Petaluma Buzz: LumaCon returns, Petaluma director helms acclaimed drag queen play

LumaCon returns this month, but don’t wait to grab your tickets: Exciting news, comic book fans. LumaCon, Petaluma’s popular annual celebration of comics and comic artists, returns for 2022. But with a capacity of 900 attendees (to limit potential COVID-19 spread), tickets — which became available Jan. 3 — are sure to go quickly.

Taking place Saturday, Jan. 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Petaluma Community Center at Lucchesi Park, the eccentric, youth-oriented event is presented by Petaluma libraries, and offers workshops and classes in addition to an array of professional and youth artists displaying their works.

More than 30 youth artists have already signed up for a table in Artists’ Alley. Illustrator Gio Benedetti will conduct a talk about creating comic books with kids, and Robert E. Barnes, who’s made monsters for Lucasfilm and others, will share stories about his career.

Cosplay is again encouraged, with prizes for authenticity, craftsmanship, creative interpretation and overall presentation awarded in kids and teens categories. Young writers are encouraged to submit Drabbles (100-word stories based on some kind of fandom) online by Jan. 21, with winners announced at the LumaCon.

Though admission is free, tickets must be obtained in advance for anyone attending or participating in indoor events, including babies. To register and for all the information, visit LumaCon.net.

Petaluma’s Carl Jordan directs Elvis/drag queen show at 6th Street Playhouse: “The Legend of Georgia McBride,” the new show originally scheduled to open this weekend at Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse - but postponed a week due to COVID-19 concerns - is directed by Carl Jordan, the award-winning Petaluma régisseur.

Régisseur.

That’s a fancy word for a person who stages a grand theatrical production.

“Georgia McBride,” nominated for a 2016 Drama Desk award for Best New Off-Broadway play, tells the story of a down-on-his-luck Elvis impersonator forced to step in as a member of a drag queen act, who discovers that he’s not just good at it — he’s born for it. Jordan recently directed “Sunset Boulevard” for Sonoma Arts Live. The current play, written by Matthew Lopez (“The Whipping Man”), runs weekends through February 6 (with six performances having been added to accommodate the shut-down this weekend).

For tickets and information visit 6thStreetPlayhouse.com.

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