Sutter Street Theatre celebrates 20 years

If you count the chairs inside the Sutter Street Theatre – and it takes just a few seconds – you stop at 62. A recount around the intimate theater – with its decorated walls and small stage – verifies that total. Theater management celebrated the start of its 20th season Saturday night with invited guests, many of them supporters, others who have acted and sung on its stage and one fan who was attending his 113th show. The little theater in Folsom's Historic District has accomplished great big things over 20 years. Connie Mockenhaupt, who serves as artistic director and who directed (acting and musically) and choreographed Saturday night's debut performance of "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," did the math: "We figured it out," she said on stage. "In 20 years, we've done over 400 shows." Added her husband, man of many hats Mike Jimena, "You take 40 people per show (on average), that's over a quarter-million people (who) have been through those doors." And, "a quarter-million people also used the restroom out the side door," Mockenhaupt added. The crowd nibbled on snacks from a charcuterie display on stage (not part of the play) and sipped celebratory champagne and wine during a pre-performance reception. Jimena also took a few minutes to thank several guests and close neighbors who share the 700 block of Sutter St., including Rainbow Bridge Jewelers and Snooks Candies. He also touted the theater's recent haul of 10 awards – of 20 total presented – from BroadwayWorld Sacramento. That included Favorite Local Theater for the second year in a row, "which included Music Circus and B Street Theatre," Jimena noted. "I think the biggest thing is it shows the support we have because that was a people's choice," said Allen Schmeltz, another man of many hats at Sutter Street Theatre. "All theaters had an opportunity, so we were just honored by getting best theater, our little theater here. Just the recognition that hey, 20 years, and this is where we've come." Sutter Street Theatre's 2026 schedule is full of classics (A Chorus Line, Arsenic and Old Lace), fun for the kids (Alice in Wonderland, A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail) and curiosities (Dorothy Meets Alice or The Wizard of Wonderland). Jimena described Alice in Wonderland as "like stepping into a Disney ride. It kind of has a Rocky & Bullwinkle feel to it. The adults take more of the jokes than the kids do." Schmeltz described the cast of "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" as "super. It's one of the best we could possibly have." Mark Ettensohn, Lauren Ettensohn, Desmond Nelson and Trinity Abbott comprise the cast. The Ettensohns have lengthy résumés while Nelson has performed with Sutter Street Theatre for almost a year and Abbott is a Theatre Arts student at American River College. A press release for the production, written by Schmeltz, describes the play as a "smart, fast-moving musical (which) explores the realities of love through a series of short scenes that mirror how relationships actually unfold. From the uncertainty of dating to the routines and revelations of long-term partnership, the show captures the small moments that shape how people connect, commit and change over time." Accompanied musically by only a piano, the cast whipped through 20 scenes of singing and acting with funny song lyrics and dialogue, at times right on top of the front row. Afterward, they braved the cold night air to talk to members of the audience while across the street bodies moved through the doors of the busy Sutter Club. It's what small-town theater is all about.