by Del Meyer, MD

Sacramento has a wealth of cultural activities in which to participate, not only within the community, but also within two hours drive in either direction. Last year, for instance, the Blues Festival in Reno attracted a number from our midst.

Also, the SF Museum Of Modern Art (SFMoMA) celebrated its first year in its massive new $63M building, designed by Mario Botta, in the Yerba Buena district on Third street. The SFMoMA has a special membership rate for us "out of towners" who don't get to visit more than once or twice a year--such a deal! Membership has nearly tripled to 36,000; visitors quadrupled to 800,000; children's tours doubled to 8,000; and museum store sales nearly tripled to $5.5 million. In its old site on Van Ness, the museum was ranked 55th among US museums in terms of attendance. It is now among the top ten--New York's MoMA is first. This successful relocation to the heart of the city, along with the Mexican Museum, is giving impetus for the Asian Art Museum to do the same. The M H de Young Memorial Museum is rebuilding at its old site in Golden Gate park.

The American Conservatory Theater has found its rich legacy. Carey Perloff, the Artistic Director, has had a very successful season following the return to the 86 year old refurbished Geary Theater in January. After 7 years on various stages since the theater was severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, we found ourselves in the same two aisle seats in row M that we've had for our 20 seasons. Obviously, there will be no further improvement unless someone dies or moves... The final phase of the Geary Theater Homecoming Season was topped off by two plays in repertory. Anton Chekhov, who received his MD from Moscow University Medical School in 1884, began writing in 1879 and became a landowner in 1892. He moved his family to a country estate and constructed a small writing studio for himself in a grove of cherry trees. His last play, "The Cherry Orchard," was written in 1903. Chekhov was an acute observer of the human condition and was committed to revealing the nuances of human nature. He continued his medical practice while he did both... Making the transition from the Russian countryside to Yonkers was Thornton Wilder's farce, "The Matchmaker." Wilder emphasized the triumph of good over evil, the essential dignity of human beings, and the virtue of simple pleasures and emotions. In the preface to "Matchmaker," he wrote that "I love you," "I rejoice," "I suffer," have been said and felt many billions of times, but never twice in the same way. Every person who has ever lived, has lived an unbroken succession of unique occasions. Yet the more one is aware of this individuality in experience, the more one becomes attuned to what these disparate movements have in common, to repetitive patterns. Now it becomes apparent why this is a common theme with Chekhov... As physicians, we recognize that no two asthmatics, or other conditions, are the same. However, there is a great deal of commonality which allows us to not only treat with confidence, but also to vary that treatment as needed for each individual patient.

Meanwhile, Sacramento is no longer playing second fiddle to San Francisco. The Sacramento Theater Company is now a premiere repertory theater. Seven superb productions have been completed with our interim director, Tim Ocel. Our permanent director, Steve Rothman will start this fall. The theater may be a perfect environment for physicians to objectively observe the human element played out before us. The last play, "Broken Glass" was written just two years ago by Arthur Miller who is now in his 80s. He obtained many of the ideas for this play from the 1938 experience called "Krystallnacht" when more than 7,000 Jews had their shops looted and hundreds of synagogues burned. The protagonist Dr Harry Hyman exemplifies what most of us were taught: treat the patient with his ailments, not just the disease. He also gives us insights as he refuses to refer the patient. "I don't want to be a post office sending all my interesting cases off to someone else." When he is pressed for time, he replies, "People overestimate the wisdom of a physician, so I like to take my time." We need to be reminded of this as we frequently get letters from HMOs telling us to remain focused on the disease for the greatest cost/efficacy in treatment. Seeing the doctor/patient relationship played out on stage helps us to maintain our perspective and, hopefully, facilitate change. "Broken Glass" was directed by Mark Cuddy, who has served as Artistic Director for the past six years.

One of the more exciting stage events in Sacramento is the B Street Theater. The multitalented Buck Busfield, producer, director and playwright serves as producing director while younger brother Timothy, an Emmy Award winning veteran of stage, small and large screen, provides artistic direction. The B Street is on par with the best of the small theaters in SF. It's a pleasure to see west coast debut at the B Street in Sacramento rather than the Eureka in SF. The intense dialogue of new plays makes an intermission all but impossible, so, after the production, the members and audience go out for a short break and may return to see students from the theatre's training program do their three minute skits as if they were auditioning in front of a director for a part in a play. After just finishing preceptoring of medical students recently, it was of interest to see this type of training in another profession.

The Crocker Art Museum recently obtained the very coveted collection of works by our own UCD Professor Wayne Thiebald. The minimum support of membership is vital for our own Museum to continue to grow and expand its collection.

As physicians and, hopefully, cultural supporters of the arts in our community, it is important for us to recognize the extent to which the arts, not only give us a brief and refreshing reprieve from the practice of the Art (and Science) of Medicine, but also remind us of our own humanity. Yearly membership in the Crocker and several other museums, as well as season subscriptions to a theater season and perhaps a symphony or opera season is a reasonable investment in civilized society.