Stage lights are on for regional productions
As summer weather heats up, so do the stages in south Santa
Clara and San Benito counties. August and September bring with them
several productions
– from the borderlands of El Teatro Campesino’s latest
production to the birth of a nation in South Valley Civic Theatre’s
production of
”
1776
”
– there is plenty to see in the theaters this season.
Stage lights are on for regional productions
As summer weather heats up, so do the stages in south Santa Clara and San Benito counties. August and September bring with them several productions – from the borderlands of El Teatro Campesino’s latest production to the birth of a nation in South Valley Civic Theatre’s production of “1776” – there is plenty to see in the theaters this season.
“Corridos!!” continues
El Teatro Campesino, San Juan Bautista’s theater company has extended the run of the latest original work from Luis Valdez, and his son, Kinan Valdez. Luis Valdez plays “El Maestro,” an aged ethnomusicologist who wants to pass on his life’s work to his granddaughter – a collection of corridos, or ballads. Through their sharing of music and songs, theater-goers start to understand the complexity of their relationship as a grandfather and granddaughter who have just met each other – he was abandoned by his son who later abandoned his daughter.
The show opened in June and most performances have been sold out as the audience gathers to listen to a mix of traditional corridos, or storytelling songs. The show features songs in English, Spanish and even bits in Chinese as the granddaughter and grandfather share their stories and explore the music he has collected through the years. Each corrido is acted out with a lively cast and a live band on stage. The show features some traditional corridos, but also features songs that are off the beaten path, such as a hip-hop version of a Chinese immigrant song from the 1900s.
Playing now: “Corridos!! Ballads of the Borderlands” at El Teatro Campesino, 705 Fourth St., San Juan Bautista. Tickets are: $20 for adults, $16 for seniors and students, $12 for children. Show dates include July 29, 30, August 3, 4, 5, 6, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31 and September 1, 2 and 3. Friday shows are 8 p.m., Saturday shows are 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday shows are 2 p.m. For tickets, call 831-623-2444 or visit www.elteatrocampesino.com.
Brides and brothers
The 1957 film classic “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” takes the stage in the San Benito Stage Company’s latest production. Christian Barrera directs the play in which Adam, the eldest of seven brothers living in a log cabin, marries Milly. Unbeknownst to her, her has six younger brothers who are far from civilized. Songs, dancing and zany antics ensue as Milly tries to reform the boys in hopes that they will find wives of their own.
Playing now: The San Benito Stage Company presents “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” at San Benito High School, 1220 Monterey St., Hollister. Tickets are: $15 for adults and $12 for children under 12 and seniors. Show dates include Saturday, July 29, 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 30, 2 p.m. For tickets, visit www.sanbenitostage.org or call 831-636-0122 for more information.
Pharaoh’s land in Gilroy
John Bisceglie presents takes the stage – or in this case the warehouse – in the sequel to “Totally Rockin’ Temple of Boom.” The production will be held at Christopher Ranch where child actors, parents and volunteers created an Egyptian temple inside a 10,000-square-foot garlic warehouse. In the last show, a crazy cast of characters all ended up lost in an Egyptian pyramid, which had been frozen in time to prevent it from toppling in a natural disaster. But a reversal of the spell brought back to life an Egyptian Pharaoh and his children who interact with an Indiana Jones-like archeologist, his assistant and a lost family of British tourists.
The new show, “Totally Rockin’ Temple of BOOM-erang…It’s back!” continues on where the last show ended – with Mony, the money-grubbing wife of a British fellow who seemed to perish in the last show – back for more fortune searching. The show features 50 local children, teens and young adults dancing and singing to songs from Broadway as well as hits from different decades.
Opens August 3: “Totally Rockin’ Temple of BOOM-erang…It’s back!” at Christopher Ranch, 305 Bloomfield Ave. Tickets are $12. Bleacher seating and limited chair seating available. Performances are August 3 – 20, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Reservations recommended. Call 408-848-3630 for tickets.
STAR takes the stage
The second session of Gavilan College’s Summer Theater Arts Repertory is just getting started with a three-week summer program in San Juan Bautista where the young actors, all school-age children, have started rehearsals for their latest show. This year’s San Juan production is the Shakespeare classic “Romeo and Juliet,” the tragic tale of forbidden love between two teens from feuding families. While the Gilroy STAR program, which ran July 21 and 22, performed a musical, the San Juan Bautista program has traditionally studied a classical play. Last summer’s program ended with a performance of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer night’s dream.”
Opens Aug. 11: The Gavilan STAR production of “Romeo and Juliet” will be at the El Teatro Campesino Theater, 705 Fourth St., San Juan Bautista. Tickets are: $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for children. Performances are Friday, August 11 and Saturday, August 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Back to the past
The South Valley Civic Theatre is concluding their 2005-2006 season with the Broadway hit “1776.” Directed by Colleen Chipman, local actors will take the stage in the production as the founding fathers as they battle to write the declaration of independence. The play brings home a story many Americans know by giving personality to the faces and names behind the written document that led to a revolution. The show features more than two-dozen local actors including Peter Mandel as John Adams and Michael Lund as Thomas Jefferson as they try to convince the second Continental Congress to vote for independence from the British Empire.
Opens Sept. 15: South Valley Civic Theatre presents “1776”at the Morgan Hill Community Playhouse, 17000 Monterey Rd., Morgan Hill. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and students. Performances are Sept. 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30, Oct 6 and 7 at 8 p.m. with matinee performances Sept. 23 and Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.svct.org.
For other activities and theater listings, check the Calendar section of the Sunday Pinnacle, found in Section D, regularly.
