Plaza Playhouse Theater
Description
The Plaza Playhouse Theater is a non profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of our community through the theater arts. We endeavor to be a ve The Alacazar (the theatre’s original name) opened on April 27, 1928. Owner, Henry J. Miller invested $500,000 to build the theatre that builder Alex C. D’Alfonso claimed was “As Strong and Sturdy as the Rock of Gibralter”. The opening of the theatre prompted telegrams of congratulations from MGM, Paramount and Christie Films among others to the first proprietor of the theatre, long time resident and actor Oliver Prickett (sometimes known as Oliver Blake) of Ma and Pa Kettle fame.
Opening night featured a live band and a premier showing of a comedy “The Fifty-Fifty Girl”....admission was $1.10.
Through the years to follow, the Alcazar changed hands and names...such as the Ritz, the Del Mar, the Tradewinds and for the past few decades, the Plaza. We begin a new decade as the Plaza Playhouse Theater and look forward to returning our theater to a center of arts and entertainment for the entire Carpinteria Valley community.
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The Plaza Improv Players will be performing “Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer” at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 4 at the Plaza Playhouse Theater, 4916 Carpinteria Ave. in downtown Carpinteria. Directed by Tom Mueller, this salute to the season is a one-hour unscripted, unrehearsed show using the tools of improv. Tickets are $10 and available at the box office from 2:30 p.m. day of the show. More info, call Tom at (805) 794-7467. From left, Mike Wondolowski Sherri Mendenhall, Doug Norton, and Tom Mueller.
Timeline Photos
The Plaza Improv Players will be performing “Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer” at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 4 at the Plaza Playhouse Theater, 4916 Carpinteria Ave. in downtown Carpinteria. Directed by Tom Mueller, this salute to the season is a one-hour unscripted, unrehearsed show using the tools of improv. Tickets are $10 and available at the box office from 2:30 p.m. day of the show. More info, Tom at (805) 794-7467. From left, Mike Wondolowski, Sherri Mendenhall, Doug Norton, and Tom Mueller.
The Boss Baby
Sunday, July 2nd at 3 pm, we bring you "The Boss Baby" featuring the voices of Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Tobey Maguire and more. This 2017 animated comedy tells the story of how a new baby's arrival impacts a family, told from the point of view of a delightfully unreliable narrator -- a wildly imaginative 7-year-old named Tim. The most unusual Boss Baby (Alec Baldwin) arrives at Tim's home in a taxi, wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. The instant sibling rivalry must soon be put aside when Tim discovers that Boss Baby is actually a spy on a secret mission, and only he can help thwart a dastardly plot that involves an epic battle between puppies and babies. Tickets are $7.00 general admission and available online and at the theater box office one hour prior to show time. (The Plaza Playhouse does not run trailers; this film will start promptly at 3 pm.) This film is rated PG and has a run time of 1 hour and 37 minutes.
Grease Sing Along
Join us on Friday, June 30 at 7 pm with your best Rydell High outfit and your singing voice warmed up as we bring you "Grease" - the Sing Along! Your favorite movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John, but YOU are going to sing along with them! It's California 1959 and greaser Danny Zuko and Australian Sandy Olsson are in love. They spend time at the beach, and when they go back to school, what neither of them knows is that they both now attend Rydell High. Danny's the leader of the T-Birds, a group of black leather jacket-wearing greasers while Sandy hangs with the Pink Ladies, a group of pink-wearing girls led by Rizzo. When they clash at Rydell's first pep rally, Danny isn't the same Danny from the beach. They try to be like each other so they can be together. Tickets are $7.00 general admission and available online and at the theater box office one hour prior to showtime. Remember to dress the part - we'll have some prizes for the top 3 best dressed! This film is rated PG-13 and has a run time of just under 2 hours. (Please note: The Plaza Playhouse does not run trailers prior to the movie, so our film will begin promptly at 7 pm)
Jazz at the Playhouse
