Black History Month 2025 - February 6th - Paul D

This year, as a 60-turning-61 white man, I am going to highlight African Americans that have had some kind of influence in my life. Some are famous, some are friends, and others are just people. #blackhistorymonth

February 6th - Paul D

I started working at a startup software company while finishing my bachelor’s degree. There were ten programmers, one of whom was the CEO. All but one of us were all classmates with each other at Rice, and another was a fellow that some of us met at a programming contest. All 10 of us were white and male and nine of us were between the ages of 20 and 25.

However, the other 20 or so employees were from all walks of life. One of them was an African American fellow named Paul. He was hired to work in the shipping department. He packed boxes, printed labels, coordinated pickups by UPS and Fedex, and did random other jobs around the office. There was always something to do at a startup…

He started hanging around with the programmers because he was close to our age, and we had more in common with him than anybody else. We would go to lunch or dinner and the like.

I bought a beat-up car while I was at that company, and started trying to maintain it myself. I knew it probably needed an oil change, but did not know what to do about or where to go. I brought it up to Paul, and he said he would teach me how to change my own oil. I went to his apartment complex in my car, and he took us to the local auto parts store and got oil and a filter and a plastic container to put the used oil in. He had tools and a drain pan. And, in that Southwest Houston apartment complex, he showed me what to do and how to change the oil. He saved me about $30. I changed my own oil on my cars for a few years more after that.

He invited me to be an usher for his wedding. The service was at a historically Black church in Houston that had no air conditioning. It had handheld fans with pictures of the church on them that looked like they were 20 years old. The maid of honor was flying in from somewhere, so we all waited in the hot building, and all of the wedding party was dying of sweat. We finally got through it and had a good party.

The startup was bought during that time, and I moved to California a few weeks later. I lost touch with Paul, which is a shame. He was a cool guy.

Black History Month 2025 - February 5th - Mr. Smith

This year, as a 60-turning-61 white man, I am going to highlight African Americans that have had some kind of influence in my life. Some are famous, some are friends, and others are just people.

February 5th

Mr. Smith

My family moved from Lubbock to Houston the summer before my 5th grade year. I did not blend in well with my new school. I always thought I was the smartest person in the class in elementary school, and I was obnoxious, and I was just about the worst athlete you could imagine, largely because I was a sick kid most of the time. My neighborhood was close to Rice University, and many of the kids in the class had parents who worked there, so they bristled at my arrogance.

I had the only fight I ever had that year. A few kids (at least 4 boys and 1 girl) perpetrated a bullying campaign against me, writing fake love letters that pretended to be from another girl in the class. After a few weeks of this, they turned into obscenity filled screeds left in my mailbox. My mother went to the principal, and he and my teacher cracked down. The five I mentioned above were suspended at least one day, and two of the boys were paddled.

My parents decided that I needed to go somewhere else for 6th grade, as they (and I) felt that the environment there was too toxic. However, we did not have the money to send me to Kinkaid or St. John’s, Houston’s best private schools. That year, however, Houston Independent School District announced a few new magnet schools. HISD would put interesting programs in historically minority-dominant neighborhoods to stave off federally-forced bussing as part of desegregation.

I ended up at McGregor Music and Science Academy. I had already explored some amount of music on my own, playing around with my dad’s guitar and the piano in the house. At McGregor, I started paying saxophone in the band and taking piano lessons. I also loved the science lab, and won the school’s Science Fair in the spring. About 60% of my classmates were local neighborhood kids, so they benefited from the new programs as well.

Mr. Smith was the band director, and he got me started on saxophone the first couple of weeks. I took off from there, teaching myself (until high school, actually). Started on alto. Mr. Smith quickly had me reading alto clarinet parts so that they would be covered; there were plenty of saxophone players! A few weeks in, the school got some tenor saxes, and I quickly switched.

