American Coast Theater Company announces its
Summer 2009 Season productions
of the outrageously clever comedy – Greater Tuna
and the hugely popular musical revue– Boomers
ACTC begins the Summer 2009 season with its production of the outrageously clever comedy, Greater Tuna written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard. The play will open on Friday, June 5 at the Lyceum Theater on the campus of Vanguard University in Costa Mesa and will continue through Sunday, June 21. ACTC’s Founding Producing Artistic Director, Susan K. Berkompas, will be directing Greater Tuna.
Following their production of Greater Tuna ACTC presents its production of the hugely popular musical Boomers – The Musical Revue of a Generation written by Kerry Meads and Vanda Eggington. The musical will open on Friday, July 10 at the Lyceum Theater and will continue through Sunday, August 9. Boomers will be directed by Kerry Meads with music direction by Vanda Eggington.
Greater Tuna, the long-running Off Broadway hit, is a hilarious comedy about Texas’ third smallest town, where the Lion’s Club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies. The eclectic band of citizens (men, women and animals) that make up this town are portrayed by only two performers in a tour de farce of quick change artistry that alters costumes and characterizations faster than a jack rabbit runs from a coyote. Two actors, twenty characters and a barrel of laughs, ya’ll.
Few shows have sustained the longevity and popularity that Greater Tuna has enjoyed over the years. The show began as a simple party skit based on a political cartoon more than 20 years ago in Austin, Texas. Talented creators Joe Sears, Jaston Williams and Ed Howard were the imaginative authors that parlayed the sketch into a critically acclaimed production which has entertained audiences across the country ever since.
Boomers, the Orange County Premier of San Diego’s longest running hit musical, stimulates countless memories as it weaves together over 150 songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s. This musical hit captivates not only Boomers, but their parents and kids as well. It is an unforgettable tribute to the generation that has transformed our world. Seven multi-talented performers and Orange County’s hottest band takes you on a terrific ride through the greatest hits and memorable events of the baby boom decades!
The baby boom generation changed the music, the mindset, and the entire culture of the nation. When writers Kerry Meads and Vanda Eggington first collaborated on Boomers, their musical tribute to the life and times of their fellow baby boomers, they never dreamed it would become one of the most successful musical revues in the history of San Diego. Hits from that time continue to top radio play lists and Boomers is filled with some of the best, including “I Got You Babe,” “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Stairway to Heaven,” “Respect” and many more.
Greater Tuna will play for three weeks, June 5-7, 12-14 and 19-21. Boomers will play for five weeks, July 10-12, 17-19, 24-26, 31-August 2, and August 7-9. Performance times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm in the Lyceum Theater on the campus of Vanguard University at 55 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Tickets for Greater Tuna are $20 for general admission and $15 for seniors and groups of ten or more. Tickets for Boomers are $25 for general admission and $20 for seniors, children and groups of ten or more. To order tickets go online to www.vanguardtickets.com OR call the Box Office at 714-619-6424. For more information go to www.AmericanCoastTheater.org.
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Producing Artistic Director, Susan K. Berkompas, is the founder of American Coast Theater Company, Orange County’s newest professional, 501c3, nonprofit theatre company. ACTC had its inaugural opening in the summer of 2007 with the highly acclaimed A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams. In its second season, the summer of 2008, ACTC opened with the hilarious comedy, Bullshot Crummond; and then held special performances of Love Letters starring Gavin MacLeod and his wife, Patti MacLeod.
The company is committed to producing professional theatre with artistic excellence and high production value. ACTC is also committed to producing works that may inspire hope or self-reflection through the eyes of the characters that struggle with their own humanity. The goal is to tell stories that offer the possibility of enlightenment which can be life changing and to produce works from the American and international dramatic canon. ACTC will also nurture the development of new American playwrights.
American Coast Theater Company is Vanguard University’s resident, professional theatre company.
SBerkompas@Vanguard.edu
www.AmericanCoastTheater.org
