It’s the 1970s, and Lucha spends her days caring for her ailing mother but longs to shake up her life. When a forgotten record sparks her mother’s memory, Lucha and her cousin strike upon a radical idea: to create an all-female mariachi band. Infused with live music played by a live mariachi band, this “big-hearted, musical tug at the heartstrings” reminds us how music and love can make just about anything possible.
“For those of you just tuning in, Thanksgiving is already in progress here at Wembly kitchen. The stands are nice and full, it’s quite a crowd that’s gathered. They’re in for a real treat.” And so, in this lively take on how family is played, over time and memory, and through generations… a pair of sports announcers calls a holiday dinner.
It’s September 16, 1963. The day after the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This play with music uses the framework of one of the Civil Rights Era’s leading songstresses’ most blistering songs to give voice to a group of women suffering self-hatred due to the different hues of their skin. A journey that leads these four women through healing and transformation.
When punk rock exploded in L.A., Sally and Lou were there: feminists, Latinas, queens of noise. One went pop, one stayed punk, but sparks from their tumultuous friendship remain. Decades later, they must try to overcome old wounds, forgive each other, and rock as hard as they ever did.
Originally set in 1954, The Pajama Game is a musical with favorite songs like “Hernando’s Hideaway” and “Steam Heat.” The production focuses on a garment worker’s union in Iowa, negotiating a raise for its members at the Sleep Tite Pajama Factory. New lovers find themselves on opposite sides of the labor dispute throughout the negotiations. As a strike looms, everyone is fighting passionately for what they believe in: in work and in love. Nearly seventy years after its debut, this production’s bold new approach takes a fresh look at the characters and the laughs and tells a story of organized labor that continues to shape our nation today.
When Ren and his mother move from Chicago to a small farming town, he is prepared for the inevitable adjustment period at his new high school. But he’s not prepared for the rigorous local edicts, including a ban on dancing instituted by the local preacher. The heartfelt story that emerges pins a father longing for the son he lost against a young man aching for the father who walked out on him.
This musical begins in the present and moves backwards, tracing the lives of wealthy, jaded composer, Franklin Shepard, and his two estranged friends through each milestone of their personal and professional lives (good and bad). The show ends with a touch of rueful irony, as the three best friends now at the start of their careers face a bright future: young, talented and enthusiastic about the worlds waiting to be conquered.