MY FAIRYTALE
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Solvang celebrates its 100th birthday with the American Premiere of a new(ish) musical by Stephen Schwartz of Wicked fame—newish because the Hans Christian Anderson bio-fantasy got its World Premiere six years ago in Copenhagen (to mark the fairy tale master’s bicentennial) and American because the original production was acted and sung in Andersen’s native tongue. Though not on a par with the aforementioned Oztastic megahit, the still highly entertaining My Fairytale benefits from an outstanding cast, breathtaking costuming, beautifully staged production numbers, and a number of instantly hummable Schwartz tunes.
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HAIRSPRAY
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
When most people think about just who creates a Broadway musical, probably the first names that pop into their heads are those of its composer and lyricist. Next would probably come the book writer, whose words link the songs in what is hopefully an interesting and cohesive plotline. Still, regardless of how great what’s “written down” is, no musical could possibly hit the jackpot without a fabulous director and choreographer helming the enterprise.
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SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD
Saturday, August 28th, 2010
PCPA Theaterfest concludes its Summer 2010 season with Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World, a magical change-of-pace evening of music starring three sensational PCPA favorites (and one terrific “newcomer”) and directed with consummate imagination and flair by PCPA’s multi-talented Erik Stein.
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WEST SIDE STORY
Saturday, July 31st, 2010
If ever a Broadway musical deserved to be called a classic, that musical is West Side Story. What must Broadway audiences have felt as they first discovered it back in 1957? This was, after all, a Broadway whose most recent Tony-winners were My Fair Lady, Damn Yankees, and The Pajama Game. What must audiences who were accustomed to this sunny fare have thought about a show whose leading man and leading lady didn’t have the proverbial happy ending, and whose characters lived dismal lives in the worst parts of Manhattan and hated anyone whose differences threatened their go-nowhere existences? What must they have thought about Leonard Bernstein’s jazzy, operatic score, about Stephen Sondheim’s poetic lyrics, about Arthur Laurents’ Romeo and Juliet inspired book, and above all about Jerome Robbins’ truly revolutionary choreography? How must West Side Story have rocked the world of those Eisenhower-era 1950s New Yorkers and, even more so, of the out-of-towners who make up so much of a Broadway show’s audience?
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CURTAINS
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
It’s always an event when a regional theater gets its first crack at a recent Broadway hit—and when that show is John Kander & Fred Ebb’s very last musical (and the recipient of eight Tony Award nominations), the event is well worth a road trip.
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THE MUSIC MAN
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
If you want to know why The Music Man is one of the three longest-running musicals of the 1950s, head on up to Solvang for proof positive that Meredith Willson’s biggest hit is also one of the best Broadway musicals ever.
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THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
Saturday, July 18th, 2009
It’s not whether you win or lose. It’s how you play the game.”
It’s highly doubtful that any of the preteen contestants in William Finn’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee have ever taken these words of advice to heart. For these regional spelling bee finalists, and for many of their parents, winning is everything, and if you have any doubt that kids can be every bit as competitive as adults, Finn’s quirky, highly original musical will soon cure you of this misconception.
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