Christina Waters

Staff Writer

‘The Man in The Iron Mask’

Charles Pasternak plays both the king and his imprisoned brother in 'The Man in The Iron Mask.' (r.r. jones)

Shakespeare Santa Cruz unveiled its world premiere production of The Man in the Iron Mask

with a rollicking flourish on July 28 in the incomparable Festival Glen. The plot-bending reconstruction of the Dumas classic by Scott Wentworth (who also directs this season’s Henry IV: Part II) offered up great helpings of slapstick, melodrama and multiple endings to the energetic tale of aging musketeers recalled to service in the aid of France’s true king, imprisoned in the Bastille.

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California Beer Festival Coming to Aptos

The California Beer Festival comes to Aptos Village Park Saturday, July 28.

The California Beer Festival, your basic craft beer extravaganza, is coming to Aptos Village Park this Saturday, July 28. Let’s see, that’s 70 craft brews on tap, three live bands including “Foreverland”—an unforgettable tribute to Michael Jackson—plus mouthwatering food and bocce ball. Michael Jackson and bocce ball in one afternoon—life is good! CBF sounds like hog heaven for any beer aficionado, especially fans of handcrafted suds. Know that this event will sell out, space is very limited. Proceeds will benefit student athletes in Santa Cruz County.

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Laura Karpman, Chief ‘Girl’

Composer Laura Karpman says her experience with film and TV helped on the 'Hidden World of Girls' project.

Laura Karpman’s resumé looks like the result of a life without downtime. The genre-bending lead composer for Hidden World of Girls has won four Emmys for her sci-fi television scores and written music for video games, film, opera, string quartets and world premiere commissions. “I definitely do collaboration,” Karpman says. “All of these concert music pieces I’ve done lately so profoundly draw from my work as a film composer.  Even the really technical stuff came directly from the TV work.”

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Hidden World of Girls

'Hidden World of Girls' premieres July 28 as part of the Cabrillo Music Festival. Photo by Terry Way Photography.

What does it mean to grow up female? An ambitious multimedia collaboration between NPR’s Kitchen Sisters and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music explores a dynamic question through sound, light, story and music. Hidden World of Girls</i has its world premiere Saturday, July 28 in Santa Cruz.

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Odonata Wines Makes Itself at Home

New Odonata Tasting Room Cozily located right next door to Companion Bakers, in the former New Leaf/Beckmann’s strip, Denis Hoey’s spiffy new Odonata Tasting Room offers plenty of tasting, fun food ops and sleek vintage woodwork. Hoey, who still makes his wines in the Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard space near Kelly’s, is still finetuning his new tasting space.

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Roswell Hour at Bonny Doon Vineyard

Prices so low, aliens must be in charge. Photo by Christina Waters.

Getting Doon cheaply is what’s in store if you stop by the Tasting Room from 3pm to 6pm, any day but Saturday. During those hours you’ll be able to savor a glass of Bonny Doon Vineyards wine at half price—51 percent off, to be precise. It doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to know that this is a bargain of extraterrestrial proportions, and another reason to consider the Ingalls Street watering hole as Santa Cruz’ answer to Area 51.

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