It’s been a year in the making but Moonlight Stage Production finally gets to celebrate their 40th anniversary season this summer. They will be doing so with all health precautions in place not only for those coming to see a show but all actors and crew involved with each show.
The season will open on June 16, one day after California’s Coronavirus tier is expected to end.
Producing Artistic Director Steven Glaudini and Managing Director Colleen Kollar Smith worked quickly to curate the perfect season with the health and safety of the crew and actors in mind. Working proactively with Actors’ Equity Association to ensure a healthy working environment on and backstage.
Moonlight will open their 40th anniversary season with the Tony Award winning musical “Once On This Island” (June 16 – July 3.) The groundbreaking “Once on This Island” is a Caribbean retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” with the star-crossed lovers of Romeo & Juliet blended in.
The show with a musical score filled with Caribbean influences comes from the creative team of writer and lyricist Lynn Ahrens and composer Stephen Flaherty. The show will be directed and choreographed by Paul David Bryant with Lyndon Pugeda as music director and conductor.
The second show of the season willl be the Disney classic musical “Beauty and the Beast” (July 21 – August 7). Moonlight hasn’t done this musical since 2005, so Steve Glaudini thought this would be the perfect time to introduce this Disney musical to a new generation of theatregoers.
Music is by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and book by Linda Woolverton. Jamie Torcellini, having played the role of Lefou in the original Los Angeles company followed by Broadway, returns to The Moonlight to direct. Rounding out the creative team is Choreographer Bill Burns and Music Director and Conductor Elan McMahan.
One of my favorite shows “A Chorus Line,” is making an appearance during this 40th anniversary season (August 18 – September 4.) The ever poignant and provocative “A Chorus Line” is a revival for Moonlight as it returns to the stage for the first time since 1992.
Conceived and originally directed by Michael Bennett, “A Chorus Line” will be directed at The Moonlight by Kay Cole, who created the role of Maggie in the show’s original Broadway production. Choreographer Hector Guerrero will re-create Bennett and Bob Avian’s original choreography. Randi Ellen Rudolph is music director and conductor. Music is by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics are by Edward Kleban.
Gloria Estefan fans get on your feet as the San Diego Regional Premiere of “On Your Feet” The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan” (September 15 – October 2) hits the stage.
Featuring the Broadway sets and costumes, this exhilarating musical follows the extraordinary story of the Estefans who came to America from Cuba to break through extraordinary barriers on their way to reaching universal stardom.
This jukebox musical features such Estefan hits as “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” “1-2-3,” “Live For Loving You,” “Conga”, and many more. The show will be directed by James Vásquez, choreographed by Carlos Mendoza and Lyndon Pugeda is music director and conductor. The show’s book is by Alexander Dinelaris.
COVID PRECAUTIONS
The Moonlight is poised to offer socially distanced seating option in the “great lawn” for those who have not received Covid-19 vaccinations or for those who are but wish to remain distanced from others. Those attending who wish to sit in any other of the theater’s seats will be asked to be fully vaccinated or have received a negative COVID-19 test 48 hours prior to the performance they will be attending.
While in the theatre Moonlight will ask all audience members to wear a mask with the exception of when you are eating or drinking. In addition to these precautions The Moonlight will also provide hand sanitizing stations throughout the theatre and will adhere to daily cleaning of all common areas.
Ticket and Subscription Information
Subscriptions are $113 – $179 for all four musicals. Single tickets are priced $17 – $59 with additional general lawn discounts for seniors, students and the military. Subscriptions and single tickets go on sale on May 15.
Subscriptions and single tickets to the 2021 summer season will go on sale Sat., May 15 at noon online at moonlightstage.com, by phone at (760) 724-2110, and in-person at VisTix, 200 Civic Center Drive, Vista.
For more information, visit moonlightstage.com or call (760) 724-2110.
40th Anniversary Moonlight Stage Production Season
“Once On This Island”
June 16 – July 13, 2021
Gates open at 6:30 p.m. for dining and picnicking; curtain at 8:00 p.m.
“Beauty and the Beast”
July 21 – August 7, 2021
Gates open at 6:30 p.m. for dining and picnicking; curtain at 8:00 p.m.
“A Chorus Line”
August 18 – September 4, 2021
Gates open at 6:30 p.m. for dining and picnicking; curtain at 8:00 p.m.
“On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan”
September 15 – October 2, 2021
Gates open at 6:00 p.m. for dining and picnicking; curtain at 7:30 p.m.
Shows run for three weekends. The first two weekends are Wednesday through Sunday nights, and the final weekend of each run is Wednesday through Saturday night.
Other Moonlight Events
Prior to the opening of the summer season, The Moonlight will offer one night only concerts and movie nights. Moonlight Youth Theatre offers a concert reading of “Little Women The Musical” on May 15, The Music of Woodstock concert on May 21, “Toy Story” movie night on May 22, “The Karate Kid” movie night on May 28, and The Magical Music of Disney concert on May 29. Tickets for these events are on sale now.
This fall, the award-winning Moonlight Youth Theatre will produce “The Wizard of Oz” October 22-30 directed by Broadway’s Geno Carr with Music Director and Conductor Lyndon Pugeda. Tickets will go on sale May 15.
About The Moonlight & Moonlight Stage Productions
Winner of several San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Awards, including “Best Resident Musical” for 2019’s “West Side Story” and 2017’s “In the Heights,” Moonlight Stage Productions has been named “San Diego’s #1 Outdoor Theatre” by readers of ‘San Diego Magazine.’
Moonlight Stage Productions provides high-caliber Broadway musical theatre in the 2000-person capacity Moonlight Amphitheatre, owned and operated by the City of Vista. Audiences attend from throughout San Diego, Southern Riverside, and Orange Counties, making the Moonlight a regional destination for Broadway musical theatre.
The Moonlight’s summer season of Broadway musicals is produced in the picturesque Moonlight Amphitheatre and has been a summertime tradition experienced by more than one million people since the theatre’s founding by Kathy Brombacher in 1981.
Throughout the decades, the Amphitheatre has seen numerous transformations, but nothing as dramatic as the total reconstruction of the stage house in 2008-2009. A state-of-the-art venue was revealed with a grand reopening in June 2009, including a modern stage and audience facilities.
Since then, the Amphitheatre has extended its entertainment offerings with the addition of concerts and other special events held throughout the year through Moonlight Presents and ClubM.
Moonlight Stage Productions is the cultural arts program of the City of Vista and is produced in partnership with the Moonlight Cultural Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which supports the programming at The Moonlight year-round in addition to offering youth education programs through Moonlight Youth Theatre.
