Mid-December Theatre Offerings on the California Central Coast

Well, the first real winter rains have come and gone - and we're back to 60s and sunny during the day and 40s at night ... gotta' LOVE the way we do Winter here on the California Central Coast!  And similarly - ya' gotta' love the variety of theatre that's available to our audiences who elect to spend their discretionary leisure time and dollars on live entertainment options.

And what would December be without a number of shows that celebrate the Holiday Season?

A Night Before Christmas will be presented by the Studio Players from the Studio of Performing Arts (www.thestudioofperformingarts.com) from Arroyo Grande on December 19 at the Spanos Theatre (www.pacslo.org) on Cal Poly campus in San Luis Obispo.  Other Holiday performances at the PAC include the Cuesta Master Chorale on December 19, the Forbes Pipe Organ Holiday Concert and Sing-along on December 20, and the New Year's Eve Comedy Bash with Judy Tenuta on December 31.

In Oceano, The Great American Melodrama & Vaudeville (www.americanmelodrama.com) presents their Holiday Extravaganza through December 31, including Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and Little Red Riding Hood - a fractured fairy-tale opera by Marian Partee and Jordan Richardson, along with a holiday Vaudeville Revue filled with music of the season.  We have our tickets for the 4:30 performance on Dec 28 ... maybe see ya' there?   

At the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org), in the Village of Arroyo Grande, a production of The Nutcracker, will be presented by the Allan Hancock College Youth Dance group on December 19 & 20.

The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (www.pcpa.org) in Santa Maria, the Central Coast's Resident Professional Theatre Company, has opened their 2009/10 season with C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which runs through December 23 at the Marian Theatre in Santa Maria.  We'll be at the 7 PM performance on Dec 20 - be sure and say HI if you see me and let me know what you think about my weekly column here on BroadwayWorld.com!

The Santa Maria Civic Theatre's (www.smct.org) next production will be Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, with performances scheduled for February 5-27.

The San Luis Obispo Little Theatre's (www.slolittletheatre.org) production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying runs through December 20.  December 22-27, The Poetic Justice Project presents Blue Train - a musical written by Cliff Ray that explores the strength of family bonds behind bars.  Auditions for a readers' theatre production of The Washing Place by Devin Wallace, who will also be directing, will be held on December 29 and 30 (performance on February 5).  Auditions for Taking Leave will be on January 4 and 5, with possible callbacks on January 6 (performances April 9 - May 2).  A children's theatre production of A Little Princess will be presented January 15-31.

The God Is Still Speaking Players (check them out on Facebook or at www.sloucc.org) recently completed their readers' theatre production of Archibald MacLeish's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning J.B. - a poetic dramatization of the story of Job, at the San Luis Obispo United Church of Christ.  Auditions for a collaborative effort with Bent Angel Productions on a readers' theatre production of 12 Angry Men will be held January 12 & 13, with performances February 19-21.

Kelrik Productions (www.kelrikproductions.com), also located in San Luis Obispo, recently completed a successful presentation of the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning production of RENT at the Spanos Theatre on the Cal Poly campus.  Stay tuned for what Erik Austin & Co will be doing next (rumor has it that it could be a production of Seussical in February)!

The Pewter Plough Playhouse (www.pewterploughplayhouse.org) will present a readers' theatre production of The Silent Knight December 18-20, three special reprise performances of The Mousetrap December 31 (including a New Year's Eve champagne buffet in the Café Lounge) through January 2, and then open the New Year with a production of Jean Kerr's heartwarming comedy Finishing Touches that will run January 15 through February 28.

The Houselights Theatre (www.houselightstheatre.org), also in Cambria, completed a remount run of their popular summer musical Always ... Patsy Cline at the Spanos Theatre on the Cal Poly campus the end of August.  Stay tuned for details concerning their next show (and where it will be held).

And in Paso Robles, the Pioneer Players (www.pioneerplayers.org) have held auditions and are in rehearsals for their next production, Oliver, scheduled to be presented January 15-30 of 2010.

So, whether you're hoping to catch a show with a Holiday theme, or attend some other theatrical offering - our numerous Central Coast live theatre venues eagerly await your patronage!

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

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