PCPA’s Summer Season Comes to Solvang and Santa Maria
‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ ‘The Play That Goes Wrong,’ ‘Cabaret,’ and ‘The Agitators’ Hit the Stages at Solvang Festival Theater and the Marian Theatre
Solvang Festival Theater is one of the dreamiest places to spend a summer evening under the stars, and PCPA’’s summer season of shows is shaping up to be a terrific mix of musicals, comedy, and drama with four productions coming our way: Little Shop of Horrors, The Play That Goes Wrong, Cabaret, and The Agitators.
First up is Little Shop of Horrors, June 13 through July 7 (see Maggie Yates’s preview story here). This beloved cult-classic musical, with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken is the story of Mushnik’s flower shop on Skid Row. The place is about to go out of business when shy shop assistant Seymour (played so memorably by Rick Moranis in the 1986 film version of the film; see a clip here) stumbles upon a new breed of plant with an unusual appetite — for blood. Hilarious hijinks ensue.
The Play That Goes Wrong — an award-winning comedy about a theater company attempting to put on a 1920s murder mystery, with everything that can go wrong hilariously derailing their production — comes to Solvang July 12-28 (after a stint at the Marian Theatre in Santa Maria June 27-30). Santa Barbarans may remember the Theatre Group at SBCC’s production of this fun show back in 2022.
Then it’s time to come to the Cabaret! The iconic musical about Berlin in the 1920s — with a book by Joe Masteroff, based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood — comes to Solvang August 2-25 after a Marian Theatre run from July 18-27.
The season ends with a new-to-me show called The Agitators by Mat Smart. This historical play presents young abolitionists, Frederick Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony, full of dreams and seemingly common purpose when they meet in Rochester New York in the 1840s and form an unexpected friendship. It runs August 22-25 at the Marian Theatre and August 29 through September 8 at Solvang Festival Theater.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit pcpa.org or call the box office at (805) 922-8313.
