Princess and the Perennials

Stage

“IT’S THE LARGEST PRODUCTION in San Diego Rep history.” That’s San Diego Repertory Theatre artistic director Sam Woodhouse describing The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea, a musical comedy that has its intro at the Lyceum November 23–December 21. “We’ll be putting more resources on the stage than ever before,” he says. Those resources include a stellar cast of 15, plus six musicians doing a songful set-in-Africa sendup of the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a princess whose skin is so delicate she can discern the presence of a pea through multiple mattresses and feather beds.

The ensemble, directed by Stafford Arima (who helmed Ace at the Globe), features Lillias White as the queen. White scored a 1997 Tony and three other prestigious awards for her performance in The Life. Sabrina Sloan, an American Idol finalist and veteran of the Broadway Hairspray, plays the princess. The book is by Kirsten Childs, winner of a 2000 Obie for The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin. Music and lyrics are by Andrew Chukerman, with choreography by Todd Underwood.

Princess has potential. It won an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award and a Richard Rodgers Award for Most Promising Musical, both of which provided, as Woodhouse happily puts it, “enhancement money.”

WE’RE ABOUT TO ENJOY a fringe benefit of Christopher Ashley’s tenure as artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse. Xanadu, the sur prise smash musical that Ashley steered to Broadway, kick-starts its national tour at the Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Theatre, No vem ber 11 through December 31.

Xanadu, a roller disco fable (yes, you read right), is one of those works that goes from one medium’s lowlight to another’s highlight. The 1980 film, with Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, drew woeful reviews and tanked at the box office. Yet its soundtrack became a bestseller, and the film built a cult following.

In that group was theatrical producer Robert Ahrens, who believed Xanadu would adapt well to the stage. He recruited two other fans of the film, writer Douglas Carter Beane and director Ashley, the latter then savoring considerable praise for helming another cult-to-stage adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The teaming triumphed, and Xanadu, with additional music by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar of Electric Light Orchestra, found paradise on Broadway. It opened in June 2007, garnering four Tony nominations and the 2007-08 Outer Critics Circle Award for outstanding musical. And Ashley personally augmented the musical’s success by getting the Playhouse leadership post.

FROM 1976 TO 2006, playgoers seeking a holiday high could count on the San Diego Rep’s annual A Christmas Carol, but not much else on local stages. That situation has certainly changed. We now have other productions growing as traditions, with fresh hopefuls sprouting every year.

The current longevity champ, of course, is the Old Globe’s Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, delighting seasonal sellout audiences for its 11th year (November 15–December 28). The musical based on the beloved children’s book, one of Jack O’Brien’s directorial gifts to our city, is also becoming a Broadway mainstay heading into its third holiday season.

Another rich revival is Cygnet’s It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play (November 20–December 28), heading into its third season. It takes audiences back to the halcyon radio days of the ’40s, with a cast performing the classic Christmas tale, complete with on-view sound effects and singing commercials. This would seem to appeal only to older audiences, but kids love it, too. Cygnet is also celebrating its first holiday schedule in the Old Town Theatre with a new A Christmas Carol (November 28–December 28), directed by two of our brightest talents, Sean Murray and Esther Emery.

Other bright holiday lights are Plaid Tidings, the seasonal sequel to the megapopular musical Forever Plaid, at Welk Resort Theatre November 13–December 28, and Scrooge in Rouge: A British Musical Hall Christmas Carol, the West Coast debut of a gay spoof of Dickens’ classic, at Diversionary November 15–December 28.

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