MOTHER GOOSE: THE BRITISH PANTO Comes to City Theatre

Sacramento City College's City Theatre brings a new British panto to the stage: Mother Goose. The comedy-filled production opens Friday, November 17, and plays through Sunday, December 10. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on November 17, 18, 24, 25, and December 1, 2, 8, and 9; and at 2:00 p.m. on November 19, 26, and December 3 and 10. Performances will be held in the Art Court Theatre in the Performing Arts Center on the Sacramento City College campus at 3835 Freeport Blvd. in Sacramento. Ticket prices are $20 for General Admission; $15 for Seniors, SARTA Members, Veterans/Military Personnel, and Persons with Disabilities; and $10 for Students. Tickets may be purchased online or in person thirty minutes before the performance begins. All details and tickets are available online at CityTheatre.net.

Join Mother Goose on her farm-to-fork ranch in the El Dorado Hills, where she cooks up home grown meals for everyone, and where she and Father Goose, and the kids, try to meet the economic challenges of running a generous cafe, and resist the challenges of possible fame and fortune. And there's the goose who lays the golden eggs.

Christine has been teaching Theatre at the University/College level for over twenty years, directing professionally for over twenty years, and has been a working actor since the 1980s. She is an Associate Producer/Director for the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival, a founding member of The Splinter Group Theatre (a theatre dedicated to Panto), and a member of the Wildflower Women's Ensemble. She's directed TWELFTH NIGHT (twice), ROMEO AND JULIET, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO for the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival, HAMLET and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM for Sacramento State University, and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at both UC Berkeley and the Sacramento Theatre Company. She's also adapted and directed 10 productions for Sacramento City College's Shakespeare Lite Program. She played Feste/TWELFTH NIGHT at Big Idea Theatre; Rosalind /AS YOU LIKE IT at Tahoe Shakespeare; Antipholus/COMEDY OF ERRORS, Emilia/OTHELLO, and Lady Macbeth at the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival; and title roles in /KING LEAR and MACBETH, Angelo/MEASURE FOR MEASURE, Dogberry/MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, Friar Lawrence/ROMEO AND JULIET for the Wildflower Women's Ensemble. Other favorite roles include Martha/WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf, Anna/CLOSER, and Greta/CARTHAGINIANS. Christine holds an MFA in Theatre from UC Davis (Irish Drama focus).

Luther Hanson studied theatre at UC Irvine, and British Literature at San Diego State University. He has acted for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Rep, The Old Globe Theatre, Western Stage, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, Sacramento Theatre Company, Summer Repertory Theatre, and Synergy Stage. He has directed for City Theatre and the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival. He teaches acting and playwriting at Sacramento City College, and he is the Festival Director for the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival. Luther has written a collection of short one-acts called THE SILLIEST STUFF THAT E'ER I HEARD, as well as several full-length plays, including KING ARTHUR (in the style of Shakespeare); BITE ME, CLEOPATRA; MY LITTLE DRUID; MALVIOLO'S REVENGE; ANOTHER AS YOU LIKE IT REUNION; and adaptations of MR.TOAD and A CHRISTMAS CAROL. He has co-written a number of British Pantos with Christine Nicholson.

MOTHER GOOSE: THE BRITISH PANTO is directed by Luther Hanson. The artistic team includes Shawn Weinsheink (scenic design), Nicole Sivell (costume design), and Isaiah Leeper (lighting design).

The cast includes Jake Brooks, Veronica Dressel, Deandre Fritz, Sheli Haerter, Tem Huerta, Sinead Kennedy, Phillip Kim, Jim Laferriere, Mia Matista, Holly Nicola, Skye Owens, Julia Pickens, Bill Qarau, Mike Sicilia, and Marcus Wilson.

City Theatre is the performing arts program at Sacramento City College, part of the Los Rios Community College District, in Sacramento, California. City Theatre's season consists of four Mainstage productions, two Storytime children's productions, and the elementary school touring troupe known as The Pennywhistle Players. Storytime Theatre returned in the Spring of 2023 and hopes to continue in the Spring of 2024. The Pennywhistle Players troupe is currently on hiatus. During the summer, City Theatre produces the annual Sacramento Shakespeare Festival. The company welcomes all students and members of the community to audition and participate in their award-winning productions.