Music Man

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE ADVENTIST MEDICAL CENTER -- Patients in the hospital's rehabilitation center saw something Friday that few others ever have and all they could do was laugh. Honk! Such was the sound the man known as Ormly Gumfudgin produced with his musical bazooka -- a trumpet-like instrument made of two sliding metal pipes and a whiskey funnel -- during a show for the patients. The man is actually C. Stanley Locke, a 77-year-old La Crescenta resident who claims to be the only person in the world playing the instrument invented by American comedian Bob Burns.

Glendale resident Quin Gustason knew he had a talent for singing when he was 9 years old. Gustason, now 81, started singing in a boys’ choir and continued to sing in high school and college. He took clarinet lessons in the fifth grade, taught himself to play the harmonica and studied the piano. When he attended George Williams College in Illinois, Gustason joined a barbershop quartet on campus. He sang in his church choir and even conducted the hand-bell choir at the church.

RITA PARDUE- FALLMAN Community theater group The Stepping Stone Players is rehearsing for its sixth production, Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man" opening at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 for a three-weekend run at Hoover High School auditorium/theater in Glendale. Making his directorial debut with the Stepping Stone Players is Josh Meltzer, and returning from last year's production of "West Side Story" is Robert Brandzel as musical director and Jeremy Lucas as choreographer.

Joyce Rudolph, Enjoy! GLENDALE -- "The Music Man" is the next performance scheduled for The Music Theatre of Southern California. It opens Friday at the San Gabriel Civic and completes the run with five shows at The Alex Theatre in Glendale. Alex shows are at 8 p.m. May 26 and 27, at 7 p.m. May 28 and 2 p.m. May 27 and 28. Tickets range from $22 to $42. For reservations, call (800) 233-3123. All of Music Theatre's musicals feature seasoned actors with professional orchestra and choreography.

Trouble is coming to Glendale's Alex Theatre. That's Trouble, with a capital "T" which rhymes with "P" and that stands for Preston! Robert Preston to be exact, the star of Warner Brothers' 1962 classic musical adaptation of The Music Man, presented by the Alex Film Society at the historic Alex Theatre. Preston plays "Professor" Harold Hill, a flim-flam man who sees Iowa as the greatest test of his sales abilities as he arrives in River City, Iowa to sell the town on the idea that he can train the local youth to become a marching band using nothing but his very own "think system."

Summer reading program kicks off La Crescenta Public Library's Summer Reading Program, "Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales," will kick-off today with "Wildlife Wendy's Tropical Birds," at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the La Crescenta Public Library, 4521 La Crescenta Ave., La Crescenta. Wendy Horton will entertain the audience with exotic birds, tricks, mimicking and facts. Horton will be back to entertain audiences at 2 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, call (818) 248-5313.

Glendale is in for a real treat! We attended the opening of The Music Theatre of Southern California's production of Meredith Willson's "The Music Man" at the San Gabriel Theatre. It was absolutely wonderful, and will be coming to Glendale on Friday, so don't miss it! The music, choreography, sets and costumes were all outstanding, and the two leads, Ann Winkowski and Michael Hawkins have beautiful voices. Will Krieger, who played the boy lead, is a local child.

Marshall Allen LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- The Towne Singers will celebrate musical theater at their show at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Lanterman Center for the Performing Arts, 4490 Cornishon Blvd., La Canada Flintridge. The Towne Singers is a nonprofit community singing group that has been performing since 1987. This show will feature production numbers from many shows, including: "The Marriage of Figaro," "The Pirates of Penzance," "Ragtime," "The Music Man" and more.

BEST BET MONDAY The Stepping Stone Players presents "The Music Man" by Meredith Willson at 7 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Hoover High School auditorium, 651 Glenwood Road, Glendale. An American Sign Language interpreted performance will be on Sept. 18 and 25 Sunday. Tickets are $12, $8 for children 10 and under. Purchase tickets at the box office or on line at www.steppingstoneplayers.com. For more information, call (818) 548-3180.

LDS presents ‘The Music Man’ Over 100 youth and adults from the Foothills and Glendale area of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be on stage performing Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man.” Performances, which are free to the public, will be at 7 p.m. July 25 and 26, with a 2 p.m. matinee on July 26. The shows will take place at the LDS Church, at 4550 Raymond Ave. in La Crescenta, located...

