Time for another post looking at theatre season announcements. Today’s post is triggered by the recent announcements of the Pasadena Playhouse (FB) season and the Theatricum Botanicum Seasons.
Pasadena Playhouse
We used to be long-time subscribers at the Pasadena Playhouse (FB). We weren’t treated well during the bankruptcy itself, and choose to move our mid-side theatre subscription to The Colony Theatre (FB) in Burbank. We’ve enjoyed the productions at the Colony, although they are not that adventurous or likely to move on to bigger and better things (you want adventurous productions that may move on, explore LA’s 99 Seat Theatre scene — which is threatened by AEA — learn more at http://ilove99.org). As for the Pasadena Playhouse, we haven’t much liked Sheldon’s programming — and especially the TBA slot. Still, we’re planning on one show this season there. So let’s see what they are proposing:
Real Women Have Curves. Written by Josefina López. Directed by Seema Sueko. September 8 – October 4, 2015. This is taking a movie and moving it onstage. This can work (and draw audiences), but isn’t that particularly exciting to me… especially as a straightforward drama.- Breaking Through. Book by Kirsten Guenther. Music and Lyrics by Cliff Downs and Katie Kahanovitz. Directed by Sheldon Epps. October 27 – November 22, 2015. A new musical from a team that hasn’t done musicals before. That may or may not be bad — sometimes it works, sometimes it fails miserably. The story is about a young, talented singer/songwriter, as she tries to navigate the treacherous shark-‐filled waters of the music business with a a compelling journey to find her way back to her authentic self and in the process rediscovers the music that truly makes her alive. Isn’t that Beautiful or any of a myriad of other shows? Not a compelling story.
- Peter Pan and Tinkerbell: A Pirate Christmas. By Kris Lythgoe. Directed by Bonnie Lythgoe. Musical Direction by Michael Orland. Choreography by Spencer Liff. December 9, 2015– January 3, 2016. British Christmas Panto. I’m sorry, but I’m generally not into Christmas-specific shows.
Fly. By Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan. Directed by Ricardo Khan. Produced in Association with Crossroads Theatre Company. January 26 – February 21, 2016. Fly tells the story of the first African-‐ American Army Air Corp fighters known as the Tuskegee Airmen who flew over the skies of Europe and North Africa during World War II. Sigh. This is one of Sheldon’s shows designed to bring in an audience of color. I used to see these every year, and was disappointed that the audience didn’t remain around for other shows (or that the white audience disappeared for these shows). Potentially interesting, but not a must-see. All depends on what else is out around then.
Casa Valentina. By Harvey Fierstein. Directed by David Lee. March 15 – April 10, 2016. Per the description: this moving and insightful play is nestled in the Catskills in 1962 -‐ land of dirty dancing and borscht belt comedy. But an inconspicuous bungalow colony is more than a place to escape the sweltering summer heat. For a group of heterosexual men it is a place to escape something else entirely: being men. Interesting for the director and the playwright. Not sure that it draws me in fully, but this might be good.- ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S CHOICE. To Be Announced. May 31 – June 26, 2015. Otherwise known as the Sheldon CYA slot. I’m not going to commit myself if he can’t.
Not a season that excites me.
***
Theatricum Botanicum
We’re not subscribers here, but we tend to see a show here and there, if it is interesting. As Theatricum Botanicum (FB) wrote:
The upcoming ‘Americana’ season includes William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, re-set in the Reconstruction-era South with live music of the period; To Kill A Mockingbird, Christopher Sergel’s stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel; August: Osage County, Tracy Letts’ biting portrait of the dysfunctional American family at its finest — and absolute worst; and Green Grow the Lilacs, the play by Lynn Riggs that inspired Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma. Finally, what could be more American than an outing to experience Theatricum’s signature production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, back for the ninth year in a row by popular demand? Audiences flock to this annual family favorite, a beguiling romantic comedy set in Theatricum’s own Topanga forest.
These all run in repertory through the summer. My thoughts:
- As You Like It. Seen a number of adaptations of this, including a disasterous one at the Pasadena Playhouse (the only show I’ve walked out on). The era and setting of this sound interesting.
- To Kill a Mockingbird. Great play, but I just saw it within the last couple of years at Repertory East. Given how crowded the summer is, I’m not sure it is worth squeezing in.
- August: Osage County. A classic play, worth seeing if I can squeeze it in.
- Green Grow the Lilacs. This is one I’d really like to see — the basis for Oklahoma. I’ve always heard about it.
- A Midsummers Night Dream. This one will be around again, so I’ll skip this time.
They only have seasons subscriptions up, so I’ll either have to remember to put HOLD dates or watch Goldstar.
