Summer Arts Preview 2012: Theater

Highlights Include Our Town and Avenue Q

The Rivals at the Solvang Festival Theater

PCPA rises to the challenge of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s most famous comedy, The Rivals, with a production that teams director Patricia Troxel with the school’s top costume (Frederic Deeben) and set (Heidi Hoffer) designers to re-create late-18th-century Bath, a high-flying resort for the gentry. This is your chance to meet the original champion of the inadvertent solecism, Mrs. Malaprop, and her cohort of other equally satirical characters. Thursday, July 5-Sunday, July 22. Call 922-8313 or visit pcpa.org.

Little Women, the Broadway Musical at Solvang Festival Theater

This 2005 musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel earned Sutton Foster a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of the passionate sister Jo. Under the stars and with the expert direction of PCPA’s Roger DeLaurier, this ought to be a perfect family show for the early summer. The talented singer Karin Hendricks will take the role of Jo March in this production. Shows through Sunday, July 1, 8 p.m. Call 922-8313 or visit pcpa.org.

Our Town at Godric Grove in Elings Park

The dynamic team of Cheri Steinkellner and Jessica Hambright, who brought us last summer’s outstanding 1776, are back with an even more ambitious show this year, Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. The play will be done outside at Godric Grove in Elings Park, with all of Santa Barbara serving as the majestic backdrop. It will also incorporate a wide variety of appropriate period music, including everything from gospel to barbershop quartets. This is sure to be one of the most memorable shows of this or any summer. Sunday-Tuesday, July 1-3, 6 p.m. Visit brownpapertickets.com/event/255586.

Avenue Q at SBCC’s Garvin Theatre

Following an impressive remodeling effort, SBCC’s Garvin Theatre will be back in operation this summer, and the first production that the SBCC Theatre Group has lined up is the multiple Tony winner Avenue Q. An adult musical with puppets, Avenue Q tells the story of Princeton, a recent college graduate who has moved to the edge of New York City’s East Village, where he encounters a colorful cast of neighbors. This is a very ambitious show that will undoubtedly demonstrate not only the huge technical advances enabled by the Garvin remodel but also the talent and professionalism of director Rick Mokler and his all-star cast. Friday, July 13 - Saturday, July 28, times TBD. Call 965-5935 or visit theatregroupsbcc.com.