AL FRESCO FOOTLIGHTS

‘Broadway Under the Stars’ makes theater a magical experience

There was the night of the flaming meteor.

During a 2012 performance of “Broadway Under the Stars” — staged, as always, in the open-air ruins of the old winery at Jack London State Historic Park in Santa Rosa — Broadway actress Victoria Matlock began to hit the high notes of “Memory,” the dramatic ballad from “Cats.”

That’s when the fiery light appeared in the sky and streaked toward the vineyard behind the stage, witnesses recall. The audience gasped.

It would be understandable if some thought Jack London himself had been sending a message from beyond the grave. After all, the author and adventurer once owned the winery and the surrounding acres of Sonoma County hills and forest. He lived and worked in the cottage overlooking the winery until his death at age 40 in 1916.

And he also penned the famous astral-themed credo about living life to the fullest: “I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. … The function of man is to live, not to exist.”

Meteors are not guaranteed at the Transcendence Theatre Company’s Broadway-themed musical reviews this summer. But the moon might make an appearance. And, if it’s not a rare foggy night, you’ll definitely see stars, “both in the night sky and on stage,” as dedicated fan Vickie Soultier says.

For the past seven years, the Sonoma-based troupe of entertainment pros has presented what fans call a uniquely entertaining, uplifting, only-in-Northern California theatrical experience. Each season consists of four song-anddance reviews of Broadway and pop music favorites.

But there’s more to the Transcendence experience than show tunes, and it’s embedded in the company’s mission to always strive, London-like, for moments in life and art beyond the ordinary, explains co-founder and executive director Stephan Stubbins.

One way the company has sought to make its art more meaningful is to forge strong bonds with the community. Stubbins and his fellow Transcendence co-founders, Broadway veterans like himself, came to Sonoma on the eve of a critical point in the park’s history. In 2011, the park was among 70 California state parks facing closure due to a state budget crisis. Transcendence members joined hundreds of other Sonoma County volunteers to find ways to keep the park open. The result was “Broadway Under the Stars,” a musical way to raise money for park support.

The 2018 season comes at another critical point in local history. In October, deadly wildfires tore through Sonoma and Napa counties. The Nuns fire killed two people, and it destroyed homes in Glen Ellen, including houses in a neighborhood at the base of the park.

Transcendence members evacuated their homes, while park volunteers prepared to remove valuable London artifacts from his cottage and from the park’s House of Happy Walls Museum. Ultimately, the fire shifted direction, and the park was spared, but Transcendence members have

since held benefits and other events to raise money for fire victims and help the community heal.

That means the show definitely will go on this summer. As in past seasons, each show’s cast and crew involves Broadway or Hollywood pros, who take up temporary residence in the area for several weeks. They participate in some of the company’s community service events, as well as the theatrics, in a gig that amounts to a fun, as well as artistically fulfilling, Wine Country work vacation.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that these actors, singers and dancers get to perform in an outdoor venue that looks out onto rolling vineyards and 2,463-foot Sonoma Mountain.

“Jack London State Park is one of the most magnificent parks in Northern California,” says longtime Sonoma resident and community activist Holly Kyle. She’s been a fan of Transcendence since the company staged its first concert at the winery in 2011.

For audiences, the “Broadway Under the Stars” experience starts well before the 7:30 p.m. showtime. The grounds open for picnicking around 5 p.m., with guests arriving with picnic basket in hand or gourmet salads, sandwiches and other fare purchased from the food trucks that line the property. Local beer and wine also are available. (Outside alcohol is prohibited.)

Then, it’s showtime. “It’s light when you go into the theater,” says Soultier. “And then it gets darker and darker, and the stars come out, both in the sky and on stage. It’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced before.”

That experience might draw on London’s flaming spirit. As Soultier tells it, it certainly fills audiences with the “magnificent glow” London described.