Mid-August 2012 Theatre Offerings on the California Central Coast

As we make our way into the second week of August and beyond, I trust you will want to be planning to take in some of the productions showing at any number of the theatre and live performance establishments here on the idyllic California Central Coast!

The Lompoc Civic Theatre's (www.lompoccivictheatre.com) summer production of tick, tock … BOOM! will run through August 19.

For the first time since 2008, LCT is producing a musical comedy, Jonathan Larson's tick, tick... BOOM! August 3-19, in the intimate 55-seat Stone Pine Hall at 210 So. H St., Lompoc.  Todd Harper is Directing with Musical Direction by Rachel Mello and Musical Staging by LompocHigh School senior, Riley Ranjo.

In early 1990 SoHo New York City, a promising young composer finds himself with mounting anxiety just a week from his thirtieth birthday, as he has yet to write the next great American musical.  As he struggles with his career, his roommate and best friend finds success, while his girlfriend of two years threatens to leave him for a simpler and more traditional life by the sea.

Director Todd Harper says, "After the incredibly successful Broadway run of Jonathan Larson's RENT, followed by an equally successful major motion picture, most people in our culture today are at least aware of, if not deeply affected by that story and its themes.  However, people seem to be unaware of his earlier work.  tick, tick... BOOM!reveals many of Larson's struggles in his early career and opens our eyes more widely to the bohemian lifestyle he spent in his post-college years.  Waiting tables for minimum wage on the weekends and writing music with no promise of income the rest of the week, he is often faced with the choice of eating a meal, heating his apartment in the harsh New York winters, or taking a cab to see his girlfriend.  Working in theatre with a low income over the last year since graduating from a university, I relate to Jon in many ways, so the story really hits home for me. It is my hope that this story will warm the hearts of Lompoc residents as well as the greater CentralCoast."

Richard Lonsbury (seen previously in LCT’s Almost, Maine and Twelfth Night) stars as Jon.  Lompoc High Drama teacher Sarah A. M. Barthel will play Jon's girlfriend, Susan, and Connor Galvin (seen recently in Almost, Maine and Not on This Night) will play Jon's roommate, Michael.  Also appearing are Blake Brundy and Kaitlin Griffith [photo by Jennifer Hair of (L-R) Sarah A. M. Barthel, Richard Lonsbury, and Connor Galvin.

The Pewter Plough Playhouse (www.pewterploughplayhouse.org) in Cambria will present AR Gurney’s The Grand manner August 31 – September 30.

The Theatre at the CambriaCenter for the Arts’ (http://artistsofcambria.com/cambriapac/index.html) Rumors, by Neil Simon, will run August 10 - September 2. 

The REC Foundation in Paso Robles is sponsoring a production of Man of La Mancha, directed by Cynthia Anthony and Jacob Shearer, at CentennialPark, performances September 21 & 22.  Call Jacob at 805-975-5023 for more information. 

Kelrik Productions (www.kelrikproductions.com) has just closed their Summer Camp/Performance Class production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr – stay tuned for what their new season theme and lineup with be starting in the fall!

SLO Little Theatre’s (www.slolittletheatre.org) Academy of Creative Arts’ Anne of Avonlea runs through August 12, and The Marvelous Wonderettes August 31 – September 23.

Upcoming performances at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (www.pacslo.org) include the Joe Goode Performance Group on August 9, Jumpbrush in Concert on August 11, The Academy of Dance's DANCIN' 2012 on August 12, the US Air Force Band of the Golden West on August 14, and CORE Dance Company’s Confessions of a Love Junkie August 17 & 18.  

Murder In Mind Productions (www.murderinmind.com) will present Pirates of Pirates Cove through September 2 at the Spyglass Inn in ShellBeach (reservations required).

100 Years of People - Stories From Our Past will be presented at the Odd Fellows Hall in Arroyo Grande.  "This Terrible Tragedy" - August 11, 18 & 25 at 2 PM. FREE admission.  Call 805-489-8282 for more information.   

Exit Pursued By a Bear (www.facebook.com/exitpursuedbyabeartheatre) will present Much Ado About Nothing and Titus Andronicus, running in repertory at Hans Christian Andersen Park in Solvang, August 11 & 12, at 4 PM, and at DinosaurCavesPark in ShellBeach on August 18 & 19, at 4 PM.  Admission is free.  Call 805-698-2158 for additional information.

The Spot (https://www.facebook.com/#!/hit.the.spot) will present Pismo Beach Youth Theater’s Willy Wonka August 10-12 and Pinocchio August 17-25.

Upcoming performances at the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) include Central Coast Celebration Chorus’ Alice in Barbershop Land on September 8, Grammy Award winning Rodney Crowell on September 21, and the Central Coast Follies’ That’s Entertainment October 6-14.

The Great American Melodrama (www.americanmelodrama.com) in Oceano is proud to present Gunsmokin’, or All Riot’s on the Western Front, written by Ben Millet and adapted by JorDan Richardson, through September 15, followed at each performance by the TGAM Wide World of Sports Vaudeville Revue, directed by Jake McGuire, with musical direction and accompaniment by Mark Pietri.  Gunsmokin’ will run alternate performances with the Melodrama’s second summer show, From Rags to Riches, or I Will Not Pay the Price You Ask.

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, will present Legally Blonde - the Musical through August 19 at the Solvang Festival Theater, and Daddy Long Legs through August 19 at the Marian Theatre in Santa Maria (August 23 - September 9 in Solvang).

The Santa Maria Civic Theatre (www.smct.org) will present their first mainstage production of the 2012/13 Season, Dearly Beloved, September 14 - October 6.   

So, whatever you might have planned for the remainder of your summer entertainment hit parade, I hope you will make a point of including a number of the live entertainment and theatre offerings here on the Central Coast of California!

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.