PCPA Theaterfest’s upcoming 49th season features an assortment of theatrical experiences, from established family favorites to the newest prize-winning plays and musicals. The season kicks off on Nov. 8 with the family musical adventure The Wizard of Oz, playing in the Marian Theatre through Dec. 26. Join Dorothy as she travels far and wide only to realize there’s no place like home.
The season continues in the Severson Theatre with William Shakespeare’s The Tempest Feb. 21 to March 20, 2013. The play tells the story of Prospero, the wrongly banished ruler of Milan, who finds that those who conspired against him are suddenly stranded on a magical island. Prospero must decide whether to use his mystic arts to revenge or to forgive.
With the Marian Theatre under construction, and to accommodate a full-size musical, PCPA will travel for the first time to Arroyo Grande’s Clark Center for its next production, Fiddler on the Roof, April 25 through May 12, 2013. This enduring family musical follows Tevye’s journey as he stands poised in the precarious balance between tradition and life’s great unknowns. Fiddler on the Roof will transfer to the Solvang Festival Theater June 13 to July 6.
Next up is the hysterical Monty Python’s Spamalot, a new musical lovingly ripped off from the classic comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It plays under the stars in the Solvang Festival Theater July 13 to Aug. 10, 2013. This fresh Broadway hit retells the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and features a bevy of beautiful showgirls, not to mention cows, killer rabbits, and French people.
A Central Coast favorite returns in August 2013 when Kitty Balay reprises the title role in the popular Always … Patsy Cline! Sing along with one of the lost legends of American popular music in the jukebox musical based on the true story of Cline’s friendship with Houston housewife Louise Segar that was to last until a plane crash took the singer’s life. Fall in love again with unforgettable hits such as “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces,” and “Walking After Midnight.” It plays in the Severson Theatre Aug. 8 to 31, 2013, then under the stars in Solvang Sept. 6 to 15, 2013.
Another Solvang-only production in the season will be the dazzling heroic drama Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. Cyrano, a master of all trades, finds triangular trouble in his love for Roxanne—his adversary DeGuiche, his friend Christian, and his own spectacular nose. When you’ve uncovered the courageous heart behind the nose, you’ll fall in love under the stars when it plays in the Solvang Festival Theater Aug. 17 to Sept. 1.
Closing the Season is Bruce Norris’ Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning Clybourne Park. You’ll laugh from your belly and squirm in your seat as you enter the world of this searing satirical comedy set in a North Chicago neighborhood. Be the first to see it fresh off Broadway. Clybourne Park plays in the Severson Theatre Sept. 12 to 29, 2013.
Tickets for the 2012-2013 Season go on sale in October. For more information, call 922-8313 or visit pcpa.org.
This article appears in Jul 5-12, 2012.