Mr. Smith approached me on day in November, and asked me to help him with some music “since you read so well”. So I started going to the band hall at lunch. He was doing his own arrangement of the Theme from SWAT, a show on TV at the time. He had written out a sketch with about six parts, and wanted to assign those parts to certain instruments, and needed help to finish early enough for the Winter Concert. He taught me what transposing instruments were about, how to identify range problems, and some rudimentary music preparation skills, like planning page turns. He critiqued my notation; it was not great, but I was forced to read my own for that concert, and I made it through.

Considering that nobody in the band had been playing longer than three months, the piece, which closed the concert was a rousing success.

I am so grateful that Mr. Smith took me under his wing. I am fascinated by arranging, orchestration, and music preparation to this day.

This theme was so good!

Black History Month 2025 - February 4th - Ken Griffey, Jr.

This year, as a 60-turning-61 white man, I am going to highlight African Americans that have had some kind of influence in my life. Some are famous, some are friends, and others are just people.

February 4th

Ken Griffey, Jr.

His father was a really good baseball player, and Junior was hyped to be much better. Seattle called him up in 1989, and then signed Senior for 1990. On September 14, 1990, they hit back-to-back home runs. This is when most fans discovered The Kid.

He was great out of the gate. Handsome, cocky, with a big toothy grin and the sweetest left-handed seen anybody had ever seen, he became the icon for a new generation of baseball players. Some baseball old-timers bristled at his demeanor, especially when Griffey wore his hat backwards when he wasn’t in games. Major League Baseball, to their credit, embraced the youthful exuberance, and promoted Griffey shamelessly.

Boy, he was fun to watch. The early nineties were filled with young baseball stars, but Griffey Junior was one of the best. Now appearing in commercials (like old athletes do), he still has the dazzling smile. He also seems to have avoided any off-field or post-career scandals. He’s living his best life.

You were good, Kid.

Black History Month 2025 - February 3rd - Michael

This year, as a 60-turning-61 white man, I am going to highlight African Americans that have had some kind of influence in my life. Some are famous, some are friends, and others are just people. #blackhistorymonth

February 3rd - Michael

When I was 16, I got my first job, as a frycook at the local amusement park, AstroWorld. I worked at the stand called “Coney Island”, in the area of the park called the same thing, home of the Texas Cyclone roller coaster. The stand sold hot dogs, cokes, and cotton candy.

I was really earnest and worked really hard (or as hard as maturity would let me). One of my coworkers at this stand was this quiet African-American fellow, my same age, who had been there since the park opened in March (I joined in June). He was hard-working, had figured out how everything worked, knew how to deal with people, and quickly became the person put in charge when the manager would go on break. He was friendly when you interacted with him, and it was apparent to me that he was off-the-charts smart.

He got Employee of the Week for the entire Food Service department twice that summer. I got it zero times. He was also amazingly good looking. I was completely jealous and in awe.

Later, when I showed up at Rice, he was there. He graduated with an electrical engineering degree on time; I had spent a year as a music major, and struggled to my computer science degree a full year and a half after he graduated.

A mutual friend says that he is doing well. Michael does not do social media, so apparently he is still really quiet. Still, I would love to get together with him and catch up.

 

Black History Month 2025 - February 2nd - Mrs. Evans

This year, as a 60-turning-61 white man, I am going to highlight African Americans that have had some kind of influence in my life. Some are famous, some are friends, and others are just people. #blackhistorymonth

February 2nd - Mrs. Evans

I started school with 1st grade at Brown Elementary in Lubbock, Texas, in the fall of 1970. I don’t remember a lot of specifics about 1st grade. However, I do remember some things about my teacher, Mrs. Evans. She was no-nonsense, but not a strict teacher. She kept the classroom orderly, and taught the appropriate things.

I was a precocious child; I would finish all of the work faster than everybody else. I would then talk and gab and mess around and distract the other kids around me. Mrs. Evans knew exactly how to deal with me. She put me in the advanced  readers group, and kept me supplied with books. She allowed me to read whatever I wanted from her library in class, and encouraged me to check out more when the class went to the school library.

