STAGE BRIEFS

NETFLIX IS A JOKE FEST

Comedy fans, rejoice! Don’t miss this iconic once in a lifetime event, the historic celebration and performance of the best in LGBTQ comedy. Legends, headliners and emerging talent will perform at The Greek Theatre in Griffith Park in Los Angeles for an unforgettable queer stand-up event. Billy Eichner will host this all-star night of entertainment with Bob the Drag Queen, Eddie Izzard, Fortune Feimster, Gina Yashere, Guy Branum, James Adomian, Joel Kim Booster, Judy Gold, Mae Martin, Margaret Cho, Marsha Warfield, Matteo Lane, Patti Harrison, River Butcher, Sam Jay, Sandra Bernhard, Scott Thompson, Solomon Georgio, Tig Notaro, Todd Glass, Trixie Mattel, Wanda Sykes and more.

Saturday, May 7 netflixisajokefest.com

THE MUSIC OF ABBA

The world’s most successful ABBA tribute band will join Orange County’s Pacific Symphony to perform some of the most iconic songs ever written. From best-selling ABBA hits to uncanny voices and costumes reminiscent of Sweden’s biggest music export, audiences will be whisked away. Songs such as “Dancing Queen,” “Mamma Mia,” “Waterloo,” “S.O.S.,” “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” and “Take a Chance on Me” will be highlights that will have you dancing in the aisles and singing along.

ARRIVAL from Sweden: The Music of Abba was founded by Vicky Zetterberg in 1995 in Gothenburg, Sweden and very soon became one of the world’s most popular and most selling ABBA show bands. Since 1995, the band has toured 70 countries and appeared on TV and radio shows all over the world.

Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14 pacificsymphony.org

IN THE HEIGHTS

The acclaimed musical is returning to Southern California and will be performed on the San Diego Musical Theatre stage.

In The Heights broke new ground on Broadway in 2008 with its salsa rhythms, Latin pop sounds and rapped lyrics of the show that helped it quickly win national recognition. It was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won Best Musical, Best Choreography, Best Orchestrations and Best Score, earning creator Lin-Manuel Miranda a place in history as the youngest composer ever to win.

Set around Fourth of July celebrations in the primarily Hispanic neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City, In the Heights tells the universal stories of three generations living in this vibrant community. Their neighborhood is on the brink of change, and the characters sing about their hopes and struggles. These songs tell audiences about the dreams of first-generation college student Nina Rosario; Abuela Claudia, who left Cuba as a child; and Usnavi de la Vega and Daniela, who fight to keep their small businesses open as the neighborhood faces gentrification. Each character negotiates which traditions are important for them to keep and which ones they should leave behind.

In the Heights will be directed by a seasoned director, choreographer and producer. Carlos Mendoza spent his early years in Colombia. He has won several awards, particularly the Mary Jane Teal Award for his production of In the Heights at Music Theatre Wichita; San Diego Critics Circle Awards for his productions of In the Heights for the Moonlight Stage; and the Inland Theatre League Award for Choreography for his production at Performance Riverside.

“In the Heights is a beautiful and colorful musical featuring the energetic and powerful music of Lin-Manuel Miranda,” Mendoza said. “It centers in Washington Heights, where we meet a vibrant mix of characters. More than any other, this musical teaches us that community and family matter; it reminds us that family is more than blood. Moreover, hoping and dreaming is essential to life. It celebrates love, Hispanic culture, and its impact on our global community.”

“At a time when dreams seem out of reach, In the Heights reminds us that with hope, patience, faith, hard work, love and community anything is possible. Through storytelling, song and dance, we celebrate our elders, our barrios and our futures. We celebrate our Latinx heritage and the passing on of stories and traditions across generations,” choreographer Laurie Muñiz said. “As a community, I say to you: Alza la bandera with pride, ganas and lots of amor.”

