BWW Blogs: Mid-November Theatre Opportunities on the California Central Coast

As we come to the middle of November, a number of new shows have just opened, and a few others are getting ready to open - so get out there and support the performing arts here on the California Central Coast with a fun afternoon or evening of theatre, maybe combined with a meal at one of our fine area restaurants!

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 opened its 2010/11 season with a production of Peter Pan that runs through December 23 at the Marian Theatre in Santa Maria.

Grand adventures await on your journey to J.M. Barrie's Neverland - "it's not on any chart, you must find it with your heart."  Fly away from London with the boy who doesn't want to grow up.  Join the Lost Boys and the Darling children as they battle the sinister Captain Hook and his pirate crew, befriend Tiger Lily and her tribe, and re-awaken your belief in fairies.  This musical masterwork, with orchestrations from the recent Broadway revival, includes the favorites - "Never Never Land," "I Won't Grow Up" and "I'm Flying."  Peter Pan will delight the immortal child in all of us! [PHOTO: Erik Stein as Captain Hook, Natasha harris as Peter Pan] 

The Santa Maria Civic Theatre (www.smct.org) will present Wait Until Dark November 19 - December 11.  Auditions for their next production, Doubt, will be November 22 & 23, with performances February 4-26.

Exit Pursued by a Bear (check them out on Facebook) presents Picasso at the Lapin Agile, November 14, at Tierra Nueva Cohousing in Oceano.

The Great American Melodrama (www.americanmelodrama.com) in Oceano is proud to present its Fall/Halloween show, which this year is Trudy and the Beast ... or The Creature from the Black Lagoon, through November 14, with each performance followed by the "Zombie Vaudeville Review."  Next up is their annual Holiday Extravaganza production of A Christmas Carol, along with an original fractured fairy tale and Holiday Vaudeville Revue, November 18 - December 31.

Upcoming performances at the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) in Arroyo Grande include Everybody Can Dance Ballet's Nutcracker November 27 & 28, Nipomo High School's Wizard of Oz December 2-4, SLO Youth Symphony's Holiday Concert December 5, Arroyo Grande High School's Almost Maine December 9-12, Coastal Chamber Youth Ballet's Babes in Toyland December 11, and A Rita Coolidge Christmas on December 12.

Ryan Cordero (rccor385@gmail.com) and Sorcerer Productions (check them out on Facebook) recently closed their very successful production of Forever Plaid, at the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) in Arroyo Grande as part of their inaugural season of shows.  Next up is Drowsy Chaperone - auditions December 13-15, performances April 1-24.

Murder in Mind Productions (http://murderinmind.com) will present Golden Girls: Meet Blanche's Niece, at the Spyglass Inn, located at 2703 Spyglass Dr in Shell Beach, December 5 - January 30.  

The Poetic Justice Project (http://poeticjusticeproject.org) will present Off the Hook November 12-14 at Unity Church in San Luis Obispo.

SLO Little Theatre (www.slolittletheatre.org) will present their next mainstage production, Nuncrackers: the Christmas Musical, November 19 - December 19.  On December 11, the theatre will host a NO SHAME theatre event at 11:30 PM.

The God Is Still Speaking Players recently closed their production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.  Next up is a staged reading of Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood, directed by Chrys Barnes in collaboration with Bent Angel Productions, with 2 PM matinee performances on November 20 & 21.

Upcoming performances at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (www.pacslo.org) include the MET's Live in HD Verdi's Don Carlo on November 14, and Cal Poly Theatre & Dance Department's Antigone and Letters to Soldiers Lost November 18-19.

The Atascadero High School Drama Department (http://www.atas.k12.ca.us/ausd/ahs/finearts/Drama/drama.html) one of the Central Coast's premier high school theatre programs, will present Scheherazade and 15 Minute Hamlet through November 14.

The Pewter Plough Playhouse (www.pewterploughplayhouse.org) in Cambria has announced that their next production will be The Glass Menagerie, directed by Nehemiah Persoff, with rehearsals beginning in November and performances in January and February.  Contact Mr Persoff at (805) 927-3877 (leave a message) or email the theatre at audition@pewterploughplayhouse.org to schedule an audition.

The Theatre at the Old Grammar School (TOGS), also located in Cambria, closed Rosann Balbontin's Bridging the Gap in September.  Contact Theatre Director, Jeff Mar, at KRKJFRZ@aol.com to find out what their next project will be.

The North County Dance & Performing Arts Foundation (http://classactdance.com/nutcracker) will present The Nutcracker Ballet at the Templeton Performing Arts Center December 4-6 & 11-13.

The Pioneer Players (www.pioneerplayers.org) presented a "special project."  Always ... Patsy Cline, at Centennial Park in Paso Robles for 2 performances in September.  Stay tuned for what they'll be doing next! 

The Houselights Theatre (www.houselightstheatre.org) is looking for a new place to call home ... got any suggestions?  Details concerning their next show are TBD (and where it will be held).

So ... got plans for enjoying some wonderful entertainment on the California Central Coast?  Our theatres and live performance venues eagerly await your patronage!

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

To post a comment, you must register and login.