I was also a sick child. She was really good at making sure I caught up after missing school, especially when I was out for almost a month with pneumonia around Halloween.

Oh, and she was black. In 1970. In Lubbock. In Texas. After the Supreme Court ordered schools to desegregate, many fine African-American teachers lost their jobs. To their credit, Lubbock Independent School District kept (or hired later) Mrs. Evans. I only hope this was true for any other black teachers there.

In our class of about 25, there were 3 or 4 black children. I, at least, did not perceive any problems with her or the makeup of the class. Of course, I was 6 years old when the school year started. These were the first black people I spent any time with, but it did not register with me until I thought about it years later.

As far as I remember, and as far as I can tell 50+ years later, my first grade class was normal.

My mother was a speech therapy major in college. It drove her up the wall that Mrs. Evans pronounced my name “SiTney”, but that was the only thing negative that either of my parents said about Mrs. Evans. She was a fine teacher.

Black History Month 2025 - February 1st - John Coltrane

This year, as a 60-turning-61 white man, I am going to highlight African Americans that have had some kind of influence in my life. Some are famous, some are friends, and others are just people. #blackhistorymonth

February 1st - John Coltrane

I am a part-time professional jazz musician. The first truly influential musician I followed and studied was this man who died when I was three. I devoured Giant Steps, and then bought many, many other albums. I loved Lush Life, Blue Train, My Favorite Things, and several albums made with others, like John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, Mies Davis Kind of Blue, Cannonball & Coltrane, Miles and Coltrane…

A Love Supreme blew my mind.

I never really got into the music after A Love Supreme, but what an opus of work. I love his sound on tenor. I tried to learn the solo for Giant Steps when I was in high school. I consider the solo on the alternate take of Countdown the pinnacle of hard bop improv.

The man had his demons; he had a serious heroin habit. However, when he successfully kicked that habit, he started constant practicing. The difference in the technique in 1958 and 1961 is amazing and apparent, and it was pretty amazing beforehand.

I admired his driven purpose to be the absolute best saxophone player he could be.

Baseball Hall of Fame - 2025 BBWA Class

Major League Baseball announced that Ichiro Suzuki, Billy Wagner, and CC Sabathia have been selected for The National Baseball Hall of Fame for 2025.

So, this gives me an opportunity to add them to my list of the first games I saw Hall of Famers play of manage. I am going to reproduce that list here.