Saturday, July 8 at 8 pm, the Plaza Playhouse Theater is pleased to present Jazz at the Playhouse, featuring the talents of John Schnackenberg on saxophone, Cougar Estrada on keyboard, Jim Connolly on bass and Austin Beede on drums. A Santa Barbara native, Schnackenberg has been playing began playing saxophone and clarinet since the age of 9 and has played in the local music scene for over 30 years. He is a member of and has recorded with Spencer the Gardener, Schnackenberg-Estrada Jazz Duo, The Wedding Band, The Roosters, Dude Fontaine and several other projects. Cougar Estrada became a professional musician at the age of 13 playing drums in his father and uncles band The Estrada Brothers. Cougar continued his musical endeavors in writing, producing and recording for others as well as releasing several CD's of his own music. As a journeyman musician Cougar became well known primarily as a drummer/percussionist with a long list of credits. This includes a decade long stint as touring and recording drummer for Los Lobos 2002-2011 playing live and on all their studio albums, live albums, DVDs, radio and television appearances (Jay Leno, Conan OBrien, David Letterman, etc) a period which culminated in a performance at The White House for President Barack Obama. Having grown up around music and the ever-present piano, his latest project finds him emerging as pianist and band leader with his own group The Lounge Trio. Listed as one of the twenty-five most intriguing people in Santa Barbara Magazine, Jim Connolly is a composer, songwriter and performer. Having attended the New England Conservatory, Jim writes music for The Gove County Philharmonic, The Gove County String Quartet and Lit Moon Theatre and Toy Shop Ghost and has released eight recordings of original music. He plays the double bass, saw, banjo, piano and sings and has received eight Independent Theater Awards, numerous commissions, grants, and ASCAP Plus Awards. Austin grew up in Goleta and started drumming at age 10, taking lessons from Mike Ray (Mike's Drum Shop). He came to love the instrument and has since toured and recorded with a variety of different groups, including but not limited to: Alberta Cross, Gram Rabbit, The Coral Sea, Alastair Greene Band, and Omar Velasco. Tickets are $25.00 general admission and available online and at the theater box office starting at 7 pm on the evening of the show. Seating is limited.
The Graduate
Sunday, June 25, join us as we screen the 1967 comedy-drama classic The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft and Katharine Ross. Based on Charles Webb's novel and directed by Mike Nichols, The Graduate tells the story of 21-year-old Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), a recent college graduate with no well-defined aim in life, who is seduced by an older woman, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), then falls in love with her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross). The film was released on December 22, 1967, received positive reviews and grossed $104.9 million. With the figures adjusted for inflation the film's gross is $754 million, making it the 22nd highest-ever grossing film in North America. In 1996, The Graduate was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Initially, the film was placed at number 7 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list in 1998. When AFI revised the list in 2007, the film was moved to number 17. Tickets are $7.00 general admission and available online and at the theater box office one hour prior to showtime. (Please note, the Plaza Playhouse Theater does not screen film trailers prior to the main feature, so our film will start promptly at 3 pm). This film is rated PG and has a run time of an hour and 46 minutes.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Sunday, June 11 at 3 pm, we present the 1962 cult classic "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane", starring Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) is an aging child star left to care for her wheelchair-bound sister Blanche (Joan Crawford), also a former child actress. Stuck living together in a mansion in old Hollywood, Blanche plots to get even with Jane for the car crash that left her crippled years earlier. But Jane is desperate to keep Blanche imprisoned as she plans a new rise to fame, and tries to hide Blanche's existence from doctors, visitors and neighbors while she devises a way to get rid of her sister. The screenplay by Lukas Heller is based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Henry Farrell. Upon the film's release, it was met with widespread critical and box office acclaim and was later nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one for Best Costume Design, Black and White. The intensely bitter Hollywood rivalry between the film's two stars, Davis and Crawford, was heavily important to the film's initial success. This in part led to the revitalization of the then-waning careers of the two stars. In 2003 the character of Baby Jane Hudson was ranked #44 on the American Film Institute's list of the 50 Best Villains of American Cinema. Tickets are $7.00 general admission and available online and at the theater box office one hour prior to showtime. (Please note, the Plaza Playhouse Theater does not screen film trailers prior to the main feature, so our film will start promptly at 3 pm). This film is not rated, but has mature subject matter and has a run time of two hours and fourteen minutes.
Sgt. Pepper in Concert!
