Mid-April California Central Coast Theatre Openings & Closings

As we put TAX DAY behind us (did you get YOURS done and in on time?) and on into the second half of April, I hope you are planning to attend one of our numerous California Central Coast live theatre and performance venues in the VERY near future!

SLO Little Theatre's (www.slolittletheatre.org) current mainstage production, The Gin Game, runs through May 1.

A simple game of cards between an elderly man and a woman passing the time in a retirement home becomes much more in this Pulitzer Prize-winning tragicomedy.  As the stakes of the game rise, so does the tension between Fonsia and Weller, who, with both humor and poignancy, confront the hands life has dealt them. 

SLOLT is also looking for a white male, at the time of this posting, to play a college senior with an "All American" look in their upcoming production of Spinning Into Butter which opens May 20.  And be sure to check out their children's summer theatre program classes and productions at act@slolittletheatre.org.

The God Is Still Speaking Players' (follow them on Facebook) are hosting a production of The Fourth Wall in collaboration with the RadioActive Players on April 30 & May 1 at 2 PM at the SLO UCC at 11245 Los Osos Valley Rd.  General admission is $10.  Tickets can be purchased at the door or ahead of time online at www.brownpapertickets.com.  Their next show will be Nunsense Jamboree in September (auditions early/mid July). 

Kelrik Productions' (www.kelrikproductions.com) next show, Aladdin, will run May 21 - June 12.  Auditions for Beauty and the Beast are scheduled for May 25 (performances July 16-24 at the Spanos Theatre on the Cal Poly campus).  And if you want to help support Kelrik - they're having a Karaoke Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser, Saturday, May 7, 8-10 AM at Applebee's at 305 Madonna Rd.  Also - be sure to check out their acting classes for kids & youth starting the first week of May!

Upcoming performances at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (www.pacslo.org) include Variable Velocity Performance Groups Extraordinary Mysteries on April 29 & 30.

The Cuesta College Performing Arts Department (http://academic.cuesta.edu/performingarts) presents RENT May 6 & 7, and 12-15.

Ryan Cordero (sorcererproductions@gmail.com) and Sorcerer Productions (check them out on Facebook) are proud to present the Tony Award winning The Drowsy Chaperone, with performances scheduled through April 23, at the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) in Arroyo Grande [NOTE: attended the special April 11 Monday night performance - and this is one show you do NOT want to miss ... IF you can get a ticket at this point, so call NOW!].

Other upcoming performances at the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) include Leon Redbone on April 29, A Ticket to Ride: A Musical Biography of the Beatles on May 7, and California Theatre Center's The Ugly Duckling on May 9.

Murder In Mind Productions (www.murderinmind.com) will present their interactive murder mystery, The Altos - Blood Is Thicker Than Wine, on Sundays at The Spyglass Inn in Shell Beach, May 1 - June 5.

Exit Pursued by a Bear (follow them on Facebook) is proud to announce their upcoming production of As You Like It (performances May 13-15, 19-21).  I understand that the "twist" for this production is that it will be entirely gender reversed with men playing the women's roles and, well ... I think you get the idea.  Contact Tyler Lopez at tylermlopez@gmail.com for more information.    

The Great American Melodrama's (www.americanmelodrama.com) current production, The Medicine Man, runs through April 24.  Their next production, Soup du Jour, will run April 28 - June 12.  And be sure to check out Camp Melodrama for young people ages 7-17 which runs July 18 - August 15.

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, is proud to present Pride and Prejudice through May 8.  The 2011 PCPA graduating class will present their Senior Showcase Conservatory Repertory productions of Hair May 12 & 14 and Twelfth Night May 13 & 14.  Their first summer production, Hairspray, will run June 16 - July 2 at the Marian Theatre in Santa Maria, and July 8-31 at the Solvang Festival Theater.  And be sure to check out their Summer Acting Camp for Young Actors (July 10-16 for ages 7-12, July 23-30 for ages 13-18). 

The Santa Maria Civic Theatre's (www.smct.org) next production, An Evening with David Ives, will run April 29 - May 21.

The North County Dance & Performing Arts Foundation (www.northcountyperformingarts.org) will present DreamWeaver: The Journey Continues April 29 - May 1 at the Templeton Performing Arts Center.  Call (805) 286-7883 for tickets.  

The Pewter Plough Playhouse's (www.pewterploughplayhouse.org) current production of Becky's New Car runs through May 8.  Their next production, Playhouse Creatures, will be presented June 3 - July 17.

The Theatre at the Old Grammar School (TOGS) (http://artistsofcambria.com/cambriapac/id4.html) is pleased to announce that Allied Arts Theatre has been revived and will be presenting The Octette Bridge Club July 29 - August 21, and Dearly Departed October 21 - November 20.

So, how about getting out there and supporting the performing arts ... it's YOUR patronage and support that keep the amazing variety of theatre performances alive and well here on the Central Coast ya' know!

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