Fryer: Raul Lara trying to get plenty done in a short time as Mater Dei football coach

• May 30, 2024

Raul Lara accepted the offer to become Mater Dei’s football coach at a fairly late date.

He got the very large job, the biggest head coaching job in Orange County sports outside of managing the Angels or coaching the Ducks, on April 25.

Lara had to scramble to get himself and the Monarchs ready for spring football, including their spring game that was played Wednesday.

One prominent and successful former county football head coach, when asked if he would take a run at becoming the Mater Dei coach, replied: “I’m not sure I want to try to ride on that dragon.”

Lara is on the dragon and he’s ready to fly.

“This is a great school and a great opportunity,” the 58-year-old Lara said Thursday. “It’s got a rich tradition and it’s a faith-based program. Why wouldn’t I want to do it?”

Summer football is coming soon, with its passing leagues and tournaments and linemen competitions, although Mater Dei won’t participate in the best high school football event of the summer, the Battle at the Beach at Edison on July 13 because that’s when Mater Dei football will observe its two-week dead period mandated by CIF.

The 2024 season opener is less than three months away, a home game at Santa Ana Stadium against Centennial of Corona on Aug. 23.

Lara is getting his coaching staff assembled. Randy Wright, who was in charge of Monarchs football between the time Frank McManus was moved out as head coach and Lara was hired, remains as offensive coordinator. Former UCLA linebacker Robert Thomas, who has coached at Mater Dei and Mission Viejo, and Dominic Sesay, most recently coaching at Golden West College, will run the defense that will be led by linebacker Nasir Wyatt, the 2023 Orange County defensive player of the year who will be a senior in the fall.

There is an opening on Mater Dei’s schedule the week after the Centennial game. Lara is trying to find an opponent willing to take on the challenge of playing the Monarchs.

He recently got a scrimmage arranged, for mid-August, when Upland coach Darryl Thomas agreed to it. Leuzinger also is on board for the scrimmage, and Lara is asking around for a fourth team to join in.

Lara has to decide upon the starting quarterback that will replace Elijah Brown,the 2023 Orange County offensive player of the year who led the Monarchs to CIF Southern Section and CIF State championships and now is at Stanford. Lara said Dash Beierly (6-1, 215), a senior who transferred from Chaparral of Temecula and is committed to Washington, is in the lead while competition for the starting slot continues.

It’s going to be a busy and intense summer for Lara. He said it’s been a so-far-so-good spring.

“The kids are grasping what they need to know,” he said. “This summer we’ll try to install as much as we can and be ready for our first game. The kids are responding, and we just need to make sure they’re ready to execute.

“This is an amazing place. The administration and the teachers have been very supportive. I’m blessed to be here.”

NOTES

• The South beat the North 3-2 in the Orange County All-Star Baseball Game on Wednesday at Great Park in Irvine. Crean Lutheran’s Sho Garcia scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning of the game for graduating seniors. Carter Danz of Corona del Mar was the South team’s MVP, Justin Tillar of Cypress was the North MVP and Noah Neufeld of Laguna Beach won the game’s Hustle Award. …

• Of all the Orange County athletes who performed well at the CIF State Track and Field Championships, among the more interesting was Aliso Niguel sophomore Jaslene Massey who finished third in the shot put with a throw of 44 feet, 7½ inches. What made it interesting is Massey’s athletic versatility: she also competes in the high jump and the long jump, and is the starting middle blocker on the Aliso Niguel volleyball team. …

• Kaiden Bailey, All-Orange County first team boys basketball last season as a 6-1 sophomore guard at Crean Lutheran, has transferred to Calvary Chapel where his father James Bailey got the boys basketball head coaching position two months ago. Kaiden Bailey averaged 24 points a game last season and is getting plenty of college recruiting attention. …

