Chronicle Staff January 18, 2021Updated: February 24, 2021, 7:19 am
The Chronicle’s guide to notable arts and entertainment happenings in the Bay Area.
James Monroe Iglehart and Taylor Iman Jones join Ray of Light for ‘Lizzie’ rebroadcast
For two decades, Ray of Light Theatre has rebelled against the notion that musical theater is a light, fluffy diversion, a mission made clear in its motto: “Blood. Sweat. Musicals.”
The “blood” bailiwick was especially well served by the company’s 2015 take on “Lizzie,” the Tim Maner, Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt rock musical about Lizzie Borden, who was tried for a double ax murder in 1892. The show imagines one of American history’s most gruesome crimes with both humor (song titles include “40 Whacks” and “What the F ”) and poignancy: “In the house of Borden there’s a lock on every door; in every room, a prisoner of a long, silent war.”
The 50-year-old said he developed neurotoxicity while working in the automotive industry, his exposure to chemicals and solvents causing damage to his brain. He moved in with his mother at age 27, no longer able to work or navigate high-stimulus situations. “Disability can be extremely isolating,” Kane said. “But Sophie encourages social interaction. She puts a smile on people’s faces, and it’s infectious. That lifts your day.” Kane’s story features in a new book,
Friends Indeed by Sue Allison, which focuses on 41 people and their assistance dogs. The book also features blind Wellington man George Taggart, who was stopped from boarding a bus because the driver did not believe poodle Guss was a guide dog; an Afghanistan veteran with complex regional pain syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder supported by German shepherd Delta; and a 15-year-old quadruple amputee whose Labrador Charlotte starts the working day by helping her dress.
“Sometimes she wants to cross the road when I don’t want to, and she insists on the window seat in the van – she’s got a very good life.’’ Opal is a great companion too, and has given Taylor someone to care for and talk to – something he couldn’t do with his white cane.
EMMA DANGERFIELD/Stuff
Lady has changed the lives of 12-year-old Lachlan and his family. “Sometimes I might take the cane to the fish and chip shop at night if it’s been a hot day – I’ll only be out for half an hour, but she treats me like I’m just back from the Second World War.’’