On the move

Lambda Players, the Actors Theatre of Sacramento, Big Idea Theater, Images Theatre and a new group, Voices of California, are all on the move. You may need a scorecard, and a roadmap, to keep track of all the changes.

Lambda Players is moving out of its leased storefront space near the corner of 17th Street and Broadway in Sacramento. According to Lambda artistic director Tom Swanner, “The people who recently bought the building were asking for more money than we were paying—which we already felt was a little high.”

“Someone mentioned that Jackie Schultz was looking for a theater company to move into her Studio Theatre [on 1028 R Street],” Swanner said. “So I called her … and within a few days, we were signing an agreement.”

Lambda’s first show in the new digs will be Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, opening on September 28 and running into November. During the transition, the group’s Web site, www.lambdaplayers.com, remains in operation, but its phone number, (916) 444-8229, might change.

Meanwhile, Big Idea Theatre has moved from Roseville (where they mounted shows for several years at the Polish-American Hall) to 1616 Del Paso Boulevard in Sacramento—a space that once was the home of the Actors Theatre of Sacramento. Big Idea opened a two-character play about addiction and recovery, The Colorado Catechism, last weekend. The show continues through September 15. Visit www.bigideatheatre.com or call (916) 925-7493 for tickets.

The Actors Theatre is now putting down roots at California Stage, 1721 25th Street. Their production of Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune opened last weekend, and continues through October 7. Check in at www.actinsac.com or (916) 456-7066.

And in a merger of sorts, Images Theatre Co. (a black theater group that staged Lisa Lacy and Charles Cooper’s musical Evangelize! last year) is combining with a new group, Voices of California. They will host Daniel Beaty’s solo piece Emergence-See! on September 19 and 20. Emergence-See! is a show we raved about when Beaty first brought it to Sacramento in 2005; more recently the show enjoyed an extended run at the Public Theater in New York, and picked up a 2007 Obie Award (for Off Broadway theater). Voices of California will then mount a new show, Lacy and Cooper’s Hallelujah City, in October. Voices of California’s Web site and phone are “in progress.” Performances will be at the Benvenuti Performing Arts Center, 4600 Blackrock Drive in Sacramento.