LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A broad range of musical styles on the keyboard will be presented at the Soper Reese Theatre on Sunday, March 16, by seven well-known pianists from the region.

Musicians will combine their talent and years of experience to benefit fundraising efforts for the arts and education in Lake County.

The Lake County Friends of Mendocino College is partnering with the Soper Reese Theatre to sponsor the third annual Benefit Pianists Concert. The afternoon begins at 2 p.m. with a no-host reception, followed by the concert at 3 p.m.

Raffle tickets for baskets of Lake County products donated by businesses and individuals will be sold during the reception and intermission.

Lake County artists Tom Aiken, Tom Ganoung, and David Neft will be joined by performers Spencer Brewer, Elena Casanova, Elizabeth MacDougall and Ed Reinhart from Mendocino County.

The concert will feature all the pianists on stage throughout the afternoon as they converse about their life experiences and play a variety of musical selections.
 
Tickets are $25 for regular reserved and $30 for premium reserved and may be purchased at the box office on Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., or by phone to 707-263-0577.

The Soper Reese is located at 275 S. Main St. in Lakeport.

The Travel Center in the Shoreline Shopping Center, 1265 S. Main St., Lakeport, also sells tickets, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online at www.soperreesetheatre.com .

“The Lake County Friends, an affiliate of the Mendocino College Foundation, was created to benefit students and programs at the Lake Center. We are delighted that proceeds from this benefit concert will enable us to help equip the first Chemistry laboratory at the Lake Center campus in Lakeport,” said Wilda Shock, chairperson of Friends.

Proceeds from the past concerts have funded a $1,000 scholarship for a Lake County student and tutors at the Lake Center. More information about the Friends is available from Shock at 707-263-7575.

The Soper Reese Theatre is a restored performing arts venue operated by an all-volunteer management team under the auspices of the Lake County Arts Council.

“Concert proceeds will be dedicated to the next phases of renovation, including expansion of the lobby and new restrooms,” according to theater Executive Director Mike Adams.

NON-STOP (Rated PG-13)

The business of being an action hero is not the exclusive domain of younger actors.

The slogan “Old Guys Rule” is not just for baseball caps and T-shirts worn by card-carrying AARP members who are not necessarily physically fit specimens.

The “old guys” are now ruling as tough guys with a purpose, namely meting out justice or payback. Kevin Costner demonstrated his machismo in “3 Days to Kill,” and now Liam Neeson is acting out toughness in the airborne-thriller “Non-Stop.”

In recent years, with films like “Unknown” and the “Taken” franchise, Neeson has morphed into a kick-ass tough guy hell-bent on dishing out punishing vengeance to all sorts of malevolent players deserving a severe beat-down.

Another key element in evidence for the older action heroes is that typically they are essentially flawed characters, or at least they have lived long enough to have accumulated a fair share of emotional baggage.

That’s certainly the case for Liam Neeson’s tortured Bill Marks, a federal air marshal struggling with personal demons that seemingly have drained him of any passion for the heroic calling of his profession.

On a gloomy day at the airport parking lot in New York, we first glimpse Marks mustering the will, if not desire, to report for duty on a transatlantic flight. He takes a few swigs of scotch followed by squirts of breath freshener.

“Non-Stop” is pure suspense and action. It’s also the story of a man in need of redemption. By all appearances, Marks has given up on life. The alcoholic ex-NYPD cop is merely going through the motions, but for a routine flight, he’s definitely on edge.

During the check-in and boarding process, Marks, though bleary-eyed but still sharp, encounters some fellow passengers who will soon become quite familiar. Like him, we may find ourselves formulating some judgments about potential danger ahead.

Shortly into the flight to London, Marks begins receiving text messages over the plane’s secure network, demanding that he force the airline, a fictional British carrier, to transfer $150 million into a secret offshore account lest a passenger be killed every 20 minutes.

Clearly up against a clever yet psychotic adversary, Marks has to figure out the source of the taunting threats. Another air marshal (Anson Mount) on board is not helpful, as he dismisses Marks as a delusional drunk.

Not on friendly terms with the pilots, Marks finds his only trustworthy ally is flight attendant Nancy (Michelle Dockery). In addition, he initially believes his seatmate Jen Summers (Julianne Moore) above suspicion because at least she isn’t texting.

While most passengers appear to be ordinary folks, there are others that look shifty. One promising terrorist suspect is the Muslim doctor (Omar Metwally), but he’s an obvious diversion. Other shady-looking types sweat too profusely or twitch nervously.

The story’s puzzle elements evoke classic Hitchcock whodunits, which is all the more exciting and suspenseful due to the claustrophobic nature of the action being contained in a vessel traveling at the speed of 500 miles with no escape possible.

The greatest twist, of course, is that suspicion is eventually cast upon the air marshal, and it is up to Marks to use his wits to fight an unseen enemy and to combat the false impressions that have come to the attention of the authorities.

Without giving away any of the surprises in store, suffice it to say that a few people are killed early on, mostly as a device to throw more suspicion upon Marks as the culprit.

The killer is somewhere on the plane and the audience is just as unaware of the person’s identity as the air marshal. Indeed, although there are a number of red herrings, the discovery of who is behind the crimes is left to the very end.

