California Central Coast Theatre Closes STRONG at Month's End!

As we come to the last week of July, the theatre and live performance venues here on the California Central Coast have some WONDERFUL entertainment values for you to wile away a beautiful summer afternoon or evening!

The San Luis Obispo Little Theatre (www.slolittletheatre.org) presents Suzy Miller's summer theatre dance spectacular Shimmy Shake Shine! through July 31 [NOTE: attended the Saturday matinee opening weekend of this show and this group of 30 singers/dancers/actors, ranging in age from 15 to 54, ROCK the house!].

A dazzling crazy quilt of mind-blowing showstoppers by Emmy award-winning choreographer Suzy Miller, Shimmy Shake Shine! is a nonstop explosion of one showstopper after another.  30 fantastic singers and dancers take you to the pyramids of Egypt, the court of Marie Antoinette, a Gospel Revival, a Gothic lair, and through Alice's rabbit hole like you've never seen it before.  Free your mind as you experience an unexpected, wild journey through another SLOLT summer spectacular.  Written, directed and choreographed by Emmy Award winner Suzy Miller, Shimmy Shake Shine! will blow your mind [PHOTO: top - Sophie McGuirk, bottom - Hailley Cooper].

Also at SLOLT, the Academy of Creative Theatre's summer youth production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Shelagh Garren, runs August 6-8 & 13-15.  And then The Fantasticks will run August 27 - September 19 ... BUSY summer at the Little Theatre!

Upcoming performances at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (www.pacslo.org) include American Dance of SLO's Just Imagine August 1 (2 performances - 2 & 6 PM), Pacific Coast Dance Convergence's JUMPBRUSH, August 12-14, and (for those who REALLY like to plan ahead!) comedienne Paula Poundstone on October 7.

The God Is Still Speaking Players (follow them on Facebook or at www.sloucc.org) will present You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown the first 2 weekends in September - including a special Labor Day Monday matinee to support the ongoing work of the Prado Day Center.

Kelrik Productions (www.kelrikproductions.com) has just closed their FINAL Central Coast production of Into the Woods as Kelrik's Artistic Director, Erik Austin, prepares to leave the area and head south to San Diego.  THANKS for all the wonderful theatre you created and shared with the community during your years here on the Central Coast Erik - you will be missed!

The Brickyard Theatre (www.brickyardhteatre.com) is currently working on a production of Quilters, which will be presented September 2-25 in Atascadero.  Contact Bobbi Stoffel at stoffelfam@charter.net for reservations or more information.

The Theatre at the Old Grammar School (TOGS) in Cambria presents The Belle of Amherst through August 1.  Contact Emma Duncan at (805) 574-0073, or eduncan@gm.slc.edu for more information.  Rosann Balbontin's Bridging the Gap will run August 6 - September 5.  Contact Theatre Director, Jeff Mar, if you have any questions at KRKJFRZ@aol.com.

The Pewter Plough Playhouse (www.pewterploughplayhouse.org), also 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, I'm told they are working on a "special project" that has taken them in a different direction at this point, and they will hopefully be making an announcement soon ... stay tuned!

The Central Coast Shakespeare Festival (www.centralcoastshakespeare.org) is proud to present its summer productions of Twelfth Night and The Gamester through August 14 at the Outside Amphitheatre at the River Oaks Hot Springs in Paso Robles.

Murder in Mind Productions (http://murderinmind.com) presents Bewitched: De-Witched, a parody by John Logue and directed by Ron Kewish, at the Spyglass Inn, located at 2703 Spyglass Dr in Shell Beach, through September 5.  Reservations are required. 

Ryan Cordero (rccor385@gmail.com) and Sorcerer Productions (check them out on Facebook) recently closed a 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?  A production of Forever Plaid will be presented September 17 - October 2 as part of their inaugural season of 4 shows.  In addition to Forever Plaid, Last Five Years is tentatively scheduled for production in November, Drowsy Chaperone in Feb/March of 2011, and Crazy for You in August 2011.   

Upcoming performances at the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) in Arroyo Grande, include Jim Messina of Loggins & Messina in concert on August 10, and the 9^th Annual Paul Wolff Accessibility Advocacy Awards with a benefit performance by comedian Josh Blue on August 28.

The Great American Melodrama (www.americanmelodrama.com) in Oceano is into its summer repertory season with The Crock of Gold alternating performances with their second summer show, The Tavern, through September 19, along with "The Great Outdoors Vaudeville Review" following each performance.

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 the classic 50s musical West Side Story through August 22 at the Solvang Festival Theater [NOTE: Saw the final Saturday matinee of this production at the Marian Theatre before it moves to Solvang next week - and it was AMAZING!].  Next up at the Marian Theatre in Santa Maria is Songs for a New World August 6-21 (August 27 - September 12 in Solvang).

The Santa Maria Civic Theatre (www.smct.org) will present their next production, The White Liars and Black Comedy, September 10 - October 2.

So what are ya' waitin' for?  With all these options available, get out there and support the performing arts here on the California Central Coast ... you'll be glad you did - I guarantee it!

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

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