• Dave Winfield, San Diego Padres - 1976-04-18 (1st game) - Astrodome - Houston 4, San Diego 1
• Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies - 1979-08-19 - Astrodome, - Philadelphia 3, Houston 2
• Bobby Cox (manager) - Atlanta Braves - 1980-07-12 - Astrodome, - Houston 9, Atlanta 5
• Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds, and Nolan Ryan, Houston Astros - 1981-09-15 - Astrodome - Cincinnati 4, Houston 0
• Phil Niekro, Atlanta Braves, and Don Sutton Houston Astros - 1982-06-16 - Astrodome - Atlanta 5, Houston 4
• Tommy Lasorda (manager), Los Angeles Dodgers - 1986-08-14 - Astrodome - Houston 3, Los Angeles 2
• Ted Simmons, Atlanta Braves - 1986-10-05 - Astrodome - Houston 4, Atlanta 1
• Dave Parker, Cincinnati Reds - 1986-10-05 - Astrodome - Cincinnati 11, Houston 3
• Tim Raines, Montreal Expos - 1988-05-01 - Astrodome - Montréal 7, Houston 3
• Ozzie Smith, St. Louis Cardinals - 1988-05-31 - Astrodome - St. Louis 9, Houston 7
• Frank Robinson (inducted as player, but appearing as manager) and Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore Orioles Tony LaRussa (manager), Oakland Athletics - 1989-04-27 - Oakland-Alameda Coliseum - Oakland 9, Baltimore 4
• Sparky Anderson (manager) and Alan Trammell, Detroit Tigers - 1989-04-30 - Oakland-Alameda Coliseum - Detroit 7, Oakland 2
• Joe Torre (manager), St. Louis Cardinals - 1991-08-30 - Candlestick Park - San Francisco 8, St. Louis 3
• Rickey Henderson and Dennis Eckersley, Oakland Athletics, and Edgar Martinez, Seattle Mariners - 1989-07-30 - Oakland-Alameda Coliseum - Oakland 5, Seattle 3
• Craig Biggio, Houston Astros - 1990-06-01 - Candlestick Park - San Francisco 6, Houston 5
• Jeff Bagwell, Houston Astros - 1991-07-02 - Candlestick Park - Houston 8, San Francisco 4
• Tony Gwynn, San Diego Padres - 1991-07-05 - Candlestick Park - San Diego 4, San Francisco 2
• Harold Baines, Oakland Athletics - 1991-07-12 - Oakland-Alameda Coliseum - Baltimore 6, Oakland 2
• Eddie Murry and Gary Carter, Los Angeles Dodgers - 1991-08-09 - Candlestick Park - San Francisco 1, Los Angeles 0
• Barry Larkin, Cincinnati Reds - 1991-08-16 - Candlestick Park - Cincinnati 5, San Francisco 0
• Roberto Alomar, Toronto Blue Jays - 1992-10-12 - Oakland-Alameda Coliseum - Oakland 6, Toronto 2
• Ken Griffey, Jr., Seattle Mariners - 1993-04-27 - Kingdome - Seattle 4, Cleveland 0
• Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins - 1993-08-14 (1st game) - Oakland-Alameda Coliseum- Minnesota 5, Oakland 1
• Wade Boggs, New York Yankees - 1994-04-30 - Oakland-Alameda Coliseum - New York Yankees 7, Oakland 5
• Ryan Sandberg, Chicago Cubs and Mike Piazza, Los Angeles Dodgers - 1994-05-24 - Dodger Stadium - Chicago Cubs 2, Los Angeles 0
• Jim Leyland (manager), Pittsburgh Pirates - 1994-05-03 - Mile High Stadium - Colorado 6, Pittsburgh 4
• Mike Mussina and Lee Smith, Baltimore Orioles - 1994-06-06 - Kauffman Stadium - Baltimore 4, Kansas City 2
• Ivan Rodriguez and Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers - 1994-06-08 - The Ballpark at Arlington - Texas 6, New York 5
• Jim Thome, Cleveland Indians - 1994-06-11 - County Stadium - Cleveland 5, Milwaukee 2
• Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox - 1994-06-13 - Comiskey Park II - Chicago White Sox 1, Oakland 0
• Paul Molitor, Toronto Blue Jays - 1994-06-15 - Jacobs Field - Cleveland 4, Toronto 3
• Greg Maddux and Fred McGriff, Atlanta Braves - 1994-06-27 - Le Stade Olympique - Montréal 7, Atlanta 2
• Andre Dawson, Boston Red Sox - 1994-06-29 - Fenway Park - New York Yankees 4, Boston 3
• Trevor Hoffman, San Diego Padres - 1994-07-22 (2nd game) - Veterans Stadium - San Diego 7, Philadelphia 4
• Billy Wagner, Houston Astros - 1996-06-14 - 3Com Park at Candlestick Point - Houston 9, San Francisco 1
• Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera - 1997-04-05 - Oakland-Alameda Coliseum - New York Yankees 10, Oakland 5
• Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies - 1997-06-15 - Oakland-Alameda Coliseum - Oakland 5, Colorado 2
• Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves - 1998-08-08 - 3Com Park at Candlestick Point - Atlanta 14, San Francisco 6
• Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners - 2001-04-11 - Network Associates Coliseum  - Seattle 3, Oakland 0
• Pedro Martinez, Boston Red Sox - 2001-06-06 - Network Associates Coliseum - Boston 5, Oakland 4
• David Ortiz, Minnesota Twins - 2001-07-24 - Network Associates Coliseum - Oakland 7, Minnesota 6
• John Smoltz, Atlanta Braves - 2001-08-17 - Pacific Bell Park - Atlanta 2, San Francisco 1
• Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies - 2001-09-01 - Pacific Bell Park - San Francisco 2, Colorado 1
• Scott Rolen, St. Louis Cardinals - 2003-07-07 - Pacific Bell Park - San Francisco 5, St. Louis 1
• Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays - 2003-08-17 - Network Associates Coliseum - Oakland 7, Toronto 3
• Vlad Guerrero, Anaheim Angels - 2004-04-24 - Network Associates Coliseum - Anaheim 6, Oakland 3
• CC Sabathia, Cleveland Indians - 2004-09-11 - Network Associates Coliseum - Oakland 5, Cleveland 4
• Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins - 2005-08-23 - McAfee Coliseum - Oakland 5, Minnesota 2

