The Buzz: Return of ‘The Queen,’ local swashbucklers appear in ‘Peter Pan,’ and more

News, notes and tidbits from around Petaluma|

The former “Petaluma Queen” returning to Northern California: It’s been years (and years) since the Petaluma River was host to the gorgeous replica riverboat known as The Petaluma Queen. After some permitting issues in town back in the late 1990s, the Queen’s owner-captain Bill Barker elected to ship out, and the elegant vessel has spent its last seventeen years in Long Beach, serving as a party palace and dinner theater destination, operating under the name of The Grand Romance. Well, according to The Long Beach Press Telegram, the city commissioners in Long Beach have just terminated the riverboat’s docking permit, due to some sort of longstanding disagreement to do with electricity and storage.

Now, rumor is that the Romance will be making its way back up into Northern California waters at the end of the month, with plans to dock in Vallejo.

Any chance the one-time “Queen” will make a visit to her old stomping/floating grounds? We shall certainly see.

North Bay’s ‘Peter Pan,’ ‘Mamma Mia,’ and ‘The Fantasticks’ showcase Petaluma talent: There must be something in the water in Petaluma (or maybe in the butter and eggs), but it seems that we have more than our share of talented theatrical performers, as is evident from a glance at upcoming shows around the Bay Area. Beginning next weekend at Spreckels Performing Arts Center, the beloved musical “Peter Pan” will feature performances by Lucy London (in the role of Wendy), Ron Lam (one of Captain Hook’s pirates), and Anderson Templeton (Nana the dog, and the clock-swallowing, Hook-hungering Crocodile). “Peter Pan” runs May 4-20, with a special fundraising preview performance (including food, games, meet-and-greets with the cast, desert and magical auction treasures) on Thursday, May 3. (Ticket information can be acquired at Spreckelsonline.com).

Later in May, Petaluma’s Anne Marie Pietersma will be singing and dancing to Abba tunes as part of the vast ensemble of the Mountain Play’s epic outdoor production of “Mamma Mia,” in the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre high atop Marin County’s Mt. Tamalpais. The show runs Sundays, May 20 through June 17, with one Saturday show (a singalong show, no less) on June 9. Information can be found at MountainPlay.org.

Then, right here in Petaluma, resident clown-actor/actor-clown James Pelican will appear in Cinnabar’s June production of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones’ musical “The Fantasticks,” in which Pelican will play Henry (the Old Actor). It’s a very physical role, which should suit the elastic-boned Pelican extremely well.

And speaking of favorite musicals, beginning on Friday, May 18, Petaluma’s Carl Jordan will be directing Marin Onstage’s new production of the popular two-actor musical “The Last Five Years,” at Belrose Theater in San Rafael. A bittersweet tale, told almost entirely in song, the show tells the story of a doomed romance, backwards and forwards at the same time. Info at MarinOnstage.com.

Surprised by generosity (and caffeine): On April 17, Ralph Scott - supervising producer of Petaluma Radio Players - was in his car, waiting in line at the Java Hut near the Fairgrounds, when he noticed something interesting about the black hatchback in front of him.

“The driver’s side of the rear window was adorned with stickers like ‘Nature is my God,’ ‘I read Savage Henry,’ ‘Sonoma Coast’ and others, suggesting a tree-hugging attendee at Burning Man,” Scott told THE BUZZ, adding, “The driver was probably a recent grad from Berkeley. Naturally, there was a red, white and blue skull for ‘The Dead.’ Suddenly, she pulled off. Clearly not enough time, I figured, to have received her drinks from the coeds on the inside of the window. Or maybe I had turned away and missed the transaction.”

When Scott pulled up to the window, one of the baristas informed him, “She got your stuff.”

“I tried to reconcile it,” he continued the tale. “?‘Got my stuff?’ Meaning she had inadvertently taken my tall drip coffee with an inch of half-and-half, three Sugar-in-the-Raws, and a banana nut muffin? ‘Say again?’ I asked the young woman. ‘She bought your drink,’ she said, flatly, her tone suggesting ‘What part of this don’t you understand?’”

Once the facts of the matter sunk in, Scott did the next logical thing.

“I bought the drinks for the guy behind me, and drove off,” he said, adding, “I wonder how many of the people queued up behind him encountered a day-changer as well?”

(Have an item to suggest to the BUZZ. Got a cool short, local story to tell? Write David at david.templeton@arguscourier.com)

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