By Mindy Pedlar
Cabrillo Stage joyously returns to the Crocker Theater to present Grease and Candide for the 2022 Summer Musical Festival season.
Artistic Director Jon Nordgren feels Grease is an ideal way to open their comeback.
“It’s a light, simple and fun show, a comic, coming-of-age story viewed through the nostalgic lens of the 1950s,” he said.
At the heart of the story is the romance between hot-rodding Danny Zuko and the sweet new girl in town, Sandy Dumbrowski. They had a secret romance in summer but now, back in the context of high school, peer pressure makes their love a bit more complicated. Can Danny maintain his cool dude status and still get demure Sandy to be his girl? The whole gang sings and dances around the romance of Danny and Sandy.
As Musical Director, Nordgren’s goal is to recreate the original Broadway score with authentic ‘50s accompaniment played by an onstage orchestra.
Joining him in the Cabrillo Stage orchestra will be his brothers, Scott on saxophone and Dave on bass. Jon hints that he might even bring out his tenor saxophone and join in the music-a rare opportunity for all three brothers to play in the same show.
Cassie Nordgren returns bringing two decades of experience, including Broadway and an international tour of Grease, to direct and choreograph this new, electrifying version of Grease that runs Thursday through Sunday, June 23 through July 10.
The second offering of the season is Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. Many consider this score to be Bernstein’s best. The lyrics are the work of several lyricists including Dorothy Parker and the incomparable Stephen Sondheim. The book is based on French philosopher Voltaire’s 1759 novella, which was a satire of the Leibnizian philosophy of optimism that was popular in his day.
The story takes our hero, Candide, and his true love, on separate journeys around the world, where they meet misfortune at every turn. They survive 18th century disasters like the Seven Years War and the Lisbon Earthquake, continually challenging their belief in “the best of all possible worlds.”
Reunited in the end, the disillusioned couple focuses with humility and appreciation on the simple, beautiful things in life — family, friends, home and, of course, a garden. Thus the stage is set for Bernstein’s vocal masterpiece, “Make Our Garden Grow.”
Cheryl Anderson, acclaimed Cabrillo College director of choral and vocal studies is musical director and New York director Gary John LaRosa will direct and choreograph this beautiful show.
Candide runs Thursday through Sunday, July 21 through Aug. 14.
Both shows play at the Cabrillo Crocker Theater on the Cabrillo College campus, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos. Tickets can be purchased individually or at a discounted rate for the season. Tickets are online at cabrillostage.com. The Box Office opens for phone and walk-in sales Thursday through Saturday noon to 6 p.m. beginning June 3.