SSU Theatre Arts What makes the two young women of Victorian England say “yes” to the men who have come to court them? It’s not their males’ social status, character, charm or good looks, but their (supposed) name: Ernest. There is, both women confess, something in that name [...]

Santa Rosa Junior College give us an intimate and enjoyable look at love in “Prelude to a Kiss.”

Upheaval comes in “The Cherry Orchard,” Santa Rosa Junior College’s latest theatrical production. An aristocratic Russian family in 1904 is broke and about to lose the estate that its ancestors have owned for generations. After a long absence, they return to the land shortly before it will be sold to pay off the mortgage. However, they seem ill prepared to do much more than beg relatives to help save it. The estate’s radiant, white-blossomed cherry orchard becomes a symbol of all they have lost.

Thursday’s packed house and prolonged standing ovation attest that this show is one for the ages for the college’s Theatre Arts department. The cast, crew and orchestra have shown they can pull off with style one of the more demanding musical blockbusters of our era.

The 6th Street Playhouse has revived its 2012 production, with many of the same cast members presenting its zany version of a man who becomes caught up with pre-World War II espionage, accused of murder and faced with trying to thwart the theft of a great national secret.

It’s your last chance to see the big green ogre at SRT. Take my advice and don’t miss it.