Sebastian (Vincent Kartheiser) and Sheba (Vaishnavi Sharma) begin to flirt. Photo by Kevin Berne

The San Jose Repertory  has brought Hollywood to local theater, and you still have a chance to see it.  Fans of Vincent Kartheiser from “Mad Men” (Pete Campbell) can see him live on stage through Saturday evening in a modern day play titled The Death of the Novel.

Kartheiser plays Sebastian, an agoraphobic writer who has decided he won’t ever leave his apartment until his advance runs out.  Sebastian is a bit of an insufferable, skeevy egotist… sort of a present day Pete Campbell.   He has issues, many stemming from the aftermath of 9/11, and others from a series of deaths in his own life.  When he meets beautiful Sheba (played by Vaishnavi Sharma), his life is turned upside down as he struggles to understand who she is, and whether it matters to him.

It’s quite a psychological drama, which seems to focus on the mystery of who Sheba really is.  She has created an intricate family history and background for herself, none of which appears to be true.  We meet the main characters in the first act, and get to know Sebastian well… then learn that we know nothing at all about Sheba.  The second act is a whirlwind of psychological intrigue and drama… an overload of the senses that is almost too much to absorb by the end.  But though it was tough to take our eyes off the beautiful Sheba, I thought the most interesting character was Sebastian.  From what we know of him, he has only one real male friend, Philip (Patrick Kelly Jones), who is Sheba’s original boyfriend.  But he also has three very important women in his life: Perry, his therapist; Claire, his hooker; and Sheba, the woman he wants but may not ever fully have.  It’s a virtual id, ego and superego of females.

In particular, I thought Zarah Mahler as Claire and Amy Pietz as Perry were the best of all the actors in the show.  Vincent Kartheiser also puts in an incredible amount of work in a role that requires him to talk almost non-stop through both acts.

It is not my favorite show that I’ve ever seen at the Rep, but there are several good points about the show and I still recommend it.  I would like to have seen it twice, or went over the script later, so I could absorb it all.  Of course, anyone wanting to see a bit of “Hollywood Stardom” should get themselves down to the Rep immediately before it’s too late.  It’s quite a coup to have gotten Mr. Kartheiser down to our theater, and we definitely appreciate the work that he and everyone else involved put into the show.  Thanks to the San Jose Repertory for an interesting and thought provoking opening to the 2012-2013 season!

The Death of the Novel
San Jose Repertory Theatre
Through September 22
Next up: Freud’s Last Session
October 11 – November 4

YouTube Interview with Mad Men\’s Vincent Kartheiser

PRx Digital talks to Mad Men’s Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell) about his starring role in “The Death of the Novel,” a new play by Jonathan Marc Feldman at the San Jose Repertory. As Kartheiser wraps up Mad Men Season 5 on AMC, he turns his attention to his role as Sebastian, a brilliant young novelist coping with great personal loss in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.

He goes into seclusion in his Manhattan apartment, refusing to write again. A mysterious and beautiful stranger intrudes, telling incredible stories of her own. Is she yet another fan of his work, or is she something else entirely? This play is about finding the tenacity to thrive in a dangerous, unpredictable world, and to create again.

In this interview Kartheiser talks about the energy and passion he brings to his roles, such as Pete Campbell in Mad Men. The production, directed by Rick Lombardo, runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 23, 2012 at the San Jose Repertory Theatre.

As always, Metblogs is looking forward to next season, and as great fans of Mad Men, this show in particular!  Click the link for the quick 2 minute interview with Vincent!  See you at the Rep in September!  And this month, and July, etc.  There is ALWAYS something great happening at the Rep.

I stopped in at Dick’s Bakery because I just needed a square of Burnt Almond cake.

While there I noticed a now familiar face. Posted on the glass refrigerator door above the sign reading, ‘Please Do Not Slam Door! I Am 53 Years Young” was a picture of American Idol contestant DeAndre.

The picture reading: Good Luck DeAndre!

Don’t forget to watch and vote for DeAndre
On American Idol !
Wednesday at 8pm

Phillip Phillips is my favorite, but it will be hard not to cast my vote for our local Oak Grove High School student.

Wednesday – November 10 at 11am: Don’t ya panic if you are driving around Silicon Valley listening to KQED (88.5), Oldies (103.7), or home watching “The Young And The Restless” on CBS 5 and the programming is interrupted.

This will be the first ever nation wide test of the Emergency Alert System conducted by the FCC and FEMA. We are told that the test should last approximately three-and-a-half-minutes or 30 seconds (?). The test will be seen on all local cable and satellite TV stations, and heard on the radio as well. Officials want to make sure that if a national alert is ever needed the system will work as planned.

If you have Xfinity and the test lasts for more than five minutes, please do not call the doctor.

