Curses, Foiled Again

Police identified Anthony Brandon Gonzalez, 20, as their suspect in a home invasion after the victim, an Elvis impersonator in Pueblo County, Colo., said that one of the invaders had “East Side” tattooed on his upper lip. Gonzalez also has a “13” tattooed on his chin. According to an affidavit, the tattoos were visible even though Gonzalez was wearing a mask. “It’s hard to miss him,” Sgt. Eric Bravo said. (The Pueblo Chieftain)

In a modern version of The Riddle of the Sphinx, what propels itself while lying prone, transitions to two wheels for a hilly jaunt and then finishes in an upright position no more than 8½ hours later? In the case of the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Syracuse triathlon, which takes place on Sunday, Sept. 19, the swim-bike-run athletic pursuit will involve nearly 2,500 participants, three police agencies, hundreds of volunteers and the patience of the villages, towns and ultimately the city as the terminus of the event. It’s going to be a long day for a lot of people.

Sign of the time: About 30 miles into the Ironman 70.3 Syracuse triathlon, cyclists will come upon the DeRuyter Country Store, where hydration and spectators will greet them. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

Even though Sarah Palin did her damndest during the 2008 presidential campaign to ridicule Barack Obama’s community-organizing work, the strategy failed. Pundits were quick to point out that the likes of Sam Adams, Paul Revere and Benjamin Franklin were the original American troublemakers, and if Obama shared their company, all the better for him.

Happy Trails

Beaver Lake Nature Center is offering a trail guide training workshop on Thursday, Sept. 23, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The nature center is looking for individuals to share their knowledge of nature with hundreds of children that visit Beaver Lake during the week and on the weekends.

The training session will teach the basics of interpretation and how to lead a group, as well as natural history and teaching points to be found along the nature center’s Bog Trail. After completing the course, volunteers who are at least 18 years old will guide elementary-level students along the trails of Beaver Lake; advance registration for the course is required.

The nature center, an Onondaga County Park, is located at 8477 E. Mud Lake Road, three miles west of Baldwinsville off Route 370. For more information, call 638-2519 or visit www.onondagacountyparks.com.

Local playwright Donna Stuccio uses her police training to impressive advantage in Rarely Done’s Elegy in Blue

Playwright-director Donna Stuccio takes excruciating pains to get details perfect for the world premiere of her policewoman drama Elegy in Blue, Rarely Done’s season opener at Jazz Central, 441 E. Washington St. Start with the bronze plaque on the memorial to the main character’s ex-partner and lover, Nolan McKenna. Or the 40-year-old postcard with Nixon-era stamps. Or how about the vintage 1970s lunch box with Wonder Woman decals. These might look like a producer’s indulgence if they did not point to the way her protagonist, Celeste Luna (played by Maureen Harrington), must confront the demons that initially make her such irascible company. But then the play is not called Elegy—mourning the dead—for nothing.

Armed and dangerous: Al Marshall and Maureen Harrington in Rarely Done’s Elegy in Blue.

Divorced and remarried husbands and wives return volleys of comic repartee in Private Lives at Ithaca’s Kitchen Theatre

Getting audiences to pay attention to the act when most of them have come to party. That was the daunting task facing director Margarett Perry in getting Noel Coward’s 80-year-old high comedy, Private Lives, on the boards in the Kitchen Theatre Company’s gleaming new space at 417 W. State St. in Ithaca. Local merchants pitched in every night of the first week for casks of free-flowing wine and bountiful trays of munchies. Steady, even cascading, laughter commands attention, of course, but so does finding surprising new angles in a beloved treasure. Much like what has happened to the theater company itself.

Cowardly lines: Brian Dykstra and Carol Halstead in Kitchen Theatre’s Private Lives.

An accused man gets railroaded by 1913’s right-wing media in Appleseed’s musical-drama Parade

The cynics are crushed. The arrival of the Alfred Uhry-Jason Robert Brown musical Parade as Appleseed Productions’ season premiere was greeted with—let’s face it—more apprehension than exhilaration. Despite the near-cult status for the CD, the original Hal Prince-produced Parade (1998) ran only a measly 39 previews and 89 performances. Many find the Brown score, ahem, an acquired taste. And the book, about an outrageous miscarriage of justice in 1913, looks from afar like a downer. 

Take a drive to Lowville this weekend for the annual Cream Cheese Festival

Cheesecake seems to be all the dessert rage these days. Perhaps folks are sick and tired of marble cake with chocolate frosting; maybe apple pie is becoming commonplace; could be that pudding is so 1970s. Whatever the reason, the rich, tasty and satisfying taste treat has emerged as the dessert of the new millennium.

Cream and sugar: Carrie Fanizzi holds one of her cheesecake creations, white raspberry chocolate. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

Syracuse New Times Syracuse Area Music Awards (Sammys) Hall of Fame, Lifetime Achievement and Music Educator awards were announced at a press conference on Wednesday, Sept. 15. So too were the nominations for the awards show that honors the best in Syracuse music. All will be feted during Sammys weekend, Oct. 7 to 9.

For the past three weeks The Lost Horizon’s doors have been closed, but the venue has been far from quiet. Crews have been working around the clock to revamp The Lost and restore its look and feel to what it was in the late 1960s when Greg Italiano first opened the place. Italiano died in May, and his nephew, John Hanus, 35, began managing the family-owned operation. His first order of business has been to make some much-needed improvements in the hopes of taking the venue back to its glory days.

Enjoy the clean look while it lasts: Inside the renovated Lost Horizon, which features two big shows on Friday and Saturday. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO