NextStage Productions is changing attitudes about aging with creative arts!
NextStage Productions invites you to attend BINGO the Winning Musical! This is a benefit show supporting NextStage Productions, a 501c3 non-profit providing creative and expressive arts programs for active adults age 50 and over in Santa Cruz.
Bingo! the Winning Musical is a splashy, zippy, fun new musical comedy, which opens August 25 at the Louden Nelson Auditorium and plays again at Mid-County Senior Center September 9 and 10.
Bingo! is about a group of die-hard bingo players who stop at nothing to miss their weekly game. In between the number calling, strange rituals and fierce competitions, love blossoms and long lost friends reunite. These lovable characters spring to life with a smart, funny script and bouncy, hummable score. Audiences will be laughing in the aisles when they aren’t playing three games of bingo along with the cast!
Director Bradley Roades says, “Every member of this cast is deeply involved in the arts community of Santa Cruz, and every one of them has knocked me out with their dedication, talent and commitment. They are creative, fun and a sheer joy with which to work. With every rehearsal, I feel like I’ve won Bingo. You’ll see that this show enjoys the core aspects of live theatre and the audience is key to the performance…and you might just win a prize!”
Roades has directed, Batboy and Addams Family for All About Theatre (AAT) and his work for AAT also includes the productions of Spring Awakening, Billy Elliot and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Rio Theatre. Brad won the Mimi Steinberg playwriting award at Brandeis University where he studied writing and directing with Martin Halpern, David Wheeler, Michael Murray and Edward Albee, Jayne Anne Phillips, Geoffrey Wolff and others.
The NextStage producers are delighted to hear from cast members how much FUN they are having working on the show. Producing Bingo! has a twofold purpose, making the community aware of the services for those 50 years young and upwards to access professional training in Creative and Expressive Arts and the need for raising funds. This is an ambitious undertaking and it will delight all ages and support programs of education, community involvement and health and wellness.
Reviews
- “The score is bouncy and well-crafted. An exportable small-theater concoction a la Forever Plaid.” — Variety
- “Songs to bring down the house!” — Los Angeles Times
- “Warm-hearted, witty, musical comedy!” — Chicago Tribune
Bingo! runs August 25, 26, 27 and September 1, 2, 3 in Santa Cruz, and September 9, 10 in Capitola. To sponsor, advertise in the program or buy tickets, go to www.nextstagesantacruz.org/bingo or call 831-316-4833(voice mail). Tickets also available at www.brownpapertickets.com, Grey Bears, Mid-County Senior Center, Scotts Valley Senior Center and The Daisy store in Capitola.