PCPA has announced its 2008-2009 season line-up, which will include five hit musicals, as well as a favorite Shakespeare comedy.
The 45th anniversary season will kick off with Irving Berlin’s White Christmas playing in Santa Maria’s Marian Theatre Nov. 6 through Dec. 21. The play is about a pair of showbiz buddies putting on a show in a picturesque Vermont inn—where they just happen to find their perfect mates, too. The score includes “Count Your Blessings,” “Sisters,” and the classic title song.
If Shakespeare is your guy, this season includes the romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, playing in the Marian Theatre Feb. 12 through March 1, 2009. Whether in the conflicts of Athenian lovers, or the inventions of the woodland fairy world, this rhyming romp balances the discontents of civilization with the enlightening and transformative power of imagination.
Winner of every major international theater award, Les Misérables is based on Victor Hugo’s landmark novel about social change and political revolution in 19th-century France. It will play in Santa Maria April 9 through May 10, then at the Festival Theatre in Solvang June 5 through July 12, 2009.
The Music Man celebrates Midwestern American traditions and foibles. Meredith Wilson’s musicalfeatures con man Professor Harold Hill, who plans on cleaning up the pool halls in River City by replacing them with a wholesome marching band—or so he wants the townspeople to believe. Marian Theatre performances are July 17 through Aug. 1, then Aug. 7 through 23 in Solvang.
The Spitfire Grill is a musical story of hope, hearth, and home and a young woman’s search for redemption. This prize-winning quintessential American musical fuses a poignant story of reawakening with country, bluegrass, and Broadway musical traditions.
Lisa Loomer’s Distracted is a modern comedy exploring parenting, analysis, and the struggle to maintain focus in an era of confusion, the Internet, and Ritalin. The story follows a mother’s interactions with teachers, therapists, and neighbors as she and her husband attempt to determine if her son’s problems are rooted in ADD. Distracted plays in the Severson Theatre in Santa Maria, Aug. 28 through Sept. 20, 2009.
PCPA’s 45th season also includes InterPlay: The Stage Between, a festival of new play readings scheduled for March 6 through 15, 2009. Titles will be announced.
Season subscriptions for the 2008-2009 season go on sale in August with single tickets on sale Oct. 15. Call the box office at 922-8313 or visit www.pcpa.org.
Arts Briefs is compiled by Arts Editor Shelly Cone. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Jul 31 – Aug 7, 2008.