Two Bankhead Theatre Visits

Frank and I attended two shows at our local Livermore Bankhead Theatre within one week: a matinee puppet show with Alex on Sunday, October 16th and an evening concert show Friday, October 21st. The theatre is a one mile walk or five minute drive from our house, so an afternoon or evening performance is easy-peasy.

AFTERNOON WITH PUPPETS
With Alex we watched a show we have actually seen before (post for February 19, 2018), a DLUX puppet performance of Alice in Wonderland. It was so good then that we thought is was worth repeating. Some of the novelty had faded, and perhaps Alex's interests have morphed, but it was not as stellar the second time around. But we are always on the lookout for bowling alternatives to do with Alex on our Sunday visits and this fit the bill fairly well. I was surprised that the husband and wife team of Derek and Lauren Lux are still doing this show, although the company DLUX puppets, is now based in Las Vegas.

In the Feb 2018 post I featured the puppets for Rabbit and the Red Queen. This post I feature the Caterpillar who has no feature song (he's not a singing kind of guy) and Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee who are Happy Together 🎶. By the way, the 1967 hit by the Turtles, Happy Together 🎶, was the exit song my daughter and son-in-law used at the close of their wedding ceremony.

Here is a three minute trailer that conveys the flavor of the show well and showcases all the huge creative puppets involved.

EVENING OF MONKEES MEMORIES
Later in the same week, Friday night, October 25th, Frank and I went to see a performance by Micky Dolenz the last surviving member of the 1960's rock band The Monkees. Dolenz had six other musicians with him on the stage as backup or as an occasional lead singer (his sister Coco, for example). 

While the performance was going on, there was a huge backdrop with projected scenes from the TV show or some of the live performances of the original foursome. I remember some of those scenes from the TV show that I faithfully watched in my youth. The Monkees NBC sitcom ran for two seasons in 1966-68. Per Monkees Fandom

The Monkees were a rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose line-up consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conceived in 1965 by television producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the situation comedy series of the same name (described by Dolenz as "a TV show about an imaginary band ... that wanted to be the Beatles ... [but] was never successful".)

Davy Jones was reputed to be the heart throb of the band but I remember liking Micky best because he had the best hair. By the way... that was what first attracted me to my husband Frank – his great thick hair that he wore neatly clipped, not in the long straggly hippies style of the times. Frank's side burns were huge mutton chops, however, and his mustache was rather large. It could strain spaghetti.

The majority of the songs Micky Dolenz performed with his backup musicians were from the Monkees' TV show and albums; I enjoyed the familiarity of those tunes. At points the music was really LOUD, given my present age, too loud, but that was usually for songs I did not necessarily attribute to the Monkees. The songs were interspersed with stories Micky told. During their visit with the Beatles, John Lennon greeted him as "Mohnkey Mahn (with British Accent). In one tale Micky spoke of introducing himself to Glenn Campbell. Glenn reminded Micky that Glenn had played backup guitar for one of Micky's recordings. Whoops! (Glenn Campbell's guitar skills are renown for their excellence and there are many, many recordings where Glenn is not the star but the unsung incredible backup.)

The 1966-1968 NBS TV sitcom series with 2 seasons and 58 episodes is currently not available to stream from any platform. When it is, I will indulge my nostalgia and watch some episodes. Here is the information for the Monkees who have passed on. Davy Jones died in 2012 (age 66 of heart attack), Peter Tork died in 2019 (age 77 of cancer), and Mike Nesmith recently died in 2021 (age 78 of heart failure) shortly after completing a 2021 tour with Micky Dolenz. Born March 8, 1945, Micky Dolenz, the last surviving member of the Monkees is 78 and still dazzled our audience with a bit of fancy footwork as he quick-stepped across the stage and belted out some oldies but goodies. It is the closing of an era. I am glad I got to see it.