"It's relevant"; Education Alliance

• From yesterday’s OC Reg: Fiorello! will be the first musical in IVC's new theater:

.....Part of history is repeating itself on Friday at Irvine Valley College.
.....The debut of "Fiorello!" will include half a dozen cast members who were there, in the same roles, a decade ago in an intimate 65-seat theater at the college. One came back married, one is 140 pounds lighter, and one hardly changed.
....."Before, it was like acting in a barn," said Terry Christopher, who returns to play the lead character. "And now, you're just like, 'oh my gosh.'"
.....Oh my gosh, because the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical about a New York City mayor will be the first theatrical production inside the college's 388-seat Performing Arts Center. Far from a barn, the 53,200-square-foot building has balcony seating, an orchestra pit and updated light technology.
.....The two-hour musical has a cast of about 30, an orchestra, singers and tap dancers.
....."The wonderful thing about this musical for our audience is that we're in an election year with some really contentious and political battles going on," said Ron Ellison, theater instructor. "It's relevant."....

• On Saturday, we excerpted from a curious OC Reg story about Education Alliance and its involvement in the politics of the Capistrano Unified School District (Capistrano Unified recall group relied on political action committee.) As you know, Education Alliance has been involved in SOCCCD politics, too. It still is: Don Wagner is on EA’s board.

Here’s the Reg’s review of EA’s involvement in OC public school politics in recent years (that appeared on Saturday):

Education Alliance

.....Founded in 1994, the Tustin-based Education Alliance political action committee says it advocates teaching positive values in schools and a return to traditional classroom instruction. The group supports school voucher programs and local control over schools. It opposes bilingual education, what it sees as too much power by teachers unions and campus social services such as health clinics. Often linked to teaching religion in school, the group says it does not support that.
.....The Education Alliance has been named as a factor in the election of several Orange County school board majorities. It has been involved in some high-profile controversies:

2004: Two Westminster School District trustees backed by the Education Alliance are part of a school board majority that refuses to adopt the state's definition of gender, which allows a student to define gender as his or her actual or perceived sex. The school board hires Education Alliance co-founder Mark Bucher, an attorney, to fight the California Department of Education on the policy change.

2001: Orange Unified School District parents and teachers launch a recall election against three school board members over classroom instruction, fiscal management and teachers' pay and benefits. The board majority hires Bucher to help the district with recall issues. At the same time, Bucher personally campaigns against the recall.

1999: The five-member Orange Unified school board – some members linked to the Education Alliance – fights the formation of a Gay Student Alliance club at El Modena High School. Later in the school year, the school board clashes with teachers unions over salary negotiations. [My emphases throughout.]

• IRVINE: Group protests China's rights record:

A group of demonstrators protested Wednesday outside the Irvine Barclay Theater on the campus of UC Irvine before the scheduled showing of "One World, One Dream," featuring music and dance performed by Chinese students from Beijing. The group was protesting to bring attention to China's human-rights record. Groups are increasing their protests as the Olympic torch makes it way toward Beijing for the start of the Summer Games.