BWW Blogs: April Theatre Openings on the California Central Coast

BroadwayWorld.com brings you theater recommendations from San Luis Obispo's own Curt Miner.

As we move past Easter (I'm on vacation this week - WOO HOO!) several of our California Central Coast theatres and live performance venues have some GREAT entertainment options for you!

The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (www.pcpa.org), the Central Coast's Resident Professional Theatre Company, located on the Allan Hancock College Campus in Santa Maria, presents the musical comedy murder mystery Curtains in the Marian Theatre April 15 - May 9 (Solvang Festival Theater June 17 - July 3).

In this hilarious collision of the traditions of Agatha Christie and 42nd Street, Kander and Ebb's Tony-winning musical celebrates the backstage "whodunnit."  It's a toe tapping, gun slinging, wise cracking cavalcade in which Boston Detective Lt. Frank Cioffi has to drag his net to catch the killer among the stars, and soon finds himself happily caught up in love, and in a musical headed for Broadway.

Curtains Book by Rupert Holmes Music by John Kander Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Director		Roger DeLaurier
Musical Director		Callum Morris
Choreographer		Michael Jenkinson
Scenic Designer		DeAnne Kennedy
Costume Designers		Frederick P. Deeben
Lighting Designer		Tamar Geist
Sound Designer		Matt Carpenter
Production Stage Manager		Christine Collins*
Stage Manager		Aleah Van Woert

 

Cast
Lieutenant Frank Cioffi	. . .	Andrew Philpot*
Niki Harris	. . .	Karin Hendricks
Georgia Hendricks	. . .	Melinda Parrett*
Carmen Bernstein	. . .	Kitty Balay Genge*
Aaron Fox	. . .	Michael Jenkinson*
Sidney Bernstein	. . .	Evans Eden Jarnefeldt
Christopher Belling	. . .	Erik Stein*
Bambi Bernet	. . .	Natasha Harris
Daryl Grady	. . .	Adam Schroeder
Johnny Harmon	. . .	Corey Jones*
Oscar Shapiro	. . .	Peter S. Hadres
Bobby Pepper	. . .	Rhett Guter
Jessica Cranshaw/Sasha Iljinsky	. . .	Mara Lefler
Detective O'Farrell/Ensemble	. . .	Mike Rogers
Randy Dexter	. . .	Daniel J. Self
Mona Page	. . .	Angela Nicholson
Harv Fremont	. . .	Aaron Lopez
Roberta Wooster	. . .	Brenna Wahl
Marjorie Cook	. . .	Laura Pronge
Arlene Barruca	. . .	Jillian Van Niel
Roy Stetson	. . .	Drew Swaine
Brick Hawvermale	. . .	Michael Feldman
Jane Setler	. . .	Daniella Painton
Connie Subbotin	. . .	Jennifer Marco
Peg Prentice	. . .	Jessica Kiely
Ronnie Driscoll	. . .	Mike Fiore
Russ Cochran	. . .	Corey Monk
*Member, Actors' Equity Association

The Santa Maria Civic Theatre (www.smct.org) recently closed their production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap.  Next up is Everybody Loves Opal, April 30 - May 22.

In Oceano, The Great American Melodrama & Vaudeville (www.americanmelodrama.com) is currently showing the hilarious musical Lumberjacks in Love, along with a high energy 70s Las Vegas style vaudeville revue following each performance, through April 25 (saw the Saturday early show on 4/10 - FUNNY show and GREAT musical harmonies!).

Murder in Mind Productions (www.murderinmind.com) will present The Altos: Vendetta at the Spyglass Inn, located at 2703 Spyglass Dr in Shell Beach, April 11 - May 23.  Reservations are required. 

At the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) in Arroyo Grande, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra takes the stage on April 16.

Also coming to the Clark Center, in its Studio Theatre, Ryan Cordero (rccor385@gmail.com) and Sorcerer Productions (check them out on Facebook) proudly presents Dirty Rotten Scoundrels April 16 - May 2.

The San Luis Obispo Little Theatre (www.slolittletheatre.org) presents Nagle Jackson's funny, heartwarming, and powerful Taking Leave through May 2.

Kelrik Productions' (www.kelrikproductions.com) next show will be Oliver May 1-16 at Unity in San Luis Obispo. 

Upcoming performances at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (www.pacslo.org) include Pacific Repertory Opera's La Boheme April 9 & 11, and Elvis Costello in his solo concert tour on April 12.

The God Is Still Speaking Players (follow them on Facebook or at www.sloucc.org) was pleased to work with Bent Angel Productions on a staged reading of 12 Angry Men, directed by Chrys Barnes, Feb 19-21.  Auditions will be held for their next production, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, July 19 & 20, with performances the first 2 weekends in September.

Atascadero High School's Greyhound Theatre (www.ahstheatre.info), one of the Central Coast's premier high school drama programs, presents Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella April 22 - May 2.  Call 805-610-9936 for reservations.   

The Pewter Plough Playhouse (www.pewterploughplayhouse.org), located in Cambria, closed their production of Finishing Touches on February 28.  The theatre will now be closed for a time while it installs a new fire sprinkler system - stay tuned for details on its reopening and next show! 

The Houselights Theatre (www.houselightstheatre.org) completed a successful remount run of their popular summer musical Always ... Patsy Cline at the Spanos Theatre on the Cal Poly campus this past August.  Stay tuned for details concerning their next show (and where it will be held - they are looking for a new place to call home ... got any suggestions?).

Up Paso Robles way, the Pioneer Players (www.pioneerplayers.org) finished a successful run of Oliver at the Templeton Performing Arts Center in January.  Next up is a summer musical production of The Unsinkable Molly Brown [NOTE: this is a change from a previous announcement of a production of Fiddler on the Roof - but with the current National Tour, the performance rights were unavailable].  Auditions will be held some time in late April with performances in late June/early July - stay tuned for exact dates.

Also in Paso Robles, the Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation have held auditions for its production of Twelfth Night for actors ages 8-18.  Performance dates are July 9-18.  For more information call (805) 238-5825.

The Central Coast Shakespeare Festival (www.centralcoastshakespeare.org) would like to give advance notice of auditions for its summer productions of Twelfth Night and The Gamester on April 11 & 12 (appointments are suggested).  Performances will be held July 9 - August 14.

So there you have it - a cavalcade of live entertainment to fit just about every taste ... so get out there and support and enjoy the performing arts here in the heart of the California Central Coast!

Curt Miner ... your BroadwayWorld.com guy on the ground with the California Central Coast theatre "news & views" 

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