It's fun to do the search for these guys in my game logs!

Rickey Henderson (1958-2024)

Rickey Henderson was one of the all-time great players. I did not get to see him play live that much, but I did have a memorable encounter with him.

In 2005, my wife and my baby girl went to see a traveling tour of the National Baseball Hall of Fame at the Oakland Museum on a Saturday afternoon. The exhibit was packed. Basically, there was a line snaking through the entire exhibit. It was a really cool exhibit with lots to see.

While we were looking at a display, a docent was bringing somebody through the museum not in the line. Initially annoyed, I looked up, and there was Rickey Henderson! The docent was giving him a personal tour. He told her that he had never had time to learn much about the history of the game; he was too busy trying to play it. He seemed particularly fascinated at the exhibit of a mechanical scoreboard device where somebody would recreate a game based on telegraph signals when the team was on the road.

I looked over at my wife, who had our almost-toddler in her arms, and they both were staring at Rickey. My wife looked every bit as star-struck as I was. Rickey saw my daughter, and said, "Oh, and who is this cutey?", and walked over to both of them, and said "Goochey-goochey-coo!" and reached out and tickled my daughter, who giggled. He said, "That's a beautiful baby!" to my wife, then waved "bye" to the baby and moved on.

Later, as we were nearing the end of the tour, Rickey was still talking to the docent. My wife told me to hold the baby, and dug around in the baby backpack for the Sharpie she always had. She then took the baby over to Rickey, and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Henderson, would you sign the back of my daughter's onesie?", and he said, "Of course!", took the pen, and signed it. He smiled at the baby again, waved, and then left the museum. We were on Cloud 9 the rest of the weekend.

Appendix

My wife has a cousin, who collects memorabilia. They had not talked in a while. She called him, and he recognized the Caller ID, and answered, "OK, who'd you get?"

He said that Rickey's signature was difficult to get, and he normally did not sign things. The cousin sent us some memorabilia and baseball cards to make a shadow box display with. We'll get around to that someday...

My Favorite Astrodome Memory

In this year of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Harris County Domed Stadium, aka, the Astrodome, the Larry Dierker Chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research is calling for memories about the place. This is my entry.

My family moved to Houston in the mid-70s, and I fell in love with the Astrodome. It was a magic place to me, where you could go see baseball and be comfortable. Our house did not have central air, and the Astrodome was a great place to get away from the heat.

1979 cemented my love of the Astros, although 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1986 taught me that baseball in pain.

I moved to the Bay Area in 1988. In 1994, I embarked on a stadium tour. That summer I saw 27 out of the 28 ballparks. But the game in the Astrodome was special.

It was July 18, 1994, a lazy Monday night in Houston. I had almost a dozen friends and family with me, as we sat in the second deck behind home plate.

St. Louis led 11-0 after three innings. Huh. Time for beer I guess.

