I love it when things have such great advance sales that they extend even before opening. Such is the case with La Jolla Playhouse’s U.S. premiere of Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz and Peter Parnell’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Directed by Scott Schwartz, the show opens in preview performances Sunday, Oct. 26, and plays its now-extended engagement through Sunday, Dec. 14, in the Mandell Weiss Theatre. The work is based on Victor Hugo’s novel and features music from Menken’s Oscar-nominated Disney film score.
Single tickets for the added week (Dec. 9–14) go on sale to Playhouse subscribers this Sunday and to the general public Oct. 26. Extension week tickets are available immediately through a subscription package purchase. Call (858) 550-1010 or visit LaJollaPlayhouse.org. Meanwhile The world premiere of Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s “Bright Star” – a new American musical – continues at the Old Globe through Sunday, Nov. 2. By the time you read this, the major reviews will have come in. No matter what they may say, I was blown away by the tight ensemble molded by the show’s director, Walter Bobbie, who is much admired by artistic director emeritus Jack O’Brien. Carmen Cusack, who plays an era-spanning protagonist, publisher Alice Murphy, has the vocal pipes and just the right amount of twang to bring off the bluegrass sound. Her youthful love affair with the mayor’s son in 1923 doesn’t ripen for 20 years, and when it does, the payoff is bliss.
The question is will the song- and sentiment-laden show sell on Broadway and indeed whether Broadway is its ultimate destination anyway. Lots of suits there opening weekend. Meanwhile, San Diego romance lovers get to heave a sigh and wipe a tear or two over the beautifully designed show. The music is the best thing about it. More from Mainly Mozart In live-streamed video from Dresden, Germany to Rancho Bernardo Saturday, Sept. 27, Michael Francis, Mainly Mozart’s Festival Orchestra new principal conductor and music director, celebrated his appointment by answering a few questions beamed across the big pond. In making the announcement of Francis’ appointment, Mainly Mozart concertmaster William Preucil said that selecting a maestro to replace co-founder and music director David Atherton, who retired from the organization in 2012, was a wonderful thing for those on the selection committee. The challenge of finding just the right person brought all those involved closer together. Once Francis was selected, he and Preucil had a long meeting in London. Preucil is convinced that Francis is “the man who’s going to take us where we want and need to go.” Francis said that during his conducting stint here last year, he was impressed with the sheer level of passion and innovation he witnessed from “the world’s finest players” and the incredible musical minds brought to bear on the festival (to say nothing of the legendary barbecue he attended at the home of Founding Executive Director Nancy Laturno Bojanic before he returned to his native Great Britain). Sigmund Freud returns Old Globe Shakespeare Festival favorite Bruce Turk has returned to the area as of Oct. 15 in Mark. St. Germain’s off-Broadway hit, “Freud’s Last Session,” which plays at North Coast Repertory through Nov. 9. North Coast artistic director David Ellenstein directs. The play concerns a fictional meeting between an aged Sigmund Freud and a former atheist named C.S. Lewis. Northcoastrep.org or (858) 481-1055.