* Power-cycle your cable box by unplugging the power cord from the outlet.
* Wait thirty seconds and then plug it back in.

Note: DVR recordings during the test will be interrupted and may even be lost.

Have you seen Homeland on Showtime? If you were a fan of 24 I’m betting you will also be a fan of Homeland.

The show stars Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a, high-strung bi-polar, CIA officer who is very much “Jack Bauer”.

Carrie seems to be the only one at CIA operations who can see the security risk that an American Marine (Sergeant Brody) who was once held captive now poses.

In last nights episode Carrie, others at the CIA, and Sergeant Brody were asked to take polygraph tests. Sergeant Brody was able to pass the test without even one spike on the machine even though Carrie had first hand knowledge that he was not telling the truth.

Bay Area fans of Homeland can test their ability to pass a polygraph today and tomorrow…

San Francisco:

Monday, November 7: Ghirardelli Square, West Plaza (1 p.m. – 6 p.m.)
Tuesday, November 8: Fisherman’s Wharf, the intersection of Beach Street & the Embarcadero/Powell (12 p.m. – 5 p.m.)

HOMELAND

Mt. Umunhum

Tonight (7/20/2011) at 7:30 PM (repeats 1:30 AM) KQED will present Mt. Umunhum Return to the Summit on QUEST.

Umunhum is Ohlone ~ meaning resting place of the hummingbird.

Or, watch it on line @ KQED.

Also showing Fri 7/22/2011 1:30 pm on KQED and Sat 7/23/2011 3:30 pm on KTEH.

The PBS series Antiques Roadshow was in San Jose and the South Bay in August 2009 to tape three episodes.

The first episode debuts this Monday, May 10, as host Mark L. Walberg and appraiser Rafael Eledge visit the Winchester Mystery House. Mark L. Walberg and appraiser Bruce Shackelford visit the historic Fallon House in the second episode. In the third episode Mr. Walberg and appraiser Nicholas Lowry visit Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

The episodes debut on KQED Mondays May 10, 17, and 24. KTEH debuts the episodes Thursdays May 13, 20, and 27. KQED, KTEH along with KQED Life re-broadcast the episodes various days and times.

Channels and Airdates

Guy Fieri (the Food Network) traveled to San Jose in search of some comfort food. He found what he was looking for at the “Naglee Park Garage” located at 505 East Santa Clara Street.

Hours of Operation:
Tuesday – Thursday: 5pm to 9:30pm
Friday and Saturday (Dinner): 5pm to 10pm
Saturday and Sunday (Breakfast): 9am to 1pm.

408 286-1100

The episode  “Comfort Food Classics” will air Monday Feb. 22, 2010.

On Comcast that would be Channel 747 @ 7pm – and -Channel 35 @ 10pm.

On DirecTV Channel 231 @ 7pm.

The folks at Roy’s Station think a redhead would be the number 1 choicest pick for Mayor of Japantown.

Conan O’Brien?

YouTube – See for yourself.

It was October 17, 1989 just before 5:00 PM and all was well. My 19-month-old daughter was taking a late nap, dinner was warming in the
microwave, the TV tuned for the World Series, and my husband would be home soon. Then without warning it all changed in seconds.

The TV flickered and then almost simultaneously everything was in motion. Books fell off of the shelves, the microwave cart started to move from the kitchen to the front room, and I was running for my daughter. Fortunately my family suffered no injuries.

The sorry plight of the people trapped in the Cyprus Freeway collapse made quite an impression, so I do carry bottled water in the car. But this many years later I am not prepared for the next big one. Is anyone?

Tomorrow morning we can participate in “The Great California Shake Out” and learn to help keep ourselves safe.

Radio & TV Broadcasts
October 15th at 10:15 AM

* KCBS 740 AM – 106.9 FM

* KPIX TV 5

San Jose: The Tech Museum is the epicenter for Northern California.

As the key ShakeOut venue, the museum will be staged to carry out the “drop,
cover, hold on” drill with more than 400 student visitors and other guests
including Matthew Bettenhausen, acting secretary of the state’s Emergency
Management Agency, Karen Baker, secretary of Service and Volunteering for
California Volunteers, museum President Peter Friess and officials with the
USGS, American Red Cross, San Jose police and fire officials, among others.

More than 400 visitors participate in an actual earthquake drill in
three museum locations. The museum earthquake platform will be shaking all
day with eight different simulated earthquakes from around the world –
including the Loma Prieta. An ambulance and police and fire vehicles will be
stationed outside the museum along with the “Big Shaker,” an earthquake
simulator where visitors are rattled for up to 10 seconds in what feels like
an 8.0 quake.

1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake – KTVU TV 8:15pm

USGS twitter