And then, Houston showed signs of life. In the 4th, with one out, Luis Gonzalez doubled to center and advanced on a fly ball by Lyle Mouton.  Tony Eusebio batted Gonzalez in with a single to left. Andujar Cedeño doubled, and Eusebio stopped at 3rd. Mike Fielder singled to deep short, scoring Eusebio, and moving Cedeño third. Craig Biggio loaded the bases, but the Astros left them loaded. St. Louis 11, Houston 2.

In the fifth, Jeff Bagwell led off the inning with a home run (which I caught on video), and Cedeño batted in another run with a two-out double. St. Louis 11, Houston 4.

And then the fun started. Here is the sequence:

• Biggio walked.
• Kevin Bass pinch hit for reliever Mike Hampton, and doubled to left, scoring Biggio. (STL 11, HOU 5)
• Cardinals put in a new pitcher, Frank Cimorelli, replacing Allen Watson. Jeff Bagwell popped up. 1 out.
• Ken Caminiti walked; Bass stayed at second.
• Gonzalez singled to left, scoring Bass, Caminiti to 2nd (STL 11, HOU 6)
• Mouton hit by pitch; Caminiti to third; Gonzalez to second.
• Eusebio walked; Caminiti scored; Gonzalez to third; Mouton to 2nd. (STL 11, HOU 7)
• Bryan Eversgard replaced Cimorelli at pitcher, and Cedeño singled to center, scoring Gonzalez and Mouton. Eusebio advanced to third, and Cedeño went to second when left fielder Ray Lankford overran the ball and it went under his glove. (STL 11, HOU 9)
• Felder then tripled to center, clearing the bases. (HOU 11, STL 11)
• Biggio hit an infield single, and Felder had to stay at 3rd.
• Bass singled to right, scoring Felder, with Biggio moving to second (HOU 12, STL 11)
• Steve Dixon replaced pitcher Eversgard, and Biggio stole 3rd. Bagwell walked, reloading the bases.
• Caminiti singled to left, scoring Biggio, and Bass, with Bagwell stopping at second. (HOU 14, STL11).
• Gonzalez walked, moving Bagwell and Caminiti to second.
• Mouton plated Bagwell with a sacrifice fly to right, advancing Caminiti, (HOU 15, STL 11)
• Eusebio closed out this amazing inning hitting a ground ball fielder's choice.

In the inning, Astros had 11 runs on 7 hits, 5 walks, one stolen base, a hit batter, and one Cardinals error. What fun.

St. Louis hit a meaningless home run in the 9th, so the final score was 15-12.

It was a truly horrible birthday for St. Louis manager, Joe Torre. SABR has this article about it.

When I did this trip 31 years ago, I did a daily log on my very lame personal website, a web log, one might say, or one might shorten it to blog. During the Pandemic in 2020, I recreated this blog day-by-day, and I added what few pictures and videos I had to them. You can find that write-up here: https://sydneyrandall.blogspot.com/2020/07/baseball-trip-replay-day-56-july-18-1994.html.

Appendix

This is not the only time I saw a team blow an 11-run lead. In 2002, I saw a team blow an 11-run lead, only to win in the bottom of the 9th on a home run. That game is much more famous; the Oakland A's won their 20th in a row, and the game was immortalized in the Moneyball book and movie.

I am one lucky fan!

2025 Those who have passed

The following is a set of people who were my friends, or who were somewhat famous and influenced me in some way. No other comments provided.

