Late May Live Entertainment Options on the Central Coast of California

As we make our way toward the end of May, I hope you will find or make the time to attend some of the many productions currently playing (a number of which will soon bring their runs to a close) at any of the various live performance and theatre venues that make their home here on the Central Coast of California!

Arroyo Grande High School Theatre Company will present Pippin, a musical comedy by Stephen Schwartz, at the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) May 25 – 27.

Once upon a time, a young prince longed to discover the secret of true happiness and fulfillment.  He sought it in the glories of the battlefield, the temptations of the flesh, and the intrigues of political power.

Pippin is a hip, tongue-in-cheek, anachronistic fairy tale that captivated Broadway audiences and continues to appeal to the young at heart everywhere.  The energetic pop-influenced score by three-time Oscar-winning composer/lyricist, Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell,  and the animated films Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Prince Of Egypt) bursts with one show-stopping number after another - from soaring ballads to infectious dance numbers [PHOTO: Savanah Brewer and Kyle Compton]. (Contains some mature themes)

The Pewter Plough Playhouse (www.pewterploughplayhouse.org) in Cambria is currently presenting Outward Bound through June 3.

The Theatre at the Cambria Centerfor the Arts (http://artistsofcambria.com/cambriapac/index.html) will present DRAMARAMA - Youth Acting Classes June 4-28.

Templeton Performing Arts Center of the North County Dance and Performing Arts Foundation (http://www.northcountyperformingarts.org/) in association with Class Act Dance will present SYNERGY, a summer dance recital, on June 23.

SLO Little Theatre’s (www.slolittletheatre.org) next mainstage production, The House of Blue Leaves, will run through June 17.  And be sure to check out the Academy of Creative Theatre’s (http://www.slolittletheatre.org/pages/classes) children & youth theatre opportunities for this spring and summer!

Kelrik Productions (www.kelrikproductions.com) held auditions for their summer musical, Grease, on May 23 (performances June 23 – July 15), and will hold auditions on May 30 for their Grades 1-10 Summer Camp/Performance Class that will present Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr in early August.  Sweeney Todd will run through June 2 as part of their After Dark Series [NOTE: Saw both opening weekend performances and this cast does a WONDERFUL job of bringing this rather macabre dramedy to life], and in their Kelrik Family Series, Willy Wonka is currently playing through June 3 [NOTE: Caught the opening matinee -FUN show ... GREAT kid vocals!]. 

Next up for The God Is Still Speaking Players (https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/92718528887), is a summer musical production of Snoopy – auditions July 16 & 17, performances August 31 - September 9.

Espressivo! Chamber Theatre (http://espressivotheatre.com/) will present The Botanical Engineers in May & June at various locations on the Central Coast – including May 26 at SLO Botanical Garden, May 27 at SLO Little Theatre, May 31 at the Gather Wine Bar in Arroyo Grande, June 1 at Davidson's Furniture "Art After Dark" in SLO, June 2 at Sculpterra Winery in Paso Robles, June 3 TBA, and June 7 back at Poalillo Vineyards in Paso Robles (WHEW ... talk about takin' it on the road!).

Upcoming performances at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (www.pacslo.org) include Cal Poly Symphony and Choirs Spring Concert – Rule Britannia on May 26, Cal Poly RSVP XVII: Garabatos on May 29 & 31, Vanable Velocity Performance Group’s Inside Out on May 31 & June 2, Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble Spring Concert on June 1, Cal Poly Wind Bands Spring Concert – Winds of Change: Music of the 21^st Century on June 2, Martin Short on June 3 (Cohan Center), and The Academy of Dance and San Luis Jazz dancers’ Infusion on June 3 (Spanos Theatre).

Curt Miner received his degree in theatre from Northern Arizona University and has been involved in theatre, educationally and professionally, for nearly 40 years now. He is currently Pastor of the United Church of Christ in San Luis Obispo, CA (www.sloucc.org), where he founded a theatre outreach ministry known as The God Is Still Speaking Players (check them out on Facebook). Their first production was the West Coast Premiere of a new play by Gordon Greene (one of Curt's former theatre professors from back at NAU) entitled "The Scopes Monkey Trial: What Really Happened" in October of 2008. Curt and his wife of 35 years, Linda, worked together as Director and Music Director on a production of "Godspell" June 2009. The group presented a readers' theatre production of Archibald MacLeish's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning play "J.B." November 2009, participated in a collaborative effort with Bent Angel Productions in a staged reading of "12 Angry Men" in February 2010, presented "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" the first 2 weekends of September 2010, embarked upon another collaborative effort with Bent Angel Productions of a staged reading of Dylan Thomas' "Under Milk Wood" in November 2010, presented a readers' theatre production of "The Diary of Anne Frank" the first weekend this past March, mounted a production of "Sister Amnesia's Country Western Nunsense Jamboree" the first 2 weekends of September, and presented "Celebration In Song" - a musical variety show to benefit the work of GALA and PFLAG in November. A readers' theatre presentation (possibly "Our Town") or another musical revue will be presented this coming March, with "Snoopy" (sequel to YAGMCB) on the schedule for the first 2 weekends in September. When people ask him "Why a theatre outreach ministry?" Curt tells them "I have found that theatre is sometimes able to touch a person's heart and soul more deeply than the best crafted worship experience ... that's why."

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