May 2012 - May Matinees and MUCH More on the Central Coast of California!

As we bid farewell to April showers and look forward to May flowers, I hope you are planning on including attending some shows at any number of the theatre and live performance establishments that can be found here on the idyllic California Central Coast!

Nipomo High School Drama (www.nhsdrama.org) will present The Laramie Project May 3-5 at NHS Olympic Hall. 

The Laramie Project is a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming.  The murder was denounced as a hate crime motivated by homophobia and brought attention to the lack of hate crimes laws in various states, including Wyoming.

The play draws on hundreds of interviews conducted by the theatre company with inhabitants of the town, company members' own journal entries, and published news reports.  Actors portray more than sixty characters in a series of short scenes.

Call (805) 474-3300 XT 6 for tickets.

Next up for Kelrik Productions (www.kelrikproductions.com) in their Family Series is Willy Wonka, May 12 - June 3.  Sweeney Todd will be presented May 18 - June 2 as part of their After Dark Series.  And be sure to check out their Acting ABC's (ages 4 1/2 - 2nd grade), Musical Theater (grades 3-9), and Improv (grades 3-9) classes starting April 25 & 26!

SLO Little Theatre’s (www.slolittletheatre.org) current mainstage production Dinner With Friends runs through May 6 [NOTE - caught the Friday, April 27 performance, and this is a WONDERFUL production WELL worth your time & money ... but leave the kids at home for this one!], followed by The House of Blue Leaves May 25 - June 17.  Ubu's Other Shoe readers' theatre series will hold auditions for Arcadia by Tom Stoppard on May 7 (performances June 22 & 23), and present BOOM! May 11 & 12.  And be sure to check out the Academy of Creative Theatre’s (http://www.slolittletheatre.org/pages/classes) children & youth theatre opportunities for this spring and summer!

The God Is Still Speaking Players (https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/92718528887), in collaboration with Bent Angel Productions, recently completed a readers’ theatre production of Our Town.  Next up is a summer musical production of Snoopy – auditions July 16 & 17, performances August 31 - September 9.

The Cuesta College Performing Arts Center (http://academic.cuesta.edu/performingarts/) will present their Spring Drama Production, Three Musketeers, through May 6.

Espressivo! Chamber Theatre (http://espressivotheatre.com/) will present The Botanical Engineers May 12 – June 10 at various locations on the Central Coast – stay tuned for locations & times.

Upcoming performances at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (www.pacslo.org) include SLO Symphony’s Season Finale Concert on May 5, the Catalyst Quartet on May 6, Cal Poly's Theatre & Dance Department's The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other May 10-19, and Cuesta Master Chorale's St Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach on May 12.

AHS Greyhound Theatre (https://www.facebook.com/events/336683296349613/) will present South Pacific through May 6 at the Atascadero Junior High School.

The Theatre at the Cambria Center for the Arts (http://artistsofcambria.com/cambriapac/index.html) will present the Singing Hands Choir May 5 & 6, and DRAMARAMA - Youth Acting Classes June 4-28.

The Pewter Plough Playhouse (www.pewterploughplayhouse.org) in Cambria will present Outward Bound through June 3.

Paso Robles High School Drama Department's (http://prhsdrama.com/index.html) Spring Musical will be Guys and Dolls (performances May 11-20).

Templeton Performing Arts Center presents the North County Dance and Performing Arts Foundation's (http://www.northcountyperformingarts.org/) original live music and dance performance based on the music of the Beatles, Let It Be, May 11 & 12. 

Murder In Mind Productions (www.murderinmind.com) will present SLO Legal through May 6 at Spyglass Inn in Shell Beach.  Next up will be Pirates of Pirates Cove opening July 1.

Arroyo Grande High School Theatre Company will present Pippin at the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) May 25 – 27.

The Spot (https://www.facebook.com/#!/hit.the.spot) will present Miller and Miller by Miller May 4-6 (who knew Suzy Miller could dance AND sing?!) [NOTE: Saw the Saturday, April 28 matinee performance of this show - and damn straight Suzy Miller can sing!  We were treated to 2 hours of stories and song that spanned the years and musical genres of decades past.  Some of the harmonies when Mike Miller, Kaza Kahn Pearson and Cody Pettit join in - well, the sound is as smooth as buttah ... not to mention some GREAT solos, duets, and trios along the way!  I have one word of advice for you in regards to this show - GO!], Pismo Beach Youth Theater's Ugly Bug Ball May 11 - 13, and Guys and Dolls May 18-27.

Upcoming performances at the ClarkCenter(www.clarkcenter.org) include Central Coast Performing Arts Showcase on May 5, Blue Steel US Airforce Band on May 6, and NHS Dance Company's Dance 'Til The World Ends on May 10 & 11.

The Great American Melodrama (www.americanmelodrama.com) in Oceano is proud to present a Vaudeville Spectacular through June 10 ... a full night of Vaudeville Revue taken from the best of the best from years past and packed into one night of high energy entertainment.  Whether it's a classic comic routine or one of your favorite song and dance numbers, you're sure to have a good time as you take a trip down Memory Lane!

The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (www.pcpa.org), the Central Coast's Resident Professional Theatre Company, located on the Allan Hancock College Campus in Santa Maria, will present Romeo and Juliet through May 13.  Next up will be Little Women, the Broadway Musical, June 14 - July 1 at the Solvang Festival Theater.

The Santa Maria Civic Theatre's (www.smct.org) next production will be the comedy Battle of Shallowford - performances through May 19.

The Lompoc Civic Theatre (www.lompoccivictheatre.com) recently closed its dinner theatre production of The Outrageous Adventures of Sheldon and Mrs Levine – stay tuned for what’s next!

So, regardless of what other plans you may have for your entertainment pleasure over the course of the next few weeks, I trust you will want to include going to see a couple of shows at some of the numerous live entertainment and theatre venues that make their homes here on the Central Coast of California!

Curt Miner ... your BroadwayWorld.com guy on the ground with the California Central Coast theatre "news & views"