The Academy of Visual and Performing Arts of Culver City High School returns to the boards this weekend and next.
On the Town, the hit Broadway musical, will be the vehicle for the AVPA’s Blurred Vision Theatre Company at the Robert Frost Theatre.
Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 and Sunday at 2. On the weekend of March 18, stagings will be at 7 on Friday, and at 2 and 8 on Saturday.
On the Town is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Leonard Bernstein, based on Jerome Robbins’s idea for his 1944 ballet Fancy Free, which he had set to Bernstein’s music. The musical introduced several popular and classic songs, among them “New York, New York,” “Lonely Town,” “I Can Cook, Too” (for which Bernstein also wrote the lyrics), and “Some Other Time.”
On the Town was first produced on Broadway in 1944 and was made into a film in 1949, although the film replaced all but three of the original Broadway songs with Hollywood-written substitutes. The show has enjoyed a number of major revivals, including one that ran 2014-2015. The musical integrates dance into its storytelling: Robbins made a number of ballets and extended dance sequences for the show.
Tickets will be available online and at the box office before each performance.
- $15 for adults
- $10 for seniors, Culver High staff and high school students
- $5 for high school students with ASB cards and Middle School students
- Children in elementary school and younger will be admitted free with an accompanying adult.
Story of On the Town
With the pomp and fanfare of New York City, the brassy lyricism of Bernstein, and the sweet immediacy of a day of freedom during a time of war, On the Town is an American classic, beloved both for its moment in history and for its timeless qualities of youth and exuberance. The show follows the adventures of three sailors on leave for 24 hours in New York before heading off to battle in World War II. Goofy ladies’ man Ozzie is looking for a date — maybe seven or eight. Studious, innocent Chip, guidebook in hand, has several days’ worth of tourist attractions to check off his list. When idealistic Gabey falls for the photograph of lovely Miss Turnstiles, a subway beauty queen, they all join in an ambitious scavenger hunt around the city to locate his dream girl — and, on the way, find all of the romance, adventure, and New York atmosphere they could wish for.
Joined by Claire, a sophisticated anthropologist with a red-hot heart, and Hildy, a sweetly aggressive cab driver on the lam, the sailors careen through museums and nightclubs, Carnegie Hall and Coney Island, before Gabey and Ivy are finally united in the nick of time. With brash, spectacular, and slightly bittersweet abandon, On the Town is about seizing the day and living life to its fullest.
On the Town Cast
Gabey: Oliver Berliner
Ozzie: Reno Behnken
Chip: Samuel Petersen
Ivy Smith: Emma DeZarn (understudy Hazel Cupp)
Claire De Loone: Claire Skelley (understudy Isa Berliner)
Hildy Esterhazy: Paxton Amor (understudy Sarah Toutounchian)
Madame Maude P. Dilly: Isabel Parra
Judge Pitkin W. Bridgework: Nick Freedson (understudy Ben Hilsberg)
Lucy Schmeeler: Erin Hamill
Flossie: Celine Quadra
Flossie’s Friend: Raegan Harris
Rajah Bimmy: Joey O’Neal
Ensemble:
Andrew Alvarenga
Mika Barocio
Isa Berliner
Hazel Cupp
Katy Engel
Brook Francis
Clover Halperin
Ben Hilsberg
Frances Horwitz
Courtney Lundy
Mathew Mercaldo
Jenna Reynoza
Carly Shiever
Tysaiah Stutts
Sarah Toutounchian
Lauren Wilson
Directors and Crew
Director: Jill Novick
Choreographer: Julie Carson
Music Director: Tony Spano
Technical Director and Lighting Designer: Kirsten Opstad
Associate Technical Director: Ali Rubinfeld
Set Designer: Michael Navarro
Build/Paint Charge: Jackie Eppinger
Costumer Designer: Amy Mazzaferro
Sound Designer: Will Schuessler
Student Technical Crew
Associate Tech Director: Elise Park
Production Manager: Gabe Lobet
Stage Manager: Cricket Cary-Green
Assistant Stage Managers: Adriana Romero and AJ Foxworth
Associate Set Designer: Kori Ridenour
Stage Crew Chief: Emily Wulf
Stage Crew: Juliana McCullen, Owen Jones, Matthew Sussman, Andy Stogsdill, Britney Melo, Merrick Padilla, Aimmee Matias (build only) & AVPA Stagecraft Class
Prop Master: Rebecca Mirvish
Prop Crew: Bridget Padilla, Alekkos Tetradis
Costume Supervisor: Maggie Guthrie
Assistant Costume Super: Ayden Westmoreland
Costume Crew: Aimee Matias, Karina Villarreal, Mika Stambler, Khamiya Terrell
Hair and Makeup Super: Ellisa Amador
Hair and Makeup Crew: Alivia Pacino, Sadie Trevelen, Elizabeth Flores, Lauryn Ussery, Bella Chardier
Associate Lighting Designer: Tia Tiggs
Master Electrician: Caitlyn Crowe
Assistant Master Electricians: Simon Johnson, Maddy Sawyer
Light Board Operator: Maddy Sawyer
Follow Spot Operators: Simon Johnson, Caitlyn Crowe
Lighting Crew: Gabe Lobet, Thistle Boosinger, Shavit Melamed, Merrick Padilla, Catie Shin
House Manager: Snazz Tetradis, Eliza Spear
Ushers: Erin Krentz
See avpa.org