Live theater returns to Morro Bay
By The Sea Productions coming back with live theater after two-year hiatus
– After going silent in March of 2020 and staying closed for two years, By The Sea Productions is coming back with live theater beginning in April. Many of the shows originally slated for 2020 are now being revived and auditions for parts are being held.
On April 22 through 24 the play “Now and Then” written by Sean Grennan and directed by Nicolette Tempesta will take place. This is an encounter at a late night bar between the bartender, a character named Jamie in his late 20s to 30s who is also an aspiring pianist, his girlfriend, Abby who is a waitress there, and two other characters, a man and a woman both around ages 50 to 60, who play what might be who the young couple become as their future selves.
“Fireflies” written by Matthew Barber and directed by Anita Schwaber will show on May 6 to 8 and is about a retired teacher named Eleanor Bannister, a woman about 50 or 60 years of age and Abel Brown, a charming handyman of the same age, who begin a relationship much to the consternation of a neighbor, Grace Bodell, also of the same age. A young policeman named Eugene Claymire is another character in the play.
The fourth play will show from May 27 through the 29 entitled “Church & State” written by Jason Odell Williams and directed by Janice Peters. In this reader’s play, religion, guns, and politics collide in a thought-provoking non-judgmental drama. Main characters are Charles Whitmore, a middle-aged U.S. Senator, his wife Sara Whitmore of the same age, and Alexis Klein, Charles’ campaign manager and a 20ish-year-old intern named Tom.
“We are extremely grateful for the generosity of our patrons’ donations and our venue, Saint Peters By The Sea Episcopal Church, who suspended our rent for the duration of the pandemic, and for a generous donation from the City of Morro Bay, all of which allowed us to meet our ongoing expenses for storage and insurance,” said board member, Janice Peters.
By the Sea Productions began in Morro Bay in 2017. This theater group formerly operated for 14 years as the Pewter Plough Playhouse Players in Cambria. By good fortune Erickson Hall at St. Peters By The Sea Church was available and the theater group was welcomed to permanently set up a stage and hold performances. Generally, the season consists of five full-length plays that run for four weekends each and three Readers Theatre shows. Since the interruption due to COVID-19, the group is first offering four Reader’s Theatre productions and will offer their first full-length play in June. Already on the full-length schedule is “Murder on the Orient Express” set to run in August.
To attend a performance, bring a photo ID and proof of COVID-19 vaccinations. The staff has installed ceiling fans and air purifiers in the theater. Order tickets and get more information at www.bytheseaproductions.org.
