The Theatre Project SCV Opens with a Bang
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For one bright, shining, glorious moment, I forgot I was in Valencia, even though I was sitting in the balcony of the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons to witness the realization of a beautiful dream. You could close your eyes and imagine you were in New York or Chicago or downtown at the Ahmanson, Disney Hall or anywhere professional musical theater is produced and performed.
It was a singular sensation Thursday night when five outstanding actors walked on stage to perform "The World Goes 'Round - The Songs of Kander and Ebb" ("Cabaret," "Chicago") to ultimately bring down the house with a roaring standing ovation. For once, the Performing Arts Center was being used for its originally intended purpose - to present high quality, locally produced legitimate regional theater with a generous dose of Broadway polish.
Fortunately you have a chance to see "The World Goes 'Round" tonight at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and it is well worth it. If you normally go over the hill to see shows in Los Angeles or Hollywood, you will be thrilled to see a Broadway-caliber show right here in town. If you have never been to the Performing Arts Center, now is the time to go to see what it can become.
Kay Cole, famous for creating the role of "Maggie" in the original Broadway company of "A Chorus Line," directed and choreographed the review, and Musical Director Mary Ekler conducted a top-notch band on stage to push the show where it needed to go. There were no "good enough" attempts on stage that night --only full-blown theater of the kind people have been starving to see in the SCV; but not anymore.
In cooperation with co-producing artistic directors of The Theatre Project/SCV, Andrea Slominski and Mark Salyer, Cole auditioned professional actors through an open equity call and found Victoria Oscar, Julia Gregory, James Meehan, Susan Wood and Christopher Youngsman, who whipped through a nonstop program of songs about love, life, coffee and the condition of being human. Their energy was as phenomenal as their voices, with many mid-show stoppers. While the cast was better suited to the signature songs from "Chicago" than "Cabaret," the entire evening flew by in an instant with performances that could hold up in any theater.
Taking its title from a tune the songwriting team wrote for Liza Minnelli to sing in the Martin Scorsese film, "New York, New York," "The World Goes 'Round" is an eclectic collection of love songs, torch songs and acerbically witty comic numbers. Among the musical numbers were "All That Jazz," "How Lucky Can You Get," "My Coloring Book," "Maybe This Time," "Money, Money," "Cabaret" and "New York, New York."
Julia Gregory has performed in Broadway, pre-Broadway, national and international productions including "Showboat," and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Susan Wood is best known for originated the lead role of "Sandy Dumbrowski" in the hit Broadway revival production of "Grease!"
Los Angeles audiences would know Wood from her Ovation Award-nominated performance as "Evelyn Nesbit" in "Ragtime" at the Shubert Theatre. Victoria Oscar has most recently been seen in the role of "Miss Hannigan" in the national tour of "Annie." James Meehan is a recent import from the United Kingdom and trained with companies including Playhouse West, RADA and Guildhall in England. Christopher Youngsman appeared on Broadway playing multiple roles in the hit 1994-98 revival production of "Grease!" He recently completed the L.A. premiere of "Nerds" at the Brentwood Theatre.
"We have been so fortunate to have the incredible support that we have had since our launch," said Slominski at the after party at the Hyatt Valencia. She was literally crying from relief to see the show finally go up, as she is also teaching theater classes full-time at COC. "It is such a validation of our work; the community has been excited by the prospect of professional shows close to home.
"I am thrilled to see the show was so well received. It was Broadway-caliber and such an affirmation of all of the hard work. One of the big concerns expressed to us as we've been meeting with the community is that many believe that by supporting a professional regional theater, that other local professional, educational and community groups will suffer financially; I think just the opposite. If the Santa Clarita Valley obtains a higher profile as an arts destination, every local group will benefit from larger audiences."
At the Hyatt Valencia, Salyer stood on top of a chair and toasted the group made up of the producers, directors, sponsors, donors and performers. "I have to thank Kay, Mary, Andrea and everyone who have been so wonderful through the process," he gushed. "It makes me love all of you even more. It was such a wonderful show tonight!"
Cole, who lives in North Hollywood, became affiliated with the Theatre Project/SCV through its Lighting Designer, Steven Young, and mentioned she might be interested in directing more shows or conducting master classes. "This could really start a trend," she said. "The (PAC) is a fabulous theater facility and we could definitely do more to promote this budding theater community."
Tickets for "The World Goes 'Round - The Songs of Kander and Ebb" range from $15 to $75. For tickets or for more information, call (661) 362-5304 or visit www.canyonspac.com the box office (located in the COC Student Center, Room S-126, open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Performances are Saturday at 8 p.m. with one matinee performance Sunday at 2 p.m. Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Valencia, CA 91355. For more information about The Theatre Project/SCV, visit www.scvtheatre.com or call (661) 633-3550.
adonkin@the-signal.
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