‘Hamilton’ ticket giveaway by Santa Rosa couple made woman’s night

In New York City last weekend, it floored Santa Rosa’s Laura and John Whiting when a well-connected lifelong friend of Laura came up with tickets - good ones! - to “Hamilton.”

The story would be memorable if it ended there. But when Laura’s friend, Barbara Zweig, made the call for tickets she found four, and their party was just the three of them.

Before they arrived at Richard Rodgers Theatre, Zweig knew she would give that fourth ticket, worth many hundreds of dollars, to someone who queued and hoped for a cancellation.

She found a young woman who, she and Whitings would learn, had stood in line nearly seven hours - after doing the same to no avail at an earlier performance. She is a civil engineer in her native Mexico and has been working as an au pair in Connecticut.

Now and then throughout the show, the Whitings and Zweig turned from the musical spectacle on the stage to see that the woman cried tears of joy nearly from curtain to curtain.

Afterward she promised she will never forget the kindness, and to pay it forward. Bravo!

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RAVE REVIEWS flowed from the moving, musical event at the Green Music Center on Saturday that launched Don Green’s new memoir, “Defining Moments.”

One of the prime moments was the reading of excerpts by actor Tim Kniffin, who once was student body president at SSU and for two decades has made his living on stage and screen.

Kniffin holds more than a passing interest in the future of the Ian Olds thriller “Burn Country,” which was filmed in Sonoma County, showed well at festivals and now has been purchased by Orion. He co-stars with the likes of Oscar winner Melissa Leo and James Franco. “Burn Country” is due to hit the theaters Dec. 9.

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TED TALKS are huge, and there’s what looks to be a great one coming to Sonoma County on Nov. 5.

Among the fascinating people who’ll take turns speaking briefly at Sonoma Country Day School’s Jackson Theater are Mary Carouba, the local author, humorist and playwright whose works include co-authoring a book on women heroes of 9/11.

Carouba will be joined at TEDxSonomaCounty by more than 10 other presenters, to include Sonoma County storytellers Mark and Luanne Nightingale, the band Royal Jelly Jive, Brown University political scientist Rose McDermott, illustrator/satirist Rick Meyerowitz and UC Santa Barbara ecologist Kevin Lafferty.

For tickets, go to TEDxSonomaCounty.com.

There will be, too, an appearance by a local “mystery guest.” Whom do you suppose?

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YOU KNOW TAIKO? Alexa Riner couldn’t be happier to have discovered heart-pounding taiko drumming.

“What I really like about taiko, personally,” said Riner, who lives in Santa Rosa, “is that I feel like a whole person when I do it.”

She’s been making music with large drums and sticks for 13 years, and today is an instructor with Sonoma County Taiko. The group invites all to come look into taiko at an open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 3325 Regional Parkway, Suite 11, in Santa Rosa.

Riner said a taiko performance “is definitely a good workout. “And afterward: “I feel I’ve given something to people and that feels good.”

Chris Smith is at 707-521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.