Capitola songwriter and restaurateur Joe Ortiz will bring his musical memoir Escaping Queens–Over the Roof to the Santa Cruz Actors’ Theater this summer.
Greg Fritsch at Rehearsal
The production runs Thursdays through Sundays from July 3 through Aug. 2 at Santa Cruz Actors’ Theater.
The musical tells the story of an immigrant family living near New York’s Queensboro Bridge. The family struggles with poverty and a father’s problems with alcohol, gambling and money. At the center of the story is 12-year-old Joey, who learns about family, music and hope while trying to escape a difficult life.
The show includes colorful characters such as a Puerto Rican father, an Italian mother, a teenage daughter, a neighborhood bookie and a group of Doo Wop singers.
Ortiz based the musical on his memoir, Pastina—My Father’s Misfortune, My Mother’s Good Soup. The production first premiered at Cabrillo Stage in 2012.
Lori Rivera and Darren Daily
Actor Adam Saucedo stars as Herman, the father of the family. Saucedo previously played the lead role in Cabrillo Stage’s production of Sweeney Todd. Lori Rivera stars as Mama, the family’s mother. Rivera has performed in Santa Cruz productions for many years.
The musical is co-directed by Greg Fritsch and Cathy D. Warner.
According to reviewer Wallace Baine, the musical turns “an earthy story full of pain and passion into an elegant and sophisticated evening of cultivated emotional complexity.”
Ortiz is also known in Santa Cruz County as co-owner of Gayle’s Bakery in Capitola. In addition to his bakery work, he has written multiple theater productions, including Bread!—The Musical and Smoke Cabaret.
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Tickets available at www.santacruzactorstheatre.org/tickets