• Jon Hughes is the new boys basketball coach at St. Margaret’s where he replaces Chris Nordstrom who resigned and will continue teaching at the Episcopalian school in San Juan Capistrano. Hughes has been the girls basketball coach at Calvary Chapel in recent seasons and before that he coached the boys team. …

• Michael Burns resigned as baseball coach at Trabuco Hill. He coached the Mustangs for 17 seasons. …

• Beckman won the CIF Southern Section Division 3 baseball championship and then decided to not play in this week’s CIF Southern California Regional playoffs. After Corona beat Harvard-Westlake in the CIF-SS Division 1 championship game, both of those teams declined to play in the regional. Baseball is such a grind of a game and of a season that it is understandable why teams feel they are spent after the CIF-SS finals, just like it’s understandable why regional participants like Huntington Beach, Orange Lutheran and Santa Margarita wanted to extend their seasons for a chance at more glory. …

• This was the second season of CIF-SS championships for beach volleyball, and Huntington Beach senior Haylee LaFontaine, who paired with fellow senior Dani Sparked on one of the county’s better teams, enjoyed it. “It’s so cool to play for my high school and it’s really cool how much beach volleyball is progressing,” LaFontaine said. …

• Services for longtime Orange County sports referee “Speed” Castillo will be held at Christ Cathedral on June 27 at 11 a.m. A reception is to follow the Mass at Christ Cathedral. Castillo, one of the all-time great people in county athletics as a basketball and football official and also as an administrator in the Anaheim Union High School District, died at age 94 on May 18 in Anaheim of natural causes.

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​ Orange County Register 

Former President Trump’s guilty verdict elicits strong reactions from Southern California lawmakers

• May 30, 2024

Democrats praised the country’s legal system. Republicans marked Thursday as “a shameful day in American history.”

Former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict — on all 34 felony charges in his hush money trial — makes him the first former or sitting president ever convicted of a crime.

“Despite his efforts to distract, delay and deny, justice arrived for Donald Trump all the same,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democratic contender for U.S. Senate in California.

Schiff, who gained national attention for his role in the House’s efforts to impeach Trump while he was president, said on social media: “And the rule of law prevailed.”

“Today, our legal system worked as intended,” said Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena.

“A jury of Trump’s peers, everyday Americans, weighed evidence (and) found him guilty of falsifying business records to keep voters in the dark in 2016,” Chu said. “This goes to the heart of our justice system (and) our democracy: no one is above the law.”

Republicans, however, defended Trump after the verdict was announced.

Scott Baugh, the GOP candidate running in Rep. Katie Porter’s open 47th congressional district seat in Orange County, decried the verdict, characterizing it as “political prosecution.”

“The verdict should surprise no one,” said Baugh. “A politically motivated prosecutor and a hostile judge set the trial up for so many prejudicial errors. President Trump will have his opportunity to appeal and I am confident that a fair hearing will expose and resolve these issues.”

“Political prosecutions are on the rise. This must stop,” he added.

House Speaker Mike Johnson called it a “shameful day in American history.”

“Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon,” said Johnson. “This was purely political.”

Trump was charged with falsifying business records at his company in connection with a scheme to hide potentially embarrassing stories about him during his 2016 Republican presidential election campaign.

Sentencing is set for July 11 — a little over one month after Trump is scheduled to be in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach to raise money for his campaign. It is unclear if the fundraisers will happen as planned, or if they will be postponed or canceled.

The sentencing date — just four days before the Republican National Convention where the party officially picks its presidential nominee — allegedly shows the trial “has been marred by political bias since day one,” said Randall Avila, the executive director of the Republican Party of Orange County.

“This is election interference plain and simple,” said Avila. “This verdict will rightfully go to appeal where normal order should be restored to restore not only justice but the broken confidence in our legal system.”

Echoing something Trump said after the verdict was announced, Avila added: “The ultimate jury will be the American people on Nov. 5 when voters will judge the failed Biden administration.”

Speaking to reporters after the verdict was read, Trump also called the trial “rigged” and a “disgrace.”

But Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, said, “No one, not even a former president, is above the law.”

“This guilty verdict confirms what we have long known – Donald Trump is a con man and a criminal who has consistently exploited our country for his own personal gain,” Garcia said.

Other reactions from lawmakers and candidates in Southern California:

President Trump’s only “crime” is running against Joe Biden in 2024.
The American people see right through this weaponization of the legal system.

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 30, 2024

Donald Trump’s corrupt practices have caught up with him.

This is a sad day for America. But it’s a testament to our legal system that no one, even former presidents, is above the law.

Read my full statement: https://t.co/t9dvS4EDuF

— Rep. Linda Sánchez (@RepLindaSanchez) May 30, 2024

How’s that chant go that he used to lead at rallies?

— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) May 30, 2024

No one is above the law. Today’s verdict is a testament to that fundamental truth. As an Army veteran and officer of the court, I have dedicated my life to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States. @DonaldTrump was held accountable for his crimes today. This…

— Derek Tran (@derektranCA45) May 30, 2024

This is a reminder that no one is above the law, not even a former president.

Trump received a fair trial. A jury of his peers—not his political opponents—weighed the evidence and believe there was enough to convict him.

No grand conspiracy, only the truth: Trump is a criminal. https://t.co/aGHcjDeCGK

— Rep. Jimmy Gomez (@RepJimmyGomez) May 30, 2024

In America, no one is above the law: not the rich, not the powerful, and certainly not any former President of the United States. https://t.co/cEmnEnhDqK

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) May 30, 2024

I want to thank the jury members for doing their duty, despite being threatened every day by Trump and his supporters.

Jury service and the right to a fair trial are two of the cornerstones of our free democracy.

— Dave Min (davemin_ca on ) (@DaveMinCA) May 30, 2024

Read CAGOP Chairwoman Jessica @MillanPatterson’s full statement on President Donald Trump’s verdict. pic.twitter.com/3dF6ksF52D

— CAGOP (@CAGOP) May 30, 2024

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with more reactions throughout the day.

Staff writers Teresa Liu and Christina Merino and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

​ Orange County Register 

Fontana denies wrongdoing in 2018 police interrogation characterized as ‘psychological torture’

• May 30, 2024

In a forceful defense of its police officers, Fontana city officials say detectives did nothing illegal in the 2018 interrogation of a man who was “psychologically tortured” into falsely confessing to killing his father.

An unsigned statement on the city’s website posted Wednesday, May 29, said, “the City of Fontana vigorously denies that (any officer) violated any state or federal law during the investigation.”

The city recently paid nearly $900,000 to settle a federal lawsuit by Thomas Perez Jr., who alleged investigators grilled him for 17 hours in August 2018 — even suggesting his pet Labrador Retriever would be euthanized — to get him to confess to killing his father. Police later learned Louis Perez Sr. was not dead or even missing, but was at Los Angeles International Airport awaiting a flight.

The story, first reported last week by the Southern California News Group, ignited a firestorm of news stories throughout the country and put the Fontana Police Department under a global microscope for its interrogation techniques.

“A reasonable juror could conclude that the detectives inflicted unconstitutional psychological torture on Perez,” said U.S. District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee in a 2023 summary judgment allowing the lawsuit to proceed. “Their tactics indisputably led to Perez’s subjective confusion and disorientation, to the point he falsely confessed to killing his father, and tried to take his own life.”

According to court documents, detectives told Perez that they had found his father’s body and it wore a toe tag at the morgue. They said they had evidence he was the killer and initially withheld his medication for anxiety, depression, high blood pressure and asthma.

Perez eventually broke down, confessed to stabbing his father with a pair of scissors and tried to hang himself after being left alone in the interrogation room.

The backlash from the investigation spotlighted the use of deception by police, which has been a common practice during interrogations, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1969 that lying was allowed.