On June 1, 2017 it will have been exactly 50 years to the day since the Beatles' historic Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band LP was first released. To celebrate, the Plaza Playhouse Theater presents the return of the phenomenal Southern California pop combo, Sgt. Pepper, live, on stage to perform the entire album, song-by-song, complete with orchestral effects! The Beatles never performed the album live as it would have required bringing along a 40 piece orchestra, but with today's digital recording magic at their fingertips, Sgt. Pepper will make it sound as though the orchestra is right there. All the members of the band are steeped in the songs of the Fab Four, having played their music for decades. Once the entire album has been performed, Sgt. Pepper will launch into another high energy set highlighting the classic monster hits of the Lads from Liverpool who shook up the world in the 1960's and whose legacy remains with us to this day. Tickets for Sgt. Pepper are $30 general admission and available online and at the theater box office one hour prior to showtime. Seating is limited.
The Founder
Sunday, May 21 at 3 pm, we present "The Founder", starring Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc. Directed by John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks), The Founder features the true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a struggling salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers' speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. Writer Robert Siegel (The Wrestler) details how Kroc maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire. The film also stars Laura Dern as Ray Kroc's first wife Ethel; John Carroll Lynch as Mac McDonald and Nick Offerman as Dick McDonald. Tickets are $7.00 general admission and available online and at the theater box office on hour prior to screen time. (The Plaza Playhouse does not run trailers prior to our films; this film will start promptly at 3 pm.) This film is rated PG-13 and has a run time of just under 2 hours.
Stephen Roy's "Black & White"
Join us on Saturday, May 20 at 7 pm as we present Stephen Roy's "Black & White". Have you ever been asked to make a decision and wondered what would have happened had you made a different choice? Have you ever felt the choices you make have predictable outcomes? Have you considered the effect your choices have on others around you? Are you always trying to make choices one way and feel the results are always opposite what you choose? Of course you do. Everyone asks themselves these questions. Its human nature. The show is called Black & White. The goal of this show is to purposefully blur this dichotomy of choice, challenge our own ideals, and make light of this oppositional metaphor that is so prevalent in our lives and is represented by the black and white brain. Black & White represents the way we box ourselves in to neat little compartments, as if everything was as simple as black and white, when reality is in fact faded into infinite shades of gray. There is no true black or pure white and that's the gray of it. This show ultimately has us asking ourselves if we are truly free to choose our lives in a random process of decision, or if we are directed by the fates of divine intervention, or if we are just sort of swirling around in a giant soup of chaos bumping into each other with no real process or design. It begs the question, How do you choose? Your answer may surprise you. Choose to come see this show! Tickets are $20.00 general admission and available online, at Seastrand (919 Linden Ave., cash or check only) and at the theater box office one hour prior to showtime.
La La Land
Sunday, May 7 at 3 pm, join us as we screen the 2016 blockbuster and 6 time Oscar winner, "La La Land". Written and directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, "La La Land" tells the story of Mia, an aspiring actress, who serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, who scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars. As success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart. "La La Land" received critical acclaim and was regarded as one of the best films of 2016. Critics praised Chazelle's screenplay and direction, Gosling and Stone's performances, Justin Hurwitz's score and the film's musical numbers. It won in every category it was nominated for at the 74th Golden Globe Awards, with a record-breaking seven wins, and received 11 nominations at the 70th British Academy Film Awards, winning five. It received 14 nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, tying the record for most nominations with Titanic (1997) and All About Eve (1950), and won the awards for Best Director, Best Actress (Stone), Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Original Song ("City of Stars") and Best Production Design. Tickets are $7.00 and available online and at the theater box office one hour prior to screen time. This film is rated PG-13 and has a run time of 2 hours and 8 minutes.
Treble in Paradise
Saturday, May 6 at 6 pm, Santa Barbara Soundwaves presents "Treble in Paradise" an A Cappella Showcase featuring guest performances by UCSBs Brothas From Otha Mothas (BFOM) and Naked Voices. Come enjoy an evening full of musicno instruments required! Santa Barbara Soundwaves was established in 2015 as Santa Barbara's newest post-collegiate, all-female A Cappella group and is thrilled to share their voices with the community. They will be donating a percentage of the proceeds from this show back into the community by supporting local music/performing arts programs. Tickets are $10.00 general admission, and $5.00 for children 12 and under. Purchase tickets online or at the theater box office prior to the show.
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