Culture

Best attitude in a marching band
The Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh
UC Davis
This fall marks the 70th anniversary of the California Aggie Marching Band-uh, that crazed legion of marching musicians who play their hearts out at just about every men’s and women’s sporting event held at UC Davis. The really cool thing about the BAND-uh is the randomness with which an average Davis resident might find band members charging around downtown Davis, drums pounding, stopping once in a while to blast out a tune, maybe “Smoke on the Water” or “Runaway” or “Hazy Shade of Winter” with trumpets and Sousaphones blaring. Now 200 members strong and traveling to games as far away as Connecticut, North Dakota and Texas, the band-uh is one of the biggest and boldest on the national college circuit. Musical directors Dan Singletary and Jonathan Elkus are the music brains and spirit behind the band, though, it turns out, most band members are not music majors.

Best dramatic comeback
Celebration Arts
4469 D St., (916) 455-2787
We love and respect this local theater company for its innovative, multicultural approach to both classic and modern theatrical works, but for a while there, C.A. was in a slump, pushing back performance dates and struggling with performer dropout right and left—which resulted in a certain anemic quality in the shows. But that was then. The good news now is that the past season has been phenomenal, with powerful productions of August Wilson’s Fences, Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi Is Dead and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Just what we hope for from Sacramento’s most exciting company.

Best place to get your multi-arts fix
The Thistle Dew Dessert Gallery and Theatre
1901 P St., (916) 444-8209
The Thistle Dew is a one-stop arts fest, with an art gallery upstairs and a theater, coffee and gourmet dessert counter tucked away downstairs. So whether it’s paintings, drawings or plays that set your heart a pounding, you’ll find it all here. And it’s probably the only place this side of San Francisco where a sinful dessert comes free with the purchase of a theater ticket. It’s our idea of paradise.

Best ambassador for theater arts
Bradley Moates
When he was the frontman for the Sacramento Theatre Company, Bradley was a godsend to the SN&R. He knows practically every show ever written and everyone who’s performed in them, and he’s generous with his knowledge. And as a performer, he’s sheer delight, picking the most interesting and eccentric productions, from the revival of Jumbo to Chess, Falsettos and the occasional chic, piano-backed Noel Coward show; he shows us how it’s done when it’s done well, and he makes everyone around him feel as if they could step up and do it, too.

Best theatrical Earth goddess
Myrtle Stephens
You probably already know Myrtle Stephens. She’s behind so much in area arts. She’s hard to track down, though, because she’s so busy making sure people have a place where they can learn to act, sing, dance or write and perform their own poetry. In case you don’t know, Myrtle Stephens is the magic behind Celebrations Arts, the umbrella organization that comprises a host of arts outreach programs. Sacramento just wouldn’t be the arts town it is without Myrtle.

Best use of a boat
Delta King Theatre’s Synergy Stage
1000 Front St., (916) 444-5464
It’s hard to believe, but Old Sacramento’s Delta King riverboat had a spare theater tucked away that it wasn’t using until Stephanie Gularte and her band of merry players decided it was time to put the stage to use. The result has been a happy and exciting one as Gularte and friends have staged a scintillating assortment of dramas and comedies on the river. At intermission, you can saunter upstairs to the bar and enjoy the cool breeze with a glass of wine in hand—it’s the very best that Old Sac has to offer.