California Central Coast Theatres Provide a WIDE Variety of Offerings!

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

As we come to the end of February, our California Central Coast theatre and live performance venues have a wide variety of offerings for your entertainment and viewing pleasure - ranging from Shakespeare to Dr Seuss to Old Blue Eyes!

Kelrik Productions (www.kelrikproductions.com) presents Seussical through March 14 at Unity in San Luis Obispo.

"Oh, the thinks you can think" when Dr. Seuss's best-loved stories collide in an unforgettable musical caper!  The Cat in the Hat (Erik Austin) is the host and emcee in this musical romp through the Seuss classics.  When the sweet-natured elephant Horton (Matt Ambrose) hears a cry for help coming from a floating speck of dust, he promises to rescue it and keep it safe because "a person's a person, no matter how small."  On that small speck of dust lives JoJo (Mya Paredes), an imaginative young Who.  JoJo has astounding "thinks" in which "anything is possible," but her parents (Randy Pound and Debora Schwartz) believe this creativity is inappropriate for the daughter of the Mayor of Who-Ville.  Back in the Jungle of Nool, Horton's neighbor Miss Gertrude McFuzz (Kelly Barrett), a bird with a one-feather tail, just wants Horton to notice her.  Maybe, she thinks, a more impressive tail is what she needs to catch his eye.  Meanwhile, the conniving Mayzie La Bird (Ashley Moses) cajoles Horton into sitting on her egg while she goes off on a spree. . . 

Will the planet of Who survive? Will Horton ever notice Gertrude? Will Mayzie ever return for her egg? Dr. Seuss's best loved characters find themselves intertwined in a crazy-quilt adventure in which the power of friendship, loyalty, family and community is challenged but ultimately emerges triumphant.  Join Kelrik for this musical journey through the imagination of Dr. Seuss - a trip that will make you laugh and cry.  Don't miss this wonderful production featuring the cream of Central Coast talent.  The ensemble cast of twenty-five ranges from established adult actors to a talented group of local kids and teens.

Seussical the musical has a score by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and a book by Ahrens and Flaherty.  It was adapted from the works of Dr. Seuss based on the conception of Ahrens, Flaherty and Eric Idle (of Monty Python fame). This production is recommended for audiences age 4 and up.

Seussical will perform at Unity, 1490 Southwood Drive in San Luis Obispo, from  February 20 - March 14.  Please note the family-friendly performance schedule: Saturday evenings at 7PM and  Sunday afternoons at 2PM.  Ticket prices are $12 for Children and $16 for Adults and may be charged by phone at (805) 543-PLAY. 

SHOW DESCRIPTION:

SEUSSICAL the musical weaves together stories and characters drawn from fifteen beloved books by Dr. Seuss.  The Cat in the Hat is the emcee of this family-friendly show about the power of imagination and the importance of believing in yourself.  Join him on a visit to the Jungle of Nool and the dust-speck planet of Who.  This magical musical extravaganza brings to life favorite Dr. Seuss characters including Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Mayzie la Bird, and Jojo, a little girl with a big imagination.

The San Luis Obispo Little Theatre (www.slolittletheatre.org) is proud to present their next installment of the theatre's ongoing Legend Series, Swingin' with Sinatra, through March 21.

Performances at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (www.pacslo.org) include Julius Caesar March 4-6, Avenue Q March 4, James Cotton March 13, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder March 14, and The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) by the Reduced Shakespeare Co. March 17.

San Luis Obispo's RadioActive Players will present The Madwoman of Chaillot at the Steynberg Gallery on March 12 & 13.  Contact Gene Strohl at genestrohl@aol.com for more information.

The God Is Still Speaking Players (follow them on Facebook) was pleased to work with Bent Angel Productions on a staged reading of 12 Angry Men, directed by Chrys Barnes, Feb 19-21.  Watch for audition dates for "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" midsummer, with performances in early September

At the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) in Arroyo Grande, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band makes an appearance on March 5, the Affinity Hip Hop Showcase takes the stage on March 6, and the Best of San Francisco Stand-Up Comedy Competition is on March 13.

Nipomo High School, one of the premier drama programs in the area, will present Sweet Charity March 4-6 in Olympic Hall on the Nipomo High School Campus.  Contact the NHS Activity Office at (805) 474-3300 ext. 6 for tickets and more information.

In Oceano, The Great American Melodrama & Vaudeville (www.americanmelodrama.com) proudly presents I Hate Hamlet through March 7, including their ever popular Vaudeville Revue following each performance.

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

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 William Shakespeare's Macbeth through March 7.

The Pewter Plough Playhouse (www.pewterploughplayhouse.org), located in Cambria, is currently presenting a production of Finishing Touches through February 28.  Following this production, the theatre will 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 ... possibly somewhere in Paso Robles?).

And then from up Paso Robles way, the Pioneer Players (www.pioneerplayers.org) recently finished a successful run of Oliver at the Templeton Performing Arts Center.  Next up is a summer musical production of Fiddler on the Roof.  Auditions will be held some time in April or May with performances in late June/early July - stay tuned for exact dates.

A couple of these shows close this week - so call for reservations and get out there and see them before it's too late!  And if you missed "12 Angry Men" ... well, as one person put it, "This show is hard to do well - and this was well done!"

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

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