NUMEROUS NOVEMBER THEATRICAL OPENINGS & CLOSINGS ON THE CALIFORNIA CENTRAL COAST!

Well ... last week I went with the weather prognosticators' predictions that Fall weather and temperatures were here to stay - at which point we promptly returned to having highs in the 80s.  Hmm ... wonder if that's just a coincidence, or a response to the several HOT ticket opportunities for all the new and continuing live entertainment and theatre options here on the Central Coast?

Down south, across the line into Santa Barbara County, the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (www.pcpa.org), the Central Coast's Resident Professional Theatre Company, has opened their 2009/10 season with C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which runs November 5 - December 23 at the Marian Theatre in Santa Maria.

This musical saga of enchantment and mystery brings us through the wardrobe into C.S. Lewis' Narnia, a land of deep magic in which the Pevensie children face the fearsome White Witch and embrace the great heart of Aslan.  Join Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy as their adventures transform Narnia from a winter where it's never Christmas to a springtime realm in which they sit as Kings and Queens.

Having seen several productions at PCPA over the last couple of years - I have NO doubt that you will want to include this show in your Holiday entertainment schedule!

In Oceano, The Great American Melodrama & Vaudeville (www.americanmelodrama.com) presents Scary Poppins through November 15.  Following Scary Poppins at each performance is the "United Swing Organization Vaudeville Revue."  Set in a USO dance hall during World War II, this song, dance and comedy revue features the same cast singing great jazzy harmonies and dancing up a storm to some of the most popular tunes from the height of the swing era.  NOTE: We had the opportunity to attend this show and vaudeville review with some friends, and it was one of the funniest and best shows we've ever seen at the Melodrama - so be sure to go see it if you can before it closes!

The Studio Players at the Studio of Performing Arts (www.thestudioofperformingarts.com) in Arroyo Grande presents The Miracle Worker through November 21.

At the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org), also located in the Village of Arroyo Grande, a number of other quality entertainment opportunities will be presented in the weeks ahead, including The Persuasions on November 14, and the Coastal Chamber Ballet's Babes in Toyland on November 21.

Kelrik Productions (www.kelrikproductions.com), located in San Luis Obispo, recently completed a successful run of the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning production of RENT at the Spanos Theatre on the Cal Poly campus.  Stay tuned for what Erik Austin & Co will be doing next!

The God Is Still Speaking Players (check them out on Facebook or at www.sloucc.org) is currently in rehearsals for a readers' theatre production of Archibald MacLeish's "J.B."  Performances are scheduled for November 13-15 at the San Luis Obispo United Church of Christ.

The San Luis Obispo Little Theatre (www.slolittletheatre.org) will present a staged reading of The Devil's Chaplain, a new play about "the real Charles Darwin," by Alan Navarre on November 29.  How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying will run November 20 - December 20.   And a children's theatre production of A Little Princess is scheduled for January 15-31 in 2010.

Providing a variety of live entertainment options, the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (www.pacslo.org) is proud to present Zero to Infinity November 12-14, the Lakota Sioux Dance Theatre on November 16, and The Nammys on Tour on November 18.

The Houselights Theatre (www.houselightstheatre.org) in Cambria recently completed a remount run of their popular summer musical Always ... Patsy Cline at the Spanos Theatre (www.pacslo.org).  Stay tuned for details concerning their next show.

The Pewter Plough Playhouse (www.pewterploughplayhouse.org), also in Cambria, opened their fall season with The Mousetrap, which runs through November 8.  Auditions for their next production, Finishing Touches, were held this week.

And up north, in Paso Robles, the Pioneer Players (www.pioneerplayers.org) recently held auditions for their next production - Oliver, scheduled to be presented January 15-30 of 2010.

So ... no matter what the temperatures decide to do - the warmth and hospitality of our several live entertainment and theatre venues here in the heart of the beautiful California Central Coast eagerly await your patronage!

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