Alex Penda hits home vocally and dramatically in Santa Fe's Salome

Michael Wade Simpson is editor of culturevulture.net. He writes about the performing arts for the Santa Fe New Mexican and New Mexico Magazine. He has an MFA in dance from Smith College, where he was a teaching fellow. He began his professional life as an advertising copywriter but left the business world to become a modern dancer in New York. He studied classical piano and sang in ensembles at the University of Southern California where he graduated with a BA in journalism. He was a member of the San Francisco Gay Men's chorus.