Jill Townsend, artistic director for San Diego Musical Theatre, added: “We are thrilled to authentically tell this beautiful story with a Colombian director, a Mexican choreographer and music director, and a diverse cast from either Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador sprinkled with other wonderful ethnicities. With all the current global turmoil, this show reminds us how much our family, and our community, really matters.”

Friday, May 6 through Sunday, June 5 sdmt.org

A CHORUS LINE

This singular sensation makes audiences a part of Broadway’s most legendary musical audition. Coming to Laguna Playhouse, A Chorus Line is a celebration of the unsung heroes of the American musical theatre: the chorus dancers, those valiant, over-dedicated, underpaid, highly trained performers who back up the stars and often make them look even more talented than they are. It is also a celebration of the American musical itself. A Chorus Line is also about competition, and competition might easily be the common denominator that grabs the audience and holds it by the collective heartstring until the final, ultimate choices are made. For everyone, at one time or another, puts his or her life on the line. We all compete, no matter what business we’re in, for promotion, for attention, for approval and for love.

A Chorus Line is recognized as a classic. Overflowing with sensational ballet, tap and jazz dance numbers, this nonstop showcase features the acclaimed songs “What I Did for Love, “One,” “I Can Do That,” “At the Ballet,” “The Music and the Mirror” and “I Hope I Get It.”

It was the winner of the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, nine Tony Awards, four Drama Desk Awards, three Obie Awards in 1976, and a Special Gold Tony Award in 1984 in honor of becoming Broadway’s longest-running musical.

Thursday, May 26 through Sunday, June 12 lagunaplayhouse.com PRIDE AT THE PLAYHOUSE

FRIDAY, MAY 27

USE CODE: PRIDE365 FOR DISCOUNT

HADESTOWN

Come see how the world could be. Broadway San Diego welcomes you to Hadestown, where a song can change your fate.

The celebrated musical follows two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Hadestown is filled with beguiling melodies from celebrated singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and poetic imagination from director Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812).

Winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards including Best Musical and the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, Hadestown pits nature against industry, faith against doubt and love against fear. Performed by an ensemble of actors, dancers and singers, it is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.

Tuesday, May 31 through Sunday June 5 broadwaysd.com

AGING MAGICIAN

San Diego Opera’s season will close with the West Coast premiere of Aging Magician, a hybrid opera/theatre piece that combines singing, choral work, puppetry and performance art to create a unique theatrical experience. Aging Magician was scheduled in 2020 and postponed because of COVID-19. Produced by Beth Morrison Projects, one of the most influential and innovative tastemakers on the forefront of the “indie opera” movement, Aging Magician will perform three shows at the Balboa Theatre. The opera tells the story of Harold, an eccentric and aging clockmaker who is nearing the end of his life. He has been working on a children’s book, “The Aging Magician,” and is at a critical point in his story. Should Harold kill off the magician? Should he allow him to live? As Harold ponders these decisions, he finds himself transported to a magical place where fiction and reality collide.

Aging Magician stars Rinde Eckert in his San Diego Opera debut as Harold. The show features the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, also in a company debut. The director is Julian Crouch and the conductor is Dianne Berkun Menaker, both in their company debuts. Attacca Quartet is the orchestra for these performances and the composer is Paola Prestini.

Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14 sdopera.org

DIRTY THIRTY! CELEBRATING THREE DECADES OF FILTH!

Drag icons Jackie Beat and Sherry Vine are celebrating 30 years of friendship, show-biz shenanigans and trail-blazing clownery. Join these two seasoned professionals as they celebrate three historymaking, head-spinning, junk-tucking decades of drag with an all-live new show.

Both queens have survived grunge, COVID-19 and NOT being on Rupaul’s Drag Race to become two of the most influential, successful and delusional drag queens in the history of the wildly popular art form. Purple Room in Palm Springs will host this one-of-a-kind experience. Get ready for a double dollop of delightful drag featuring lots of scandalous behind-the-scenes stories, celebrity gossip and filthy songs as these two titans of crossdressing take a whimsical trip down (foam rubber) mammary lane.

Friday and Saturday, May 20 and 21 purpleroompalmsprings.com