Cabrillo 2013-2014 Season Announcement

Just received the announcement of the Cabillo Music Theatre 2013-2014 season. Here are the shows and my thoughts thereupon:

• Kiss Me Kate, October 18-27, 2013. It’s been ages since I’ve seen this, and it has wonderful music. It will be nice to see it again. Based on the advertising, this appears to be based on currently licensed 1999 version.
• Forever Plaid, January 31-February 9, 2014. I’ve seen this numerous times, from the original production at The Pasadena Playhouse in 1991 to the most recent Cabrillo production in 2006 (and that’s not counting the holiday variations such as Plaid Tidings in 2001). I’m not that excited about seeing it again, but that’s probably just me. It’s a great show and a crowd pleaser, and should do well for the Cabrillo audience in the Winter “jukebox” slot. The licensed version says one act, but I recall an intermission.
• In The Heights, March 28-April 6, 2014. We last saw this in 2010 at the Pantages, and the Pantages ruined the show. We were in the balcony, and the sound was so muddled we really couldn’t follow the story. Thus I’m looking forward to this production where I can actually see the show. It will be really interesting to see how Cabrillo handles this in what is likely one of the first regional (non-tour) productions.
• Bye, Bye, Birdie, July 18-27, 2014.I haven’t seen this on stage in ages, or at least long enough that I don’t remember it. It’s a good and fun show, and I’m surprised that the latest incarnation wasn’t a long runner on Broadway. This is the sort of show that Cabrillo can do well. Unclear what version they are doing, or if they are adding any songs.

In summary, a reasonable season. Three shows it will be good to see again, and one “eh” but tolerable. No shows that are new to me, but that’s getting harder to do. I’m sure we’ll renew, and we’ll likely move from the balcony to the mezzanine (the balcony is getting too steep for my wife and her mom to handle). Right now, we’re the penultimate performance the last Saturday at 8pm. We might change that to the first Sunday matinee or the 2nd Saturday matinee if the wife and M-I-L prefer. We moved to Saturday night to accommodate our daughter, but going back to the Saturday matinee could impact the occasional So Cal Games Day, or impact seeing a Saturday night show.