Remembering the Palms Public Playhouse of Davis, California,
and The Bad Actors who performed in the park and in the barn. Memories or photos you'd like to share? Email [email protected]

Some background on The Palms Public Playhouse
and The Bad Actors of Davis, CaliforniaExcerpted from the article "Splendor in the Grass" by Mindy Giles
Sacramento News & Review 08/22/2002The sensation begins when the two towering old palm trees in the south Davis field come into view; the crunch of parking lot gravel under car wheels is felt, the languid 150-foot stroll toward the tiny weathered gray barn completed. Birds twitter in the boulevard of shade trees leading toward the creaky double barn doors. To the left, some lucky soul is always sitting in the wide catbird seat of the rusted 1930s International Harvester tractor sunk in the dirt, usually leaning forward on the thin metal steering wheel for balance or to make a point. If you walk by the picnic table through the grass behind the shed, past the giant swamp cooler, you will probably run into a musician or two ruminating, possibly with a cigarette, while looking up at the crescent moon, or possibly ironing a shirt on the old board right outside the stage door entrance. Come around full circle to the front again, among the Zen-zoned cats that wander between the legs of folks engaged in friendly conversation …… Twenty-seven years ago, in 1975, Americans were reeling. The city of Saigon had been surrendered, thus ending the Vietnam War. John Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman were all found guilty of the Watergate cover-up. Newly appointed President Gerald Ford escaped an assassination attempt right here in Sacramento. And The Palms Public Playhouse, located in a tiny barn on two acres of the far agricultural outskirts of quiet Davis, was opened by Linda McDonagh and her fun-loving local theatrical troupe called The Bad Actors.In the early 1970s, McDonagh, with a theatre arts degree behind her, had been producing Shakespeare in the Park in association with the nonprofit Davis Art Center. But she wanted a place of her own to stage both live Shakespeare and original theatre. She found the land, a house and the barn, dubbed it The Palms, and then set out to find an all-volunteer 10-person troupe.Sherry Cachois, [a] Palms board members and Bad Actor alumna, recalls how she got hooked. It was the first play she attended, I’m Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You’ll Have To Spend the Night: A Monster Musical. It was written by Bob Pickett, who in a parallel universe was Bobby "Boris" Pickett, the Karloff impersonator with the 1962 No. 1 smash single called "The Monster Mash.""He actually came and appeared in it with us for one weekend,” said Bill Maloney … a popular local musician and a creative force, designing and building sets, writing and adapting music, acting and directing. He also built the tiny proscenium to deaden the barn’s sound.The barn also evolved into a site for local civic debates, voting, gong shows (judged by the mayor), and a sort of an unplanned nature habitat for a motley menagerie of grazing horses and dogs chasing peacocks, chickens, sheep, cats and goats.The Palms was establishing a reputation for unexpected, transcendent-type experiences. "In The Bad Actors: Roman Style we had a pre-show outside with jugglers, watermelon seed-spitting contests and fair maidens dancing," Maloney recalled.A gladiator-villain burst through the field in a chariot and stole one of the dancing maidens. She screamed. "I galloped out on my horse and I chased him. I cut him off, had a sword fight with him, and then grabbed the maiden, threw her on the back of my horse and rode off. Then the people were herded into the theater to see what would happen next" [recalled Maloney]Despite their tight schedule of plays year-round, including Maloney's successful Robin Hood: A 1950s Rock & Roll Musical, the theatre was dark during the weekdays. The Palms needed another steady source of income to stay open. Maloney suggested that McDonagh book beat jazz singer/pianist Mose Allison. He was the first renowned musical artist to play the room. The public responded; it was a financial success.Cachois brightens with memories of the acting troupe. "We kept the Bad Actors going for nearly 15 years. We pretty much frolicked from 1976-1990. But we all had to grow up. People couldn't commit to the time it took to build sets, make costumes and just rehearse. It was all volunteer. People finally had to go become normal working types." They did fewer plays, more music.

SubZero -- a chilly musical ...