“Non-Stop,” though often preposterous, is a heart-pounding ride and a visual spectacle that puts the audience on the edge of its seat. Not knowing who to trust, you are left suspecting everyone.

You wonder about the surly Austin (Corey Stoll), who identifies himself as a NYPD cop but comes across as too anxious. What about the nerdy Tom Bowen (Scott McNairy), a true oddball? Zack (Nate Parker) may be too handy with his computer expertise.

A compelling presence, Liam Neeson gets a decent share of physical confrontations that reveal his dogged resilience as a credible action figure, but much of the battle is fought on a psychological front where wits are more vital than brawn.

“Non-Stop” is a thrill ride, pure and simple, with plenty of nerve-racking suspense. If you enjoyed Liam Neeson’s relentless quest for vengeance in “Taken,” you will find comfort here in his serious pursuit of justice.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Second Sunday Cinema's March film will be “Inequality for All.”

The film will be shown on Sunday, March 9, at Clearlake United Methodist Church, 14521 Pearl Ave, Clearlake.

The free showing will begin at 5:45 p.m.

A passionate argument on behalf of the middle class, this documentary film features Robert Reich – diminutive professor, best-selling author, and President Clinton’s secretary of labor – as he demonstrates how the widening income gap has a devastating impact on the US economy as a whole and the middle class in particular.

Through his singular perspective, Reich explains how the massive consolidation of wealth by a few threatens the viability of the US workforce and the foundation of democracy itself.

Out of 141 countries, the US has the fourth-highest degree of wealth inequality in the entire world, trailing only Russia, Ukraine and Lebanon.  

The greater the wealth gap, the less happy the nation as a whole. And Reich has solutions in addition to a warm wit.

For more information call 707-889-7355.

Here’s another lovely poem to honor the caregivers among us. Amy Fleury lives and teaches in Louisiana.

Ablution

Because one must be naked to get clean,
my dad shrugs out of his pajama shirt,
steps from his boxers and into the tub
as I brace him, whose long illness
has made him shed modesty too.
Seated on the plastic bench, he holds
the soap like a caught fish in his lap,
waiting for me to test the water’s heat
on my wrist before turning the nozzle
toward his pale skin. He leans over
to be doused, then hands me the soap
so I might scrub his shoulders and neck,
suds sluicing from spine to buttock cleft.
Like a child he wants a washcloth
to cover his eyes while I lather
a palmful of pearlescent shampoo
into his craniotomy-scarred scalp
and then rinse clear whatever soft hair
is left. Our voices echo in the spray
and steam of this room where once,
long ago, he knelt at the tub’s edge
to pour cups of bathwater over my head.
He reminds me to wash behind his ears,
and when he judges himself to be clean,
I turn off the tap. He grips the safety bar,
steadies himself, and stands. Turning to me,
his body is dripping and frail and pink.
And although I am nearly forty,
he has this one last thing to teach me.
I hold open the towel to receive him.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2013 by Amy Fleury from her most recent book of poems, Sympathetic Magic, Southern Illinois Univ. Press, 2013. Poem reprinted by permission of Amy Fleury and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Peter Shandera was the recent winner of the People's Choice Award for the Main Street Gallery's first theme show of the year, “Winter in Lake County.”

In March the Linda Carpenter Gallery section of the Main Street Gallery is featuring photos of winter in the county.

The public is invited to view and vote for favorite photos for the People's Choice Award.

The winner will be premiered this Friday at the First Friday Fling and throughout the month of March.

Come see all this new show has to offer. Among this month's art they have some distinguished paintings and very reasonably priced pieces that are a part of the Thompson and Sietz estates.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Around the world, millions of girls face barriers to education that boys do not. And yet, when you educate a girl, you can break cycles of poverty in just one generation.

At 3 p.m. Sunday, March 23, the Lake County Girls Circle will host a special showing of “Girl Rising” at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport.

This is a groundbreaking film that has already been seen by millions around the world.

“'Girl Rising’ will stir your heart,” said Marie Giovanna, a founding mentor of Girls Circle. “In our Circle meetings, we are learning about the immense oppression facing young women in far off regions of the world. By bringing this film to the Soper Reese Theatre, we hope to inspire the girls here in Lake County, as well as help guide their focus to appreciating education as a privilege that opens a world of possibilities to them.”

Everyone is welcome to attend this “must see” epic film; it truly is a documentary every mother, sister and daughter should see as well as the men who love and support the women in their lives.

The film is 101 minutes long and is guaranteed to be the most inspirational 101 minutes of your weekend.

To preview the movie, “Girl Rising,” go to www.girlrising.com .

Tickets are available at the Soper Reese Theatre, located at 275 S. Main Street in Lakeport, or online at www.soperreesetheatre.com .

Price is $10 for adults and admission is free for anyone under the age of 16.

All proceeds benefit the Girls Circle, a volunteer based affiliate program of Lake Family Resource Center (LFRC).

Girls Circle is run by LFRC volunteers and seeks to serve the youth of the Lake County community by giving them the experience of belonging to something that is whole and healthy while they make their natural and challenging passage from puberty to adulthood.

For information about the film “Girl Rising” or the group Girls Circle contact Marie Giovanna at 707-508-7556 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or email Vicki Crystal at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .