Thoughts on a Theatre Season II: Cabrillo Music Theatre
Over lunch, I shared my opinions of the Colony and Pantages seasons. This afternoon, Ellen over at Musicals in LA (a great blog) posted the details of the 2015-2016 Cabrillo Music Theatre season. I was a long time subscriber at Cabrillo Music Theatre’s (FB) since the 2001 production of Anything Goes. However, last season’s selections just failed to excite me: Memphis: The Musical (which I had seen during its run at the Pantages and wasn’t particularly eager to see again); Company (which I had seen during its excellent run at Crown City); Oklahoma (which everyone has seen far too many times); and Mary Poppins (which I had seen at the Ahmanson- again, a large theatre). As I would rather spend my theatre dollars on shows I want to see (either because I haven’t seen them, or they are new approaches), I reluctantly let my subscription drop. I still contributed to their annual appeal, however, because I want them to succeed.
So I am pleased to report that Cabrillo Music Theatre’s (FB) has redeemed themselves, and that (presuming the boss agrees) I’ll be contacting them to reestablish our subscription. Here is their line-up for 2015-2016, and my thoughts:
Damn Yankees in the larger Kavli Theatre. Book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Although I’ve known of this show for ages, the only actual production I’ve seen was the Van Nuys HS production in 2010. It would be nice to see a professional production in a large theatre. October 16 - 25, 2015.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in the more intimate Scherr Forum. Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart; music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. I’ve only seen the movie version of this, although I’m very familiar with the score. Remember - I like to see shows I’ve never seen. January 29 - February 14, 2016.
Children of Eden in the larger Kavli Theatre. Book by John Caird; music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Again, I know the music, but the only production I’ve seen of this was an amateur production in a church auditorium in 2013. As with Yankees, it would be nice to see a professional production. April 8 - 17, 2016.
The Little Mermaid in the larger Kavli Theatre. Book is by Doug Wright, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman (written for the film), with additional lyrics by Glenn Slater. As with the other two Kavli shows, I’ve only seen this in an amateur production, the excellent Little Mermaid Jr. done by Nobel Middle School in 2013. It will be nice to see how much the professional production can add. July 15 -24, 2016.
In short, pick the right shows and I’ll be back. Every show doesn’t have to be “new to me”, but the majority have to intrigue me enough (that was the case in the 2013-2014 season, where I liked three of the shows but was meh on Forever Plaid). Kudos to Lewis Wilkenfeld (FB) for his choices, and I hope that future seasons can preserve the mix of popular shows and shows that aren’t done too frequently.
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ETA: When it rains, it pours. I just received the dates for Good People Theatre’s Closer Than Ever (which will be announced tomorrow), and learned from that announcement that the Pasadena Playhouse is doing a new Maltby/Shire musical, Waterfall, at the end of May. My weekends are getting incredibly full, and there are going to be a few of those dreaded two-show weekends. Whew!
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