BWW Blogs: May Means Many Theatre Viewing Opportunities on the Calif. Central Coast!

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

As we bid farewell to April and welcome the Merry Month of May here on the California Coast, we have numerous theatre productions and entertainment opportunities for your consideration that are newly opening, and some that are bringing their runs to a close.

Audience members can get an early taste of summer with William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the newly opened Cuesta College Performing Arts Center (http://academic.cuesta.edu/performingarts).

Shakespeare is known for his complex story lines, and A Midsummer Night's Dream does not disappoint.  There are four different plots, a play within the play, and multiple main characters immersed in their relationships.

Artistic director of the drama program, bree valle, (who prefers her name lower cased) is known for pulling out all the stops for her elaborate Cuesta productions.  A Midsummer Night's Dream is no different, especially in the new CPAC.

Steve Hunt, who plays the character Bottom, says the CPAC is "incredible."  It easily doubles the size of the old theatre building, and the drama classes are embracing their new space.  

Besides the opening and closing scenes which take place in Athens, most of the play takes place in the woods.  The woods are seen as straying away from the characters' high class society and the rules they have to live by, said Tia Beem.  She plays a fairy.

The fairies have gone through extensive training and will be required to dance, sing, juggle, and perform aerial silk dances.  "The woods scenes have mystical qualities of natural chaos," said Mark Weddle of the stage tech crew.

The production crew, which includes more than 50 people, will utilize the acoustics of the CPAC and sounds of nature.  With most of the play taking place in the woods, the music reflects those surroundings, making use of a lot of bamboo sticks and percussive instruments.

The cast and crew have been rehearsing up to 50 hours a week.  Opening night of the play is Thursday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m. and continues for seven performances until Saturday, May 8.  [NOTE: Saw the May 1 performance of this show, and it is one of the freshest, most creative, high energy, entertaining productions of Shakespeare's work that I've experienced in a LONG time - WELL worth seeing!]

The San Luis Obispo Little Theatre (www.slolittletheatre.org) will present a readers' theatre presentation of Rabbit Hole on May 7, and then their next main stage production, Sherlock's Last Case, opens May 28.

Kelrik Productions (www.kelrikproductions.com) proudly presents Oliver, May 1-16, at Unity in San Luis Obispo, followed by Cabaret June 4-26. 

Upcoming performances at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (www.pacslo.org) include Capitol Steps for one performance only on May 5, and the San Luis Obispo Youth Symphony presents its finale concert on May 7.

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.

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 was supposed to be a summer musical production of Fiddler on the Roof, but performance rights were unavailable.  Then the plan was a production of The Unsinkable Molly Brown.  Now, they are working on a "special project" that has taken them in a different direction at this point, and they will be making an announcement before the summer starts.  Stay tuned!

The Paso Robles High School Drama Department (http://prhsdrama.com/7brides.html) will present Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the PRHS Activity Center, May 7-15.      

Also in Paso Robles, the Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation has 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.

Class Act Dance and Performing Arts Studio (http://classactdance.com) presents DreamCatcher, a celebration of dreams and imagination through song and dance, May 7-9, at the Templeton Performing Arts Center. 

The Central Coast Shakespeare Festival (www.centralcoastshakespeare.org) has held auditions for its summer productions of Twelfth Night and The Gamester.  Performances will be held July 9 - August 14.

Ryan Cordero (rccor385@gmail.com) and Sorcerer Productions (check them out on Facebook) have just closed their successful run of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Clark Center Studio Theatre.  What's next on the drawing board for what some are calling the most exciting and creative theatre company on the Central Coast?  Stay tuned!

Other upcoming performances at the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) in Arroyo Grande, include Chicago City Limits on May 13, Best of the Beat presented by Nipomo High School Drama May 27-29, and ballet pieces from Snow White, Giselle, and La Bayadere by Everybody Can DANCE and the Santa Maria Civic Ballet June 5 & 6.

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

The Nipomo High School Drama Department (www.nhsdrama.org), another of our Central Coast premier high school drama programs, presents The Foreigner, May 5-8, in Olympic Hall. 

In Oceano, The Great American Melodrama & Vaudeville (www.americanmelodrama.com) presents the first production of a new play by Neal LaVine, Back After This Break, through June 13.  Each performance will be followed by a "School Daze Vaudeville Revue." 

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 through May 9 (Solvang Festival Theater June 17 - July 3).

The Santa Maria Civic Theatre (www.smct.org) proudly presents Everybody Loves Opal, through May 22.

So - whether you are looking for classic Shakespeare, a fun melodrama, musical comedy, a murder mystery, ballet, drama, dance, or a symphony performance - we have it all, and more, here on 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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