the bird that put the finger or feather on St. Stephen who was then martyred. Also the wild partying of the Mummers which was followed by the “Mummers jig” and January 6th when the tradition of allowing women a day away from all labor is supposedly celebrated. A large round of feminine applause rose up from the Cerritos house on that one. In this rather politically correct show there was little mention of the Celtic proclivity toward taking the water of life or the juice of Mister Guinness but the ancient Irish bent toward great music and fun was well captured.