SANTA MARIA, CALIF.: Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) has announced its 2016-17 season, featuring a mix of musicals and plays at the company’s three performance spaces, including the outdoor venue at Solvang Festival Theater.
In a statement, artistic director Mark Booher calls the lineup “a season of massive humanity.”
The season will begin with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and a book by Linda Woolverton. The show will appear at the Marian Theatre (Nov. 3-Dec. 23) and at the Solvang Festival Theater (June 15-July 2, 2017).
Next up will be George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s You Can’t Take It With You (Feb. 16-March 5) at the Marian Theatre. The comedy follows two dissimilar families connected by marriage.
The season will continue with Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man (March 9-26, 2017) at the Severson Theatre. The play follows a young Confederate officer as he returns home to Richmond, Va., severely wounded.
Following will be Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical (April 20-May 14, 2017), with book and lyrics by Peter Sham, music by Brad Carroll, based on the play by Ken Ludwig about a world-famous opera tenor who performs at the Cleveland Grand Opera Company.
Next will be Disney’s Newsies (July 19-22, 2017), with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, and a book by Harvey Firestein, about a group of young newsboys in New York City who go on strike. The show will also appear at the Solvang Festival Theater (July 27-Aug. 20, 2017).
Next up will be Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (Aug. 16-19, 2017) at the Marian Theatre, which will also appear at the Solvang Festival Theater (Aug. 24-Sept. 10, 2017).
The season will conclude with August Wilson’s Fences (Sept. 15-Oct. 1, 2017), about a former star of the Negro baseball leagues who was excluded from the major leagues during his prime.
Founded in 1964, PCPA presents year-round programming of both musicals and plays, and offers conservatory training.