“The Fontana case is an extreme one, but it fundamentally begins with a mistaken belief about the use of deception in the interview room,” said El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson, a leading reformer in police interrogation. “While it is legally acceptable for police to lie to suspects they are questioning, they can end up with very bad results and it’s simply not the most effective way to interview people.”

Fontana officials, in their statement, stressed that detectives had ample reason to suspect violence against the then-71-year-old father, whom Perez had reported missing. Blood evidence had been found in the house, which was in a state of disarray, with broken furniture. Detectives saw it as a sign of struggle.

A cadaver dog had alerted to the presence of human remains inside the house. A shower curtain was gone and Perez had disposed of his father’s clothing, said the statement. Perez’s attorney, Jerry Steering, said he had donated the clothes to Goodwill Industries.

The statement said the city would never have agreed to a settlement if Perez had demanded an admission of wrongdoing.

“The settlement in this case was a business decision which was recommended by a federal court mediator to save the city further time, effort, and expense,” the statement said.

City officials also said that in the years since Perez’s interrogation, Fontana police leaders “have developed many service enhancements to deal with mentally challenged individuals.”

However, the statement doesn’t identify those enhancements and police did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

The city also noted that Perez had voluntarily submitted to questioning and was not isolated for 17 hours in the interview room, but was taken out for coffee and driven around. Court records, however, show the grilling did not stop once they left the room.

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While Fontana’s statement does not specifically address the investigators’ interrogation methods, some experts in police training said the detectives went way beyond the bounds.

“What they did is awful … it’s extraordinarily unethical,” Pierson said. “I’ve never seen anything remotely like bringing in his dog and suggesting to him his dog is going to be euthanized, ultimately procuring a false confession to a crime that never occurred.”

Steering, responding to the city’s statement, said there was nothing voluntary about Perez’s questioning by police.

“They never denied what matters, that they mentally tortured him,” Steering said. “These people are just lying cops who now feel some obligation to say something.”

​ Orange County Register 

U.S. women’s water polo blends youth and experience with roster selections for Paris Olympics

• May 30, 2024

Seven first-time Olympians will join decorated Southern California attackers Maddie Musselman, Rachel Fattal and Kaleigh Gilchrist on the U.S. women’s water polo team at the Paris Olympics as it attempts to claim a fourth consecutive gold medal.

The U.S. federation announced its 13-player Olympic roster on Thursday as the countdown continues toward opening ceremonies in Paris on July 26.

“We have a healthy mix, I believe, of experience with youth,” U.S. coach Adam Krikorian said in a statement released by USA Water Polo.

The roster closely matched the one deployed by Krikorian in Team USA’s 8-7 victory against Hungary in the gold-medal match at the World Aquatics Championships in February in Qatar.

Six of the seven first-time Olympians played in the finale. The exception was Emily Ausmus, an 18-year-old from King High in Riverside and USC who will be the United States’ youngest player in Paris. She played earlier in the tournament.

The other first-time Olympians joining Ausmus will be Jordan Raney (Mira Costa), center Tara Prentice (Murrieta Valley/UC Irvine), Jovana Sekulic, Ryann Neushul, Jewel Roemer and Jenna Flynn.

The U.S. team will feature plenty of experience.

Musselman (Corona del Mar/UCLA), Fattal (Los Alamitos/UCLA) and Gilchrist (Newport Harbor/USC) made their third consecutive Olympic team. Fattal and Musselman scored 12 and 11 goals, respectively, in Qatar. Fattal also won 15 sprints.

Goalie Ashleigh Johnson, who had 53 saves at the World Championships, is another three-time Olympian. Goalie Amanda Longan (Oaks Christian/USC) became a two-time Olympian on Thursday.

Team USA’s most experienced player will be Maggie Steffens, who was selected to her fourth consecutive Olympic team to tie the U.S. women’s record.

Steffens, who led the Americans with 15 goals in Qatar, joins Brenda Villa and Heather Petri as a four-time U.S. Olympian.

