Save on gas, enjoy Carson City entertainment

No need to go to Reno or Vegas for entertainment this weekend, we've got plenty going on here.

At the Black Box Theater at the Brewery Arts Center, the Proscenium Players present "I Say Nevada!", a musical revue in which the cast makes fun of just about everything having to do with Nevada, from pronunciation to our Guv. and Arnold

Schwarzenegger. The show has been sold out for much of its run so get there early.

And when you do you'll find something new, the recently opened Artisans Cafe. Much of the merchandise that once occupied the Artisans shop has been replaced with a neat, small restaurant.

On the other side of town at the Community Center, the Western Nevada Musical Comedy Company presents Rogers and Hammerstein's classic "South Pacific." Director Stephanie Arrigotti and choreographer Gina Kaskie-Davis team up again for another spectacular show.

As any actor will admit, sometimes your performance suffices but doesn't sparkle.

Last Friday was a night when Sarah Pennebaker as Nellie Forbush had one of those golden nights when everything is a joy to behold as she simply took over the stage. Alice Sady, a regular with the company, offered subtle but lovely dance moments.

Both shows close this weekend, but there's more out there.

"Disney's 101 Dalmatians" by the Brewery's BAC Stage Kids runs Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Performance Hall. Andie Andersen directs the cast of local moppets in this entertaining event.

From Dec. 5-7 the Wild Horse Children's Theater will bring "Seussical Broadway Jr." to the Children's Museum. Who would have thought Carson has so many young actors?

And tonight the Appeal's former staffer Rick Gunn, back from his globe-circling bicycle trip, shows his excellent photography at 6:30 p.m. at the Brewery's Performance Hall. You probably saw a lot of his work in the pages of the Nevada Appeal as he made his 25,000-mile journey, but now in blazing (and subtle, too) color Rick will share his adventures with an audience. It's sponsored by the City Library.

But if you must go to Reno you may want to catch the new ice show opening Friday at the Eldorado casino.

The Holiday Ice Spectacular plays through Jan. 4, with world-class figure skaters. The Eldorado Showroom stage will be transformed into an ice skating rink with a state-of-the-art system that creates real ice. A contemporary version of "The Nutcracker" will leave audiences filled with holiday cheer.

Tickets are available from $28.95 for adults and $19.95 for children and seniors. Dinner and show packages are available from $36.95.

OTHER ACTS

- At the Nugget in Sparks, there's a "Dylan for Dollars" benefit Friday night with big bands playing songs of Bob's. Tickets are $18. A different setting for his music. Then Saturday night the jazz trio Martin, Medeski and Wood holds forth in the Celebrity Room, with tickets $32. Call (800) 648-1177.

- Los Lonely Boys appear at Harrah's Lake Tahoe Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 at (800) 786-8208. At the Grand Sierra in Reno James Van Praagh will entertain at 8 p.m. in the Grand Theater. He's a psychic medium who surprises audiences with his incredible discoveries.

- The Peppermill, sitting all alone south of Casino Town in Reno, is cranking up its entertainment schedule this year and next. Tiesto, that man with the weird electronic sounds, plays the Mill Dec. 19 with a late night show starting at 10 p.m., $39 admission. A bit down the road it's Willie ("Georgia on My Mind") Nelson plays there Jan. 10 at 8 p.m., tickets $50 to $84. Then Feb. 21 Wynona checks in, tickets not available yet. Otherwise, call (866) 821-9996.

BOOK WORLD

You may want to read "The Shadow Factory" by James Bamford if you value your privacy with phone calls or e-mail or other electronic systems as the picture he presents of the ogre National Security Agency is a bit worrisome. Bamford, who also wrote "Body of Secrets" (the movie recently played here and it also was about our spy corps), is encyclopedic about the NSA, but much of what he writes is attributed to former NSA employees. The book (Doubleday, 398 pages, $27.95) is at the library in the new books area.

It's subtitled "The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America," and from the pages it certainly looks like nothing we send electronically escapes the NSA computers. Despite the billions of communications the NSA copies, if you say the wrong things you'll become a focus, says Bamford. It doesn't have to be "Bin Laden" or "Iraq," innocent use of the wrong word can get you on the NSA watch list.

But at the same time he writes about how slovenly work by the NSA, FBI and CIA allowed 9/11 to take place " not that it's sure that even if these agencies had been on top of things they could have stopped it.

One very frightening thing he writes about is the degree to which Israel is involved in manufacturing the elaborate code-breaking systems used by the NSA. He holds that Israel has a direct line to all that the NSA discovers and is, in effect, spying on America, something Israel agent have been caught doing.

If you don't fret about NSA or other agents reading you electronic mail, this is not a book for you. But if you treasure being able to say something to someone that you don't want to share, you should read it. And at the same time go online and check what some of the reviewers have said about it. Always look at the other side on such alarming books.

- Contact Sam Bauman at editor@nevadaappeal.com.