Playhouse raising funds with ‘Broadway Dreams’

Tom Titus

The Huntington Beach Playhouse -- with a long-term goal of severing

connections with the city’s Central Library and eventually occupying

its own theater facility -- has conducted a number of fundraising

ventures in the past to help make this dream come true.

Now one of its members, director and set designer James Gruessing,

has come up with a proven project to help accomplish that end. He

calls it “Broadway Dreams.”

Once the playhouse’s current attraction, “Stars in Your Eyes,”

winds up its engagement Sunday, Gruessing and his company will move

in for a benefit program scheduled for next weekend. For the many

musical theater buffs in this area, it promises to be a smorgasbord.

“Broadway Dreams” is a two-hour musical revue featuring 25 songs

from 20 Broadway shows with singers from all over Southern

California, from Santa Clarita to Laguna Beach. There are several

terrific voices in this area, and they often seem to come out of the

woodwork for a project such as this.

The bill of fare includes such diverse selections as “Get Me to

the Church on Time” from “My Fair Lady,” “Seasons of Love” from

“Rent,” “If He Walked Into My Life” from “Mame,” “Doing What Comes

Naturally” from “Annie Get Your Gun,” and “If Ever I Would Leave You”

from “Camelot,” among many others.

“The show is a brainchild of mine,” Gruessing said. “I originally

staged it as a fundraiser for my old high school in Albuquerque, N.M.

In two nights, that show raised $4,000. We hope to top that with our

run of three evenings.”

Lending their talents to the playhouse benefit show are James

Warnock, Jason Hammond, Laura Dickinson, Melissa Stewