PCPA’s New Season Kicks Off in Santa Maria with ‘La Comedia of Errors’

La Comedia of Errors, a bilingual adaptation of the bard, kicks off PCPA’s season 63 with a zany English/Spanish comedy for all ages. Based on The Comedy of Errors, William Shakespeare’s most famous farce, the show runs September 10-27 at the Severson Theatre in Santa Maria on the campus of Allan Hancock College. Set in a contemporary U.S.–Mexico border town, the story captures a community-driven whirlwind of telenovela-style mistaken identities, physical slapstick, and vibrant music. 

The season features an energetic mix of Shakespeare, family favorites, contemporary drama, and large-scale musicals, including The Wizard of Oz, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 72 Miles to Go, Les Misérables, Mean Girls, and Murder on the Orient Express, in addition to La Comedia of Errors.

Follow the yellow brick road to The Wizard of Oz, November 5 to December 20 at the Marian Theatre in Santa Maria. Presented in a collaboration with 2 Ring Circus, this beloved classic and its heartfelt score and cherished characters are brought to new heights with aerial stunts and acrobatics for the whole family to enjoy. 

The new year brings another Shakespeare production, the romantic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to the Marian Theatre February 11-28, 2027. 

That’s followed by 72 Miles to Go by Hilary Bettis, at the Severson Theatre February 25 to March 14. An acclaimed family drama that spans a decade and the 72 miles between Tucson, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico, the play follows a family as they come of age, fall in love, fight in wars and fight for each other — against the backdrop of deportation, DACA, and changing immigration laws.

The iconic musical Les Misérables is up next, at the Marian Theatre April 22 to May 9, and again at the Solvang Festival Theater June 10 to July 3. Set against the sweeping backdrop of the French Revolution, Les Misérables follows Jean Valjean’s quest for redemption in a world filled with injustice, love, and sacrifice, with music and a story that has moved the world for generations.  

Tina Fey’s musical version of Mean Girls is July 14 to August 8 at Solvang Festival Theater. As ruthless as it is hilarious, this examination of the teenage girl world features homeschooled Cady going straight from the wilds of Africa into the wild and vicious world of suburban high school. Packed with sharp humor and a high-energy score, this show is, like, totally “fetch.”

Another classic, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig, is on stage July 29 to August 7 2027 at the Marian Theatre, then onto Solvang Festival Theater August 13-29, 2027. The twists and turns of Christie’s famous novel follow a glamorous journey aboard the opulent Orient Express, which soon turns deadly as everyone’s a suspect and detective Hercule Poirot sets out to find the killer. 

To purchase show tickets, visit pcpa.org or call the box office at (805) 922-8313.