PCPA’s 55th season promises a thrilling selection of stories that are inviting and deep, vibrant and resonant. With a special engagement of a two play repertory leading the way October 4 – 21, the main season runs from November 8, 2018 through September 8, 2019 playing in three venues.
Artistic Director Mark Booher said of the line up, “When our world increasingly seems to meet us with hardened hearts and closed minds, PCPA remains committed to creating exemplary art that welcomes our audience with open arms.”
The season opens with an innovative new production of the high flying musical, Peter Pan, based on the J.M. Barrie classic tale. Audiences will find themselves surrounded by magic as Peter whisks the Darling children away to swashbuckling adventures in Neverland in this beloved family favorite. The musical features an unforgettable score including the iconic, “I’m Flying,” “I Won’t Grow Up” and “Never Never Land.” Flying in the Marian Theatre November 8 – December 23.
Tom Stoppard’s romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love, is a whimsical homage to playmaking and a glimpse into the kind of passion that may have inspired one of the greatest love stories of all time. Suffering from a bad case of writer’s block, Young Will Shakespeare, falls in love with Viola, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Against a bustling background of mistaken identity, ruthless scheming, and backstage theatrics, Will’s love for her inspires him to write his masterpiece, Romeo and Juliet. How it all turns out is a mystery. Playing from February 7 – 24 in the Marian Theatre.
Sarah DeLappe’s 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Wolves, will play in the electrifying intimacy of the Severson Theatre. From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, a girl’s indoor soccer team of distinct personalities navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with the fervent exuberance of a pack of adolescent warriors. The New York Times exclaims, “The scary, exhilarating brightness of raw adolescence emanates from every scene of this uncannily assured first play by Sarah DeLappe.” Running March 7 – 24 in the Severson Theatre.
The knock-‘m-dead, uproarious musical hit A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is the hysterical story of low-born Monty Navarro, who finds out that he’s eighth-in-line for an earldom in the lofty D’Ysquith family. He presumes his chances of outliving his predecessors are slight and he sets off down a ridiculously ghastly path to the inheritance. The most-nominated show of the 2014 Broadway season, the show won Best Musical awards from Tony-Awards, Drama Desk Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards and Drama League Awards. Playing in the Marian Theatre April 25 – May 12 and then in the outdoor Solvang Festival Theater from June 13 – June 30.
Set on one extraordinary night in Memphis, the musical Million Dollar Quartet is the legendary story of December 4, 1956, when a twist of fate brought young Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins together at a Sun Records recording studio. What followed was a jam session of pure magic. Played live on stage by the cast, the show features an incredible score of rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, R&B, and country smash hits including: “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Fever,” “Walk the Line,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Hound Dog,” and more. Playing June 20 – 29 in the Marian Theatre and July 5 – 28 in the outdoor Solvang Festival Theater.
The Addams Family, a new musical based on the classic Addams’ characters and inspired by the now vintage television series, is an original story of the madcap and macabre Addams family in a satirical comedy about every parent’s nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet young man from a respectable family – a man her parents have never met. Everything will change for the whole family and love triumphs at last, on the fateful night when Gomez and Morticia host a dinner for Wednesday’s ‘normal’ boyfriend and his parents. Playing July 18 – 27 in Santa Maria’s Marian Theatre and in the outdoor Solvang Festival Theater August 2 – 25.
Oscar Wilde’s delectable wordplay is at the forefront of his sublime “trivial comedy for serious people,” The Importance of Being Earnest. It does seem unthinkable, but both Jack Worthing and Algernon Montcrief must assume the name “Earnest” in order to win their loves’ hearts. For the ladies are certain they could never be happily married to a man who was named something other than Earnest. Their dilemma leads to the most articulate hilarity in the history of theatre! Playing in the Marian Theatre August 15 – 24 and the outdoor Solvang Festival Theatre August 29 – September 8.
Single Tickets for Season 55 go on sale October 12 at noon.
Season 55 will also include the already announced Fall special engagements of two plays in rotating repertory in the Severson Theatre, connecting ancient and diverse cultures to our modern American lives and featuring solo performances of two prodigious artists who are alumni of the PCPA training programs.
An Iliad is a modern rendering of Homer’s classic story, adapted for the stage by Lisa Peterson and Dennis O’Hare. In a virtuoso performance, Tarah Flanagan inhabits over fifty characters. With the addition of live music (Eva Scholz-Carlson on the cello), and language that ranges from contemporary realism to epic poetry, An Iliad grapples with humankind’s perpetual capacity for violence, while exploring the beauty and kinship to be found even in the midst of war.
Muthaland, written and performed by Minita Gandhi, takes us on the epic coming-of-age journey of a first-generation Indian-American woman. The life of a young woman is forever changed on a trip to India during which she unearths family secrets, encounters a prophet, is the victim of an assault, and ultimately discovers her voice within a culture of silence. The familiar and the foreign swap roles in this dark comedy about culture, identity, spirituality, and sexuality. Inspired by true events, Muthaland navigates the tragic and magical on the way to a new sense of home.
An Iliad and Muthaland play in rotating repertory in the Severson Theatre, October 4 – 21, 2018.
Peter Pan
Lyrics by Carolyn Leigh Music by Morris “Moose” Charlap
Additional Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Additional Music by Jule Styne
Based on the play by Sir J.M.
Barrie Originally directed, choreographed and adapted by Jerome Robbins
Peter Pan is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTI Shows.com Marian Theatre November 8 – December 23, 2018
Shakespeare in Love by Tom Stoppard
Shakespeare in Love is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
Marian Theatre February 7 – 24, 2019
The Wolves
by Sarah DeLappe
The Wolves is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French Inc.
Severson Theatre March 7 – 24
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Book and Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman
Music and Lyrics by Steven Lutvak
Based on a novel by Roy Horniman
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is presented through special arrangement with Music
Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com
Marian Theatre April 25 – May 12
Solvang Festival Theater June 13 – 30
Million Dollar Quartet
Book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux
Original Concept and Directio by Floyd Mutrux
Inspired by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins
Million Dollar Quartet is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials are supplied by Theatrical Rights Worldwide (TRW), 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036 (866) 378-7958 www.theatricalrights.com
Marian Theatre June 20 – 29
Solvang Festival Theater July 5 – 28
The Addams Family A New Musical
Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa
Based on Characters Created by Charles Addams The Addams Family is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials are supplied by Theatrical Rights Worldwide (TRW), 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036 (866) 378-7958 www.theatricalrights.com
Marian Theatre July 18 – 27
Solvang Festival Theater August 2 – 25
The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde Marian Theatre August 15 – 24
Solvang Festival Theater August 29 – September 8
For 54 years, PCPA, a professional conservatory theatre, has infused the national theatre scene with thousands of trained actors and theatrical technicians.