Musical Theatre Guild, a Southern California theatre institution for nearly thirty years, has earned its unique reputation by focusing their concert productions on the shows themselves – presenting the music and stories as simply as possible, performed by some of the finest musical theatre performers in the area. Appropriately, the 2024-2025 season puts music front and center, by presenting two shows that won Tony® Awards for their glorious and tuneful musical scores. THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, the lush, sophisticated, and romantic musical about a mother and daughter discovering their true selves while visiting Florence, will perform on Sunday, September 29th, 2024. It’s followed by the lovingly hilarious send-up of Golden Age musicals, THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, presented on March 23, 2025. Both productions will take place at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA. Information regarding tickets for both shows are available online at musicaltheatreguild.com.
While sightseeing in Florence, Clara – a beautiful, surprisingly childish young woman – loses her hat in a sudden gust. As if guided by an unseen hand, the hat lands at the feet of Fabrizio Naccarelli, a handsome Florentine, who returns it to Clara. Thus begins THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA – intensely romantic, lushly musical, and written in an intimate style that is both contemporary and timeless. With music and lyrics by Adam Guettel and a book by Craig Lucas, THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA is the winner of six Tony® Awards, including Best Musical Score.
A man in a chair appears on stage and shares his favorite record album: the cast recording of a fictitious 1928 musical. The recording unaccountably comes to life and THE DROWSY CHAPERONE performance begins as the Man in Chair watches, comments, and offers detailed historical facts. With two lovers on the eve of their wedding, a bumbling best man, a desperate theatre producer, a not-so-bright hostess, two gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan and an intoxicated chaperone, you have the ingredients for an evening of madcap delight. With Tony® Award-winning music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, THE DROWSY CHAPERONE is both a wild musical farce and a sentimental reflection about the role of music and theatre in our lives.
“Musical Theatre Guild has always been about telling the story, presenting the music, keeping the material front and center,” says Glenn Rosenblum, Guild member who serves on the organization’s governing Executive Committee. “We do it script-in-hand, stripping away production elements so that the audience can really get a sense of the shows themselves. This season, we’re putting on a pair of shows that have received the highest acclaim for their musical scores.” Adds Rosenblum, “Our talented Guild members are a great match for both of these pieces, and the audience will fall in love with them as well.”
Musical Theatre Guild is populated by many of Southern California’s finest Musical Theatre performers, many with Broadway and touring credits. They come together for a 25-hour rehearsal period with the express purpose of bringing to life Broadway’s forgotten gems, lesser-known shows, and musicals that are rarely performed in the community. THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA and THE DROWSY CHAPERONE will perform at the beautiful Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, part of the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, in Santa Monica. The venue is a modern, state-of-the-art theatre, and features plentiful free parking right outside the theatre.
Concurrent with the two mainstage productions, Musical Theatre Guild will soon announce other performance and fundraising events for the 2024-2025 season, to complement the announced shows. In addition, the Guild’s Youth Outreach Programs will continue, expanding into the Westside community, bringing local high school students to the live theatre performances, as well as offering mentorships to theatre students who shadow theatre professionals behind the scenes of the productions. Musical Theatre Guild is committed to inspiring and developing the next generations of theatre artists and audiences.
The 2024-2025 Season features romance and farce, nostalgia and insight, all set to some of the most beautiful music of American theatre. Join Musical Theatre Guild’s 2024-2025 season of THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA and THE DROWSY CHAPERONE!
THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA performs on Sunday, September 29th, 2024. THE DROWSY CHAPERONE will perform on Sunday, March 23rd, 2025. Both performances start at 7:00PM, and take place at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, located at 1310 11th Street, Santa Monica, CA. Ticket prices range from $39-$69. Ticket information is available online at www.musicaltheatreguild.com. Both productions will feature ASL access for Deaf and Hard-of-hearing patrons. Student Rush and Actors’ Equity member discounts will be available at the box office on show day with appropriate ID.
Your ticket purchase and donation help Musical Theatre Guild to continue producing the rarely seen Broadway works you love to see year after year.
Musical Theatre Guild is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership company of theatre professionals, devoted to preserving the unique American art form of musical theatre by presenting seldom-seen musicals in a staged reading concert format. MTG’s Youth Outreach Program takes specially prepared live performances into Southern California schools, brings hundreds of local high school students to live theatre performances and offers mentorships to theatre students who shadow our professionals behind the scenes of mainstage productions. All Musical Theatre Guild mainstage productions are signed for deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons.