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Narnia Returns To The Stage
PCPA Theaterfest to Launch
2009-2010 Season

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, in a dramatization by Adrian Mitchell with music by Shaun Davey, plays in the Marian Theatre, Santa Maria November 5 through December 23.

First produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1998, this musical saga of enchantment and mystery will be making its California Premiere at PCPA. Four children – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy – who’ve been evacuated to a country mansion during the Blitz of WWII, discover a wardrobe that is the portal to the land of Narnia. There they learn that all the inhabitants are under the spell of the fearsome White Witch where she has created 100 years of winter. The children find themselves in the middle of a deadly struggle between good and evil and join with the great lion, Aslan, to battle the White Witch and her army.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is directed by Mark Booher and features PCPA Resident Artists Elizabeth Stuart as Mrs. Macready and Mrs. Beaver, Peter S. Hadres playing several roles including Father Christmas, Michael Jenkinson as Tumnus, Andrew Phlipot as Mr. Beaver, and Corey Jones as Aslan. Also featured are two of PCPA’s newest Resident Artists, Evans Eden Jarnefelt in multiple roles and Karin Hendricks as the White Witch.

PCPA’s holiday production  is under the musical direction of Callum Morris, Michael Jenkinson is Choreographer, scenic design is by Andrew Layton, Costume Designers are Judith A. Ryerson and Juliane Starks, Lighting Designer is Jennifer ‘Z’ Zornow, Sound Designer is Matt Carpenter and Christine Collins and Aleah Van Woert are stage managing.

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was C.S. Lewis’ most significant children’s fantasy, and, from 1950 through 1956 he expanded his Narnia through six other stories, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician’s Nephew, and The Last Battle. The popularity of these works remains astounding – they have sold over 100 million copies and have been printed in at least 41 languages. Their influence has spread widely from stage and film to references in novels, Anime, and even TV’s South Park and Lost.

Director Mark Booher was fortunate to witness the 1998 RSC production in person. He said that what held his interest through the years was not merely the scope of that work, but the personal insights that the production allows each audience to discover. “A story such as this rings with authenticity because all of us need to be enchanted and all of us need to rescued,” Booher said. In this production, Booher plans to capture for the audience, “the delight of being swept into a great story.”

PCPA’s 2009-2010 season also includes Shakespeare’s Macbeth, InterPlay – the staged reading series of two new works – and Curtains. As PCPA’s year-round season welcomes summer, PCPA will present Sylvia, West Side Story, Songs for a New World and a newly commissioned work by José  Cruz González (The Heart’s Desire) titled Invierno which is inspired by Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. It’s a season filled with music, dance, comedy, fantasy-adventure, and romance; all combining to make for a truly enchanting season.

Macbeth
By William Shakespeare
February 18 – March 7, 2010 Marian Theatre
The infamous chronicle of a Scottish hero’s fall from grace, through spellbound seduction and the pursuit of power.  Shakespeare’s study of ambition leads us from battlefield triumph to bloody assassination as our title character gains the crown, but forfeits his soul.

InterPlay: The Stage Between
A Festival of New Plays in a staged reading format to include Donald Margulies’  Shipwrecked: An Entertainment! The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told By Himself) – 2nd title TBA
March 12 – 21, 2010 Severson Theatre, Santa Maria

Curtains
Book by Rupert Holmes, Music by John Kander, and Lyrics by Fred Ebb
April 15 – May 9, 2010 – Marian Theatre -- June 17 – July 3, 2010 – Festival Theater, Solvang
In this hilarious collision of the traditions of Agatha Christie and 42nd Street, Kander and Ebb’s Tony-winning musical celebrates the backstage “whodunit.” It’s a toe tapping, gun slinging, wise cracking cavalcade in which Boston Detective Lt. Frank Cioffi has to drag his net to catch the killer among the stars, and soon finds himself happily caught up in love, and in a musical headed for Broadway.

Sylvia
By A.R. Gurney
June 24 – July 3, 2010 – Marian Theater -- July 9 - 25, 2010 – Festival Theater
Our title character is the bone of contention between Greg and his wife Kate in this howlingly funny domestic comedy.  This summer we’ll unleash this hilarious and touching tale that takes the term “animal lover” to a whole other level.

West Side Story
Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
July 9 – 25, 2010 – Marian Theatre  --  July 30 – Aug. 22, 2010 – Festival Theater
In this triumphant legend, love transcends language, time and place.  While Manhattan’s west side rumbles with the clash of Jets and Sharks, Maria and Tony seek “a somewhere” their romance can thrive.  In their revolutionary work that changed the course of the American musical, Bernstein, Sondheim and Laurents bring their award winning genius to the immortal story of star-crossed lovers caught in a turf war of rival ethnic gangs.

Songs For A New World
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Aug. 6 - 21, 2010 – Marian Theatre  --  Aug. 27 – Sept. 12, 2010 – Festival Theater
It’s all about the music in this gorgeous song cycle from Jason Robert Brown, one of the rising voices of the musical theater. Each song transports us through different stories, humorous and moving, of our American identity and experience – our community and isolation, our desire for the immaterial in a material world, and the moments of decision that define our journey. With a magic that only great music can provide, these Songs sweep us away into the moments we stand our ground, break our silence, make a bargain and find our way home.

Invierno – World Premiere
By José  Cruz González
Aug. 27 – Sept. 19, 2010 – Severson Theatre
We conclude our season with a newly commissioned work from José Cruz González, the author of The Heart’s Desire, inspired by Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and set in 19th century rancho California. Our story begins sadly – with love turned to obsession and destruction wrought by jealousy – the state is imperiled, friendships fractured and families torn apart. But it ends gracefully, with the healing that comes with the passage of time and awakened faith.

For the best seating, lowest prices, and exclusive privileges become a season ticket holder. Subscription packages start with as few as 4 plays, or see all 8 throughout the season for the ultimate theatre experience. Call the box office to receive a subscription brochure or email: boxoffice@pcpa.org.

For tickets call 805-922-8313 between 1 and 7pm Wednesday through Sunday, or purchase single tickets for the current season online anytime at www.pcpa.org.
Information about Group Sales for 12 or more patrons may be obtained by contacting groups@pcpa.org or by calling 1-800-PCPA-123.

Now in its 46th season, PCPA Theaterfest is the Central Coast’s Resident Professional Theatre Company, and has infused the national theatre scene with thousands of trained actors and theatrical technicians over the years in its conservatory.

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