Friends

Jackie Lacanal

Mike Murillo

Ladd Turner

Teachers

Lawrence Anderson

Music

Jerry Coker

Claire Daly

Quincy Jones

Les McCann

Mojo Nixon

Seiji Ozawa

David Sanborn

Peter Schickele

Athletics

Billy Bean

Orlando Cepeda

Wayne Graham

Rickey Henderson

Whitey Herzog

Willie Mays

Dikembe Mutombo

Pete Rose

O.J. Simpson

Luis Tiant

Fernando Valenzuela 

Broadway/Hollywood

John Amos

Adam Canto

Dabney Coleman

Shannon Doherty

Teri Garr

James Earl Jones

Kris Kristopherson

Linda Lavin

Martin Mull

Bob Newhart

Chita Rivera

Richard Simmons

Maggie Smith

Donald Sutherland

Media

Phil Donahue

Charles Osgood

Politics

Jimmy Carter

Tech

Thomas Kurtz

Dave Mills

Nicklaus Wirth

Misc

Ruth Westheimer

Blood Brothers

I have played a lot of musical theater shows in the Pit Orchestra. This was the only time I was mentioned in a newspaper review.

Blood and guts

Palo Alto Players take risks, succeed with dark musical 'Blood Brothers'

By Joan Burdick - Correspondent  - The Independent (serving Redwood City) - May 8, 1999

The Palo Alto Players is currently presenting a truly beautiful and artistic production of the London smash hit "Blood Brothers". The Players have to be given credit for taking the risk and producing this modern dark piece of musical theater.

While the story - twin brothers separated at birth by a mother who can afford to keep on one - could delve too deeply into melodrama, this production is focused, well-etched, and beautifully staged.

Not knowing of their relationship, the siblings grow up in Loverpool divided by the invisible barrier that keeps wealth and poverty apart. By the rules of mythology, the two eventually meet and become instant friends and blood brothers. Their fate, however, is a hero myth that ends in tragedy, not redemtion.

The stark Liverpool setting is visible upon entering the Lone Star Theater in Palo Alto, signaling to the audience the stylish nature of the production, which plays through May 16.

Subtle lighting bathes the set. An old brick wall at stage left is aglow in red (portent of the play's ending). The industrial skyline against the far wall is lit in varying shades of turquoise and grays with a rust-red grid in the foreground that spans the entire width of the stage. In the center is a half-round platform that angles down into the floor at its center. This makes for a very actor-friendly set design - every action is totally visible. Scenic designer Ron Gasparinetti and sighting designer Michael Palumbo get the credit for bringing a professional polish to the Palo Alto Players.

"Blood Brothers" demands a strong ensemble and it was clear director Sid Cato brought one to the boards at the May 1 performance. The musical begins in stark silhouette as the ending vignette enters this strange story of wrong decisions leading to bitter conclusions. By the time the two mothers, played by Narelle Yeo and Lan McKenna, moving sing the duat "My Child," it's obvious that the ensemble is secure in its singing ability. The case, acting as children playing children's violent games in "Kids Game," eerily pre-dates the dialogue nationwide following the tragedy of Littleton, Colo.

At the end of Act I, when G. Scott Kaufman as Mickey takes the stage and delivers "Long Sunday Afternoon," there occurs a perfect ensemble moment with actor and plaintiff and exceptional soprano saxophone (Syd Polk).

Several lead performers stand out, including Natalie Yeo, who brings a wam, womanly quality that hints at her idol, Marilyn Monroe, to the character Mrs. Johnstone. Her voice is velvety and strong.

David Sattler, as the narrator, has a charismatic presence, striking good looks, and unusual voice quality. However, he needs to clarify his Liverpool accent since some of the story is lost in his diction.

Lane McKenna works well as the neurotic, selfish adoptor of the twin, Edward, while Eli Borggraefe carries of the difficult part of the softer twin with poise, grace, and a beautiful voice.

G. Scott Kaufman in the demanding roles of Mickey supplices the cap on this potent case. His energy, vitality, and physical agility create an endearing Mickey, the unlucky twon. With a strong baritone, and great audience rapport, his is the magnet performance - hard to keep one's eyes off him. Khanh Doan as Lind and Jun Fernandez as Sammy are solid. Doug Brook is believable as the absent father, Mr. Lyon.

This production is artistically directed (Sid Cate), choreographed (Bob Macke) and technically well-executed. The musical direction by Mark Hansen brings this modern score to lfie with the help of sound designer Grant Huberty.