The U.S. men’s water polo team is expected to announce its roster for Paris on June 18.

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​ Orange County Register 

OC new Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs kicks off work

• May 30, 2024

County officials, community members and service providers are celebrating the launch of a new county office that aims to connect immigrants and refugees with vital resources they need to successfully establish a new home in Orange County.

A Wednesday event at the County Administration North building in Santa Ana acted as the kickoff for the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) and was also the first in-person meeting of the OC Good Neighbor Task Force, a coalition formed after the fall of Kabul in Afghanistan that welcomes and aids the displaced.

OIRA Director Jose Serrano said the gathering was designed to bring immigrants and refugees – and those who serve them – together so they can learn more about how the office can help the community now that it’s up and running.

“We want you to know that this is your home and it belongs to all of us,” Serrano told the packed room. “This is about every single one of us that has been a part of this refugee highway, or immigrant pipeline, that has taken all of us to welcome people and help them integrate into the communities of Orange County.”

The meeting included an overview of the office by Serrano, remarks by county supervisors Doug Chaffee, Vicente Sarmiento and Katrina Foley, and a presentation of awards to task force members that have gone the “extra mile” to help the most vulnerable.

In their speeches, supervisors said that while immigrants have contributed to the fabric of the community and made their mark across Orange County – from Little Arabia in Anaheim to Little Saigon in Garden Grove and Westminster– many arrive lacking jobs, healthcare, housing and other basic needs.

Pointing out that nearly 1 million Orange County residents are foreign-born, and about 10% of the county’s population are non-citizens, supervisors said they hope that OIRA becomes a one-stop shop where new arrivals can connect with the valuable resources they need to start a new life in the U.S.

“Orange County is a prime example of what happens when the immigrant and refugee community thrives,” said Chaffee, who along with Supervisor Andrew Do, brought forth the idea of establishing OIRA. “It uplifts and enriches the lives of everyone around us. I hope that, through this office, we can pay back the community by ensuring equity, opportunity and belonging for all.”

In his remarks, Sarmiento said that while the county and country may have previously experienced “tension” and “struggle” with immigration, immigrants should now feel welcomed and given housing, workforce development and other resources.

“Today is a great day, because Orange County is opening its arms, it’s opening its hearts to making sure that transition is just a little bit easier,” he said.

OIRA serves as a bridge, where immigrants and refugees can be connected with services and resources offered by county departments and community-based organizations.

The office, which opened in early April, is based at the county’s Social Services Agency administration building in Orange, Serrano said.

It’s being operated with $500,000 in discretionary funds from Chaffee’s district, and is moving forward with “unanimous support” from the OC Board of Supervisors, Chaffee said.

Serrano says he is leading the office under three core values: welcome, bridging and celebration. Along with creating an inviting environment that connects immigrants, the office will also highlight their contributions to the community.

Giselle Aguilar, a youth organizer with Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO) in Anaheim, was among those who attended Wednesday’s event.

Aguilar and about 15 OCCCO students and staff members visited to learn more about the office, how they can get involved and how they can spread the word about it.

“I hope that it’s a backbone for a lot of our communities to initiate whatever service they want to and are eligible for,” Aguilar said, “and in the long run, becomes a place where adults and students can be involved and thrive off these services.”

Looking toward the future, Serrano said he plans to expand the office in the coming months.

He says he is working to hire two social workers who will work out of the county’s community service centers in Brea and Westminster, where they will assess clients’ needs and connect them with resources and services to help them get settled.

He said he will also hold listening sessions with resettlement agencies, service providers and other stakeholders in the coming months to glean insight into the community’s needs.

Serrano, who has spent more than a decade in various roles supporting immigrants, said OIRA is building on the work that’s already been carried out over the years by local agencies and groups.

“I’m so honored to be selected as the director of this office,” he said. “I don’t hold this title lightly because I know that a lot of families and people really depend on this network and connection to resources, so I’m super excited.”

