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John Fisher’s “Cleopatra: The Musical” 

Berkeley July 2000-UC Berkeley Department of Dramatic Art/Center for Theater Arts had added a preview performance and two Thursday performances to its run of “Cleopatra: The Musical.” The play will be performed at the Zellerbach Playhouse from July 27 through August 13, 2000. Written and directed by award-winning playwright and direct John Fisher, “Cleopatra: The Musical” is a gender-bending, musical parody of the Caesar/Clropatra/Anthony love triangle, chock-full of flamboyant production numbers that satirize scheming politicos, theatrical ambition, and epic romance. In this hilarious burlesque of musical comedy aesthetics, Fisher brings us camp comedy at its most outrageous. Women play men, men play women, and Caesar is reincarnated as the obnoxious nine-year-old child, Caesarian, of Caesar and Cleopatra. The production is rife with exaggerated battle scenes, bawdy lyrics, and salacious. 

John Fisher is the recipient to two Will Gilckman Playwright Awards (for “Combat” and “Medea: the Musical”), four Bay Area Theater Critics Awards, the Bay Guardian Goldie Award (“The Joy of Gay Sex”), the Eisner Prize, The Phyllis Wattis Fellowship (“Titus!”), and two Cable Car Awards for Best Theatrical Production ( “Medea: The Musical” and “The Joy of Gay Sex”). He has written and directed “Titus!” (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco), :Combat!” (UC Berkeley, San Francisco), :Medea: The Musical” (UC Berkeley, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sonoma County), “The Joy of Gay Sex” (UC Berkeley, San Francisco), and “Napoleon: The Musical” as the Mainstage Production for the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen Colorado. In Los Angeles, the play garnered four LA Weekly Awards, a Garland Award from Backstage West, and the 2000 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding L.A. Theater. His newest play “Barebacking,” premiered at Theater Rhinoceros in April and “Partisans” premiered at UC Berkeley in October, 1999. John makes his Seattle debut this summer with “Medea: The Musical” at the ArtsWest Theater. He is the recipient of the Townsend, Regents, and Wheeler Fellowships and is a member of the Advisory Board at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. 

“Cleopatra: The Musical” opens Friday, July 28 at the Zellerbach Play house on the UC Berkeley campus. The play previews on Thursday, July 27 and runs through Sunday, August 13. Evening performances are July 27, 28, 29 and August 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12 at 8:00 PM. Matinee performances are July 30 and August 6, 13 at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $12.00 general admission; $8.00 for faculty/staff; and $6.00 for students/seniors. 

Tickets are available through Ticketweb at www.ticketweb.com or by calling 510-601-8932. For more information on Department of Dramatic Art and Center for Theater Art events, check out their web site at http://ls.berkeley.edy/dept/theater/index.html or contact Genevieve Turcotte at 510-642-8262. 

School Vouchers 2000: Giving parents and kids a choice 

Redwood City – the California Secretary of State’s office announced that the School Vouchers 2000 initiative will be Proposition number 38 on the November ballot. 

“Proposition 28 will offer every parent the chance to choose the best education for their child, guarantee a higher public school per pupil spending than the current system, and do it all without a tax increase,” said parent and Proposition 38 proponent Tim Draper. 

“The vouchers provided by Proposition 38 will mean parents can rescue their kids that are trapped in failing school,” continued Draper. “Proposition 38 means a chance at success for kids who are trapped in a system that is ranked 49th in the country in math and reading and where a third of California’s ninth-graders will never receive a high school diploma.” 

For more information on School Vouchers 2000, visit the web site at www.schoolvouchers2000.com. 

College Ave. construction 

The City of Berkeley will be starting street reconstruction of College Ave. beginning July 18. Construction will last throughout the summer and extend from Dwight way to the southern city limits. All northbound traffic will be detoured to three alternative routes. and parking will be unavailable within the immediate construction zone during work hours. Parking will be available at the parking lot on Russell Street between Benvenue and College. Residents are encourages to observe all no parking sign, tie or keep pets from work site, and use either bicycles or carpool around the area. Transit riders can call Berkeley Trip at 644-7665 for revised schedules. Check the city website at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us or call Berkeley’s public workers department at 644-6540 for more information. 

Home at Last Animal Rescue fundraiser 

Members of the entire Bay Area community will gather Sunday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz in a special event of sharing and caring for Bay Area homeless animal. 

The event will raise money for the Homes At Last Animal Rescue, an all-volunteer animal Rescue organization which takes dogs and cats primarily from the Berkeley Municipal Animal Shelter, places them in foster homes and ultimately permanent homes with loving families, saving their lives. 

Over the course of the past three years, Home At Last has rescued and saved from imminent death over 400 animals. Recognizing the innate value of many animals not considered immediately “adaptable,” HAL helps a real cross-section of homeless cats and dogs.