Generations of actors keep coming back to Glendale's Stepping Stone Players. One of them is veteran actor and director Allan Hunt, who first performed with the group in the role of Harold Hill in “The Music Man” in 2005, directed “Oliver!” in 2007, played the title role in “The Wizard of Oz” in 2009 and was Grandpa Joe in “Willy Wonka.” Now he's back again as director of “The Music Man,” which opened this week at Hayhurst Hall on the Hoover High School campus. “It's really great introducing children to the theater,” said Hunt of working with the nonprofit theater group, which mingles children onstage with adults and professionals.

Returning acts are tuning up for the summer season at the Starlight Bowl. The music begins on July 4 with "Salute to the Soul of America" with the group Stone Soul joining forces with the Burbank Philharmonic before the 9 p.m. fireworks display. Stone Soul leads off the first half of the concert, said Cathryn Villalobos, recreation supervisor for the Burbank Parks, Recreation and Community Services. "We had Stone Soul last year at one of the Sunday evening performances, and they were really well received," she said.

LDS presents ‘The Music Man’ Over 100 youth and adults from the Foothills and Glendale area of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be on stage performing Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man.” Performances, which are free to the public, will be at 7 p.m. July 25 and 26, with a 2 p.m. matinee on July 26. The shows will take place at the LDS Church, at 4550 Raymond Ave. in La Crescenta, located...

Glendale resident Quin Gustason knew he had a talent for singing when he was 9 years old. Gustason, now 81, started singing in a boys’ choir and continued to sing in high school and college. He took clarinet lessons in the fifth grade, taught himself to play the harmonica and studied the piano. When he attended George Williams College in Illinois, Gustason joined a barbershop quartet on campus. He sang in his church choir and even conducted the hand-bell choir at the church.

August is a great time to visit the shady urban oak forest, splashing streams and vibrant flowers at Descanso Gardens. In addition to all that, there are plenty of exciting and educational things to do at Descanso in August. As a special treat, the Gardens will remain open until 8 p.m. every Thursday in August. Unless noted, events are free with Gardens admission. All fees include Gardens admission. Friday, Aug. 3 : Night Walk — 7:15 p.m. The Gardens are a new world after dark.

The Pasadena POPS Orchestra has added three Sunday evening concerts to the 2007 Descanso Gardens season. The unparalleled experience of a POPS event provides audience members with a mini-vacation. Share the convivial buzz of conversation and a picnic repast that fills the oak-encircled glen with happy aromas and sounds. Feel the frisson of excitement as the concert master tunes the orchestra and the announcer welcomes internationally acclaimed music director Rachael Worby to the stage.

The pressure's on for actors in Musical Theatre Guild's production of "Street Scene," stopping for one performance Monday night at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. The musical drama, about several families living in an East Side New York tenement on a hot June evening, was on Broadway in 1947. An immense body of work, it's a huge undertaking for the guild, members said. The guild's purpose is to present staged readings of seldom-seen musicals. Members are all professional musical actors who produce two performances of a play at separate venues five times a year.

Burbank Philharmonic Orchestra will pay tribute to 50 years of Warner Bros. film scores Sunday at the Starlight Bowl. Scores will include early films like “My Fair Lady” to the more recent ones such as “Superman” and “Harry Potter,” said maestro Steven Kerstein of La Cañada Flintridge. At the top of the list is the bold and sensuous “Bolero,” written by Maurice Ravel as a ballet but used in the movie “10,” starring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek.

TODAY A Musical Afternoon on the Lawn will be presented from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Crescenta Valley Park, 3901 Dunsmore Ave., La Crescenta. Admission is free. Bring a blanket and chair to hear Van Webster's "Two Many Guitars" band. Sponsored by the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation. For more information, call (818) 249-5940. Glendale Public Awareness about 9-11-01 Questions is sponsoring a free screening of the film, "The Truth and Lies of 9-11" at 2 p.m. at the Montrose Branch Library, 2465 Honolulu Ave., Montrose.

Send DATEBOOK items to Glendale News-Press, 111 W. Wilson Ave., Suite 200, Glendale, CA 91203 or fax to (818) 241-1975. Submissions must be received two weeks before publication. TODAY The Los Angeles Cinema Club will have a free screening of entries in the Summer Video Contest for members of the Video Workshop at 7:30 p.m. in the social hall of the Little White Chapel, 1711 N. Avon St., Burbank. For more information, call (818) 842-3820. THURSDAY Tracer, a classic rock cover band, will perform music of the 1970s and '80s from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. during the Lunchtime Concert Series co-sponsored by the city of Glendale and the Downtown Glendale Merchants Assn.