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​ Orange County Register 

With Trump convicted in New York, what happens next?

• May 30, 2024

Rosie Manins | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS)

After being convicted Thursday in New York, former President Donald Trump will remain free from custody while awaiting his sentencing on July 11. And he is certain to appeal which could carry the case into 2025.

The jury in Trump’s criminal hush money case began deliberating Wednesday and returned a verdict Thursday, finding Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide an alleged affair, which he denied.

Here’s what to expect now that Trump has been convicted.

Custody unlikely

Trump has not been in custody during the New York trial and he was not handcuffed or placed behind bars immediately after conviction, even though the charges he faces carry a maximum sentence of four years in prison. Instead, he left the courtroom and blasted the verdict as “rigged.”

“It’s not like on TV where the defendant is taken off in handcuffs and incarcerated,” said former Manhattan assistant district attorney Richard Serafini, a Florida-based lawyer not involved in any of Trump’s prosecutions.

The decision not to jail Trump is in line with many other non-violent offenders who typically remain out on bond while awaiting sentencing, said Emory law professor John Acevedo, whose specialties include criminal procedure.

A pause before sentencing

The judge set a July 11 sentencing date giving prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys time to prepare their arguments and supporting material, legal experts said.

“Usually a report is generated by the department of probation or prisons. And then the district attorney would have an opportunity to weigh in, as would the defense, to propose sentences,” Acevedo said.

Trump could be sentenced to four years in prison on each charge that he’s convicted of. But the judge could also decide that a noncustodial sentence, such as a fine, home detention or probation, is enough.

Chris Timmons, a former metro Atlanta prosecutor who has closely followed the Trump trial, said the “gigantic hassle” of incarcerating a former president means Trump might receive house arrest or some kind of suspended sentence, where he stays out of jail as long as he abides by certain conditions.

Trump, who is the presumptive Republican candidate for president, could be confined to Trump Tower in New York if sentenced to home detention, and could be barred from leaving the state while on probation, Acevedo said.

Appeal expected

It is almost certain that Trump will appeal his conviction, but he will have to wait until the trial judge sentences him and enters a final judgment in the case.

There are two levels of appeals courts in New York, Serafini said. The state’s intermediate appellate court would likely get the case first, before it could be elevated to the state’s highest bench.

Appeals usually take months to decide and an opinion in Trump’s case would likely come in 2025, legal experts said.

Trump’s sentence could be put on hold pending the outcome of an appeal, Serafini and Acevedo said. Timmons said Trump could also be required to post a bond in order to have the judgment against him delayed while he awaits an appellate ruling.

To win on appeal, Trump would have to prove that the trial court made a legal error that harmed his case. He could face retrial.

A second booking photo?

If Trump is booked into a corrections facility, he’ll likely be subject to the usual procedures, including having his photograph and fingerprints recorded, experts said.

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Though Trump faces criminal charges in four states, he’s only had his mug shot taken in Georgia, where he was booked into the Fulton County jail in August. Trump and 14 others are accused of criminally interfering in Georgia’s 2020 general election.

Trump could also be photographed and fingerprinted by corrections staff if sentenced to home detention or probation, as violations of those sentences can lead to imprisonment, Acevedo said.

“Most states require all convicted felons to be photographed and fingerprinted for their databases,” Acevedo said. “If (Trump is) convicted of a felony and sentenced to anything other than a fine, I would expect fingerprints and a photograph to be taken.”

He said Trump would likely be strip-searched and medically examined if imprisoned, as “those are almost mandatory for all incoming prisoners.”

©2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Review: ‘Funny Girl’ in Costa Mesa boasts a mega-talented star

• May 30, 2024

At the end of almost any show these days,  theater audiences rise for an obligatory standing ovation as if the doorbell just rang and the last Halloween candy needs doling out.

Rarely, an audience roars out of its seats with fervent spontaneity, a visceral launch as if the chairs were spring-loaded.

