Tag: theatre-planning

Oh, The Carnage / Ahmanson Season

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Well, we may not be seeing “God of Carnage” after all. Hottix sold out after 1/2 hour. Looking on the website for the date of interest (4/24, Easter Sunday), the balcony shows as $65-$40, but they have all the $40 seats in the rear balcony unavailable for sale. So I have to decide whether I want to shell out $65 for three seats, or try for “day of” tickets in the rear balcony. Neither are great options.

ETA: The Ahmanson Season has been announced. The shows are (one’s I’m interested in are bolded):

  • “Bring It On” (Nov. 11 to Dec. 10), loosely inspired by the 2000 cheerleading movie starring Kirsten Dunst and its sequels. The production will kick off its national tour at the Ahmanson, which follows its world premiere staging at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.
  • “Funny Girl” (Feb. 1 to 26), the classic Jule Styne / Bob Merrill musical, will receive a new production directed by Bartlett Sher, a Tony winner for “South Pacific”.
  • “American Idiot” (March 14 to April 22, 2012) will make its L.A. debut as part of a national tour.
  • “Fela!” (April 27, 2012 to June 3, 2012). Again, this is part of a national tour. Directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones, the musical is based on the life of Nigerian musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
  • “War Horse”, (June 20, 2012 to July 22, 2012). The war drama is directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, and features puppetry by the Handspring Puppet Company. Adapted from the book by Michael Morpurgo, the play will bow in New York April 14 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre.
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2011-2012 Pantages Season

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

The 2011-2012 Pantages Season has just been announced. Alas, this means I’m going to have to pay for higher-priced seats in a theatre I’m not crazy about because this is the only place some shows I want to see will be. Sigh. Here are the shows. I’ve bolded the ones I want to see, and italicized the “maybe”s:

  • “Come Fly Away” (Oct. 19 to 30)
  • “Riverdance” (Nov. 15 to 20)
  • “Wicked” (Nov. 30 to Jan. 22)
  • “Mamma Mia!” (March 27, 2012 to April 8, 2012)
  • “Billy Elliot: the Musical” (April 12, 2012 to June 2, 2012)
  • “The Addams Family” (June 5, 2012 to June 17, 2012)
  • “Million Dollar Quartet” (June 19, 2012 to July 1, 2012)
  • “La Cage aux Folles” (July 10, 2012 to July 29, 2012)
  • “Memphis” (July 31, 2012 to Aug. 12, 2012)

Explanations: Both “Billy Elliot” and “Memphis” are Best Musical winners (2009 and 2010, respectively). “Addams Family” is just something I want to see. I’m unsure about “Million Dollar Quartet”—I like the music, but it’s a jukebox musical at heart, so I’m not sure it is worth the $$$. I’ve seen “La Cage” before, although it was ages ago. That all depends on who is cast to determine if it is worth the $$.

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Theatre Planning Note: ICT

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

This is more a note for myself so I can do some more adequate planning. International City Theatre (ICT) in Long Beach has just announced their 2011 season, and a few shows are of interest:

  • Loving Repeating . . . A Musical of Gertrude Stein
    January 18 – February 13
    A West Coast premiere musical about the unique and wildly talented American poet

    If this is the musical I think it is (and the ICT webpage confirms it is), it uses Stein’s words with Stephen Flaherty’s music. If so, I’m interested in seeing this. January is mostly open, so I might try for my birthday weekend or the weekend after.

  • The Robber Bridegroom
    October 11 – November 6
    Set in the yesteryears of Mississippi, this Broadway hit musical tells the story of the courting of a rich planter’s daughter by one of the most rascally thieves of the woods.

    This is a musical I’ve known about for a while and is a favorite of my uncle. It features book and lyrics by Alfred Uhry (who did the book for “Parade” and “Driving Miss Daisy”), and music by Robert Waldman… with an extremely folksy score. I should be able to fit it into the schedule.

Their other shows don’t hold much interest for me. I’ve seen both “The Old Settler” (May 31 – June 26) and “Private Lives” (August 23 – September 18) at the Pasadena Playhouse, and neither is enough of a draw to get me to Long Beach. I’m not familiar with the play “Southern Comforts” (March 15 – April 10). Reading the NY Times review, it looks like an interesting story, although I’m not sure it is worth the drive, nor am I sure I could fit it into the schedule. Has anyone seen it?

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REP East 2011 Season

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

I just got the mailer about the REP East 7th (2011) season. For those unfamiliar with REP East, it is this wonderful 81 seat theatre up in Newhall CA. We’ve been subscribing there for a few years, and have been universally happy with their productions. So, even before it is on the REP website, is their season (with dates):

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Cabrillo Season Announcement

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

As I’ve been passing on announcements of theatre seasons, here’s the one for Cabrillo Music Theatre in Thousand Oaks. I don’t know if they are continuing the pricing from last year, but if they do, this is a bargain that can’t be beat: 2-for-1 balacony seats, meaning subscriptions were incredibly affordable. In any case, the season is:

  • HAPPY DAYS: THE MUSICAL – October 22-31, 2010
  • THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES – February 4-13, 2011
  • THE PRODUCERS – April 8-17, 2011
  • THE SOUND OF MUSIC – July 22-31, 2011
  • *SPECIAL HOLIDAY SHOW TBA

My thoughts: I’m pleased to see Happy Days: I’ve got the CD, and it has nice music and is supposedly quite good. I’ve seen the other three. It is interesting their Winter musical is again a Roger Bean import—it will be interesting to see who they cast (and who I know in the cast). The Spring and Fall musicals I’ve seen before, but Erin hasn’t… so that’s good (plus the Spring musical misses the AP exams). I’ll note we last saw Sound of Music during our first season at Cabrillo in 2000-2001. The other shows are all new to Cabrillo.

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Ahmanson Theatre 2010-2011 Season Announcement

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

According to the LA Times, the 2010-2011 season for the Ahmanson Theatre has just been announced. It looks very good, and I’m interested in all of the shows (surprisingly, I’ve never seen Les Miserables). I’ll probably stick with Hottix, for with the exception of Next to Normal, I don’t anticipate any selling out. The season is:

  • The world premiere of “Leap of Faith” (Sept. 26-Oct. 17), a musical based on the 1992 Steve Martin movie about a bogus faith healer who gets stranded in a small town. The production features a gospel-inspired score by Oscar-winner Alan Menken and will be directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford.
  • The national tour of “Next to Normal” (Nov. 28, 2010-Jan. 2, 2011). The musical tells the story of a suburban mother’s psychological meltdown and the effects it has on her family. “Next to Normal” won three Tony Awards last year, including one for the original score by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey.
  • “God of Carnage” by Yasmina Reza (April 27, 2011-May 29, 2011), in a new production. The Tony-winning comedy, which follows the interactions between two couples brought together by a playground brawl between their respective children, was supposed to have a national tour, but plans were called off, reportedly for financial reasons.
  • “Les Misérables” (June 17, 2011-July 31, 2011), as part of the musical’s 25th anniversary tour, which features a new staging of the popular show.

Nothing that risky, and it is clear they are tightening their belts. They indicated there may be additional shows.

I’ve already added these shows to my 2010/2011 theatre planning entry.

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Broadway/LA Schedule Announcement

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

This morning, the Los Angeles Times published the announcement of the 2010-2011 Broadway/LA (a/k/a the Pantages) schedule. It is the usual mix of national tours and retreads. So what will I look into ticketing? Here’s my opinion:

  • Sept 23-Oct 17, 2010, “Phantom of the Opera”. (farewell engagement of the current tour). If only it were the farewell tour. Not interested.
  • Nov 30-Dec 19, 2010, “West Side Story” (national tour). This is the tour of the recent bilingual production. I’ve seen West Side Story numerous times, most recently at Cabrillo. Erin might be interested, but as for me: Not interested.
  • Jan 5-Jan 23, 2011, “Hair” (national tour). This is the national tour of the new Broadway version. We saw the Reprise version quite a few years ago, and about three years ago we saw a truly excellent production from CSUN. Given that they haven’t reimagined things, I’m not sure it is worth the ticket price. Not interested.
  • Jan 11-Feb 20, 2011, “Traces” (@ the Ricardo Montalban). A circus-inspired show from Canada, created by the Montreal company Les 7 doigts de la main. Not interested.
  • Feb 1-Feb 6, 2011, “Spring Awakening”. Saw it at the Ahmanson, in a very good production. Why see it again, at Broadway/LA prices? Not interested.
  • Feb 15-Feb 25, 2011, “Rock of Ages” (national tour). This was recently on Broadway, and the music is quite good (‘80s rock, with songs by Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar and more). Plan to ticket.
  • Mar 9-Mar 20, 2011, “TBA”. Hmmm, I could swear I’ve seen this before on the Pasadena Playhouse schedule :-). It all depends on the show, but Unlikely.
  • Apr 12-Apr 17, 2011, “Rain – A Tribute To The Beatles”. This seems to come back every couple of years, like a bad piece fruitcake. Not interested.
  • Apr 26-May 8, 2011, “Burn the Floor”. This is a tribute to Latin and ballroom dancing, featuring 20 dancers from around the world performing various styles, including the Viennese Waltz, the Jive and the Paso Doble. Karen and Erin have expressed a desire to go to more dance shows. Maybe ticket.
  • Jul 12-Aug 7, 2011, “Shrek: The Musical” (national tour). I’m interested in this — it has a good creative team, and I like the music (by Jeanine Tesori). I’m not sure if the dates will work, depending on vacations. Plan to ticket

In general, I’m not a big fan of shows at the Pantages. The theatre itself has poor sight lines, and their tickets are overpriced. They don’t provide a program like HotTix, and they rarely provide half-price tickets (at least that I’ve seen). When they do, it is usually for mid-week performances, which are difficult to fit into my schedule. If anyone knows a good approach to discount Pantages tickets, I’d love to know about it.

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