Tuesday evening, the largely unknown stage actress Katerina McCrimmon, starring as Fanny Brice in the touring “Funny Girl” newly arrived at Segerstrom center, generated that raw eruption.

And deservedly so! While touring productions of Broadway musicals chugging through the hinterlands often have lead parts filled with fine enough performances, encountering a “who was THAT!?” jaw-dropping talent is a rare sighting.

And an even rarer “sounding,” as it turns out.

Barbra Streisand has cast more than a half-century of deepest shade over these songs which made her a star. The ultimate factor, of course, was her indelible voice and a lifetime of couture tailored musical arrangements — starting with the “Funny Girl” film score — to show it off.

McCrimmon’s considerable vocal entitlement is on bigtime display throughout these golden age show tunes. Its most overt quality is that she proves to be a Broadway belter with the best of them.

During the animated show ending reprise of the warhorse “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” McCrimmon crowns the number by drilling the possessive adjective, stringing out that “Myyyyyyyyyyyy”  effortlessly and extending the belted note far longer than we anticipate while we are hearing it.

The crowd, as they say, went wild.

Vocal pyrotechnics aside, what makes this show go across most of its 2 ½ hours is that McCrimmon is also a plus-one strong comedic actor. This “Funny Girl” features an actually funny girl.

In real life, Fanny Brice couldn’t sing a lick. She became a star a century ago as an unparalleled vaudeville comedienne at a time when it was strictly a man’s job to make ‘em laugh.

As Fanny says in a line of dialogue, “they laughed with me, not at me.”

McCrimmon never breaks the fourth wall, but her Fanny’s naturalistic asides, glances and, most of all, reactions to what other characters just said to her, personalizes the experience to a level that it feels she is kibbitzing one-on-one wisecracks with the last row in the orchestra section.

A key to the evening, too, is that McCrimmon in this production is keeping quite nice company.

Her charming swain-then-husband, Nick Arnstein is well filled by Stephen Mark Lukas. An understudy in the Broadway production, Lukas looks and frets the part of a gambler desperately descending into jail time over a crooked deal.

Lukas’ baritone is a fine fit for McCrimmon in the comic seduction duet “You Are Woman, I Am Man”;  even better is his resigned delivery of the winsome lament “You’re a Funny Girl.”

Melissa Manchester, left, and Katerina McCrimmon star in the national tour of “Funny Girl,” on stage at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through June 9. (Photo by Matthew Murphy for Murphy Made)

As Mrs. Brice, Fanny’s mom, Melissa Manchester makes for a dandy uber-Jewish empress of the running poker game in the Lower-East Side ghetto on Henry Street, which Harvey Fierstein, brought in for this production to punch up the book, has unaccountably shuffled off to Brooklyn.

Manchester also wears her mother-in-law “I told you this guy was going to be a problem” tone lightly, as if what is evident to her as the wife who got jilted should be clear to all.

Vocally, Manchester only gets a lead in the song “Who Taught Her Everything She Knows?”  It’s the show’s loss we don’t hear Manchester’s voice solo another time.

This production is also buoyed throughout by strong tap dance scenes, especially two solos from Izaiah Montaque Harris as Eddie Ryan. Beyond Harris’ applause-drawing dexterity, he functions smoothly as Fanny’s low-level showbiz confidant as well as part time choreographer at the Ziegfeld Follies.

Katerina McCrimmon and Izaiah Montague-Harris star in the national touring production of “Funny Girl,” on stage at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through June 9. (Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

The follies’ ensemble dance scenes with the whole cast intermittently provides the show with period fun and plenty of costuming razzmatazz.

Musically, the generous pit band of 17 — led by director Elaine Davidson — announced the fulsome musical pleasures to come with an inviting instrumental overture showcase.

An interesting musical component is how the show’s biggest warhorse, “People”  sort of sneaks up on you in the stage mounting.

Everyone, of course, has been trained to know how this ballad/anthem sounds from a lifetime hearing the Streisand studio recording or her taped live 1994 performance at the then-Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

Here, the magic isn’t about hearing a No. 1 hit yet again, but experiencing its true, original purpose within the show’s framework.

This is the first moment Fanny’s always on-display vulnerabilities aren’t paid off with a punchline, but, instead, a window to her inner, emotional landscape.

Another surprise for anyone who saw this show in New York is that on Broadway, this same physical set design felt underwhelming, a bit  makeshift. However, at Segerstrom the visual references to the long-ago red brick of early 20th century Manhattan … er, OK Harvey, Brooklyn … feel downright homey.

Don’t think for a minute, though, that this bagel doesn’t come with a big hole in it.

Related links

‘Alma’ at Anaheim’s Chance Theater is an intimate portrait of the immgrant experience
South Coast Repertory announces its 2024-25 season
Center Theatre Group’s new season brings its three venues under one show-stopping roof
‘Galilee, 34’ at South Coast Repertory offers a fresh take on the life of Jesus
‘Tartuffe’ displays timeless humor at Laguna Playhouse

“Funny Girl’s” second act has a book that turns Fanny into a maudlin mope and a run of songs that can’t stand up to the powerhouse numbers which landed before the intermission curtain.

Early on in “Funny Girl,” after Fanny and Nick kiss for the first time, McCrimmon does a brief tap step jig of excitement that maybe lasts a second, at most. It’s a visual riff that Streisand originated, and which  “Funny Girl” fanatics likely recognize.

In an insightful article in Performance magazine, about theater performers in roles indelibly tied to megastars,  McCrimmon acknowledges that “for many people, Fanny and Barbara are one.”

Probably so. But while in front of us, Katerina McCrimmon accomplishes the unfathomable — she makes the role her own.

‘Funny Girl’

Rating: 3 1/2 stars (out of a possible four).

When: Through June 9; 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays.

Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

Tickets: $39-$139

Information: 949-556-2787; scfta.org

​ Orange County Register 

Former President Donald Trump found guilty in hush money trial

• May 30, 2024

Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor who said the two had sex.

Jurors convicted Trump on all 34 counts after deliberating for 9.5 hours.

The verdict is a stunning legal reckoning for Trump and exposes him to potential prison time in the city where his manipulations of the tabloid press helped catapult him from a real estate tycoon to reality television star and ultimately president. As he seeks a return to the White House in this year’s election, the judgment presents voters with another test of their willingness to accept Trump’s boundary-breaking behavior.

Trump is expected to quickly appeal the verdict and will face an awkward dynamic as he seeks to return to the campaign trail as a convicted felon. There are no campaign rallies on the calendar for now, though he’s expected to hold fundraisers next week. It will likely take several months for Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the case, to decide whether to sentence Trump to prison.

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The falsifying business records charges carry up to four years behind bars, though prosecutors have not said whether they intend to seek imprisonment, and it is not clear whether the judge — who earlier in the trial warned of jail time for gag order violations — would impose that punishment even if asked. The conviction, and even imprisonment, will not bar Trump from continuing his pursuit of the White House.

Trump faces three other felony indictments, but the New York case may be the only one to reach a conclusion before the November election, adding to the significance of the outcome. Though the legal and historical implications of the verdict are readily apparent, the political consequences are less so given its potential to reinforce rather than reshape already-hardened opinions about Trump.

For another candidate in another time, a criminal conviction might doom a presidential run, but Trump’s political career has endured through two impeachments, allegations of sexual abuse, investigations into everything from potential ties to Russia to plotting to overturn an election, and personally salacious storylines including the emergence of a recording in which he boasted about grabbing women’s genitals.

In addition, the general allegations of the case have been known to voters for years and, while tawdry, are widely seen as less grievous than the allegations he faces in three other cases that charge him with subverting American democracy and mishandling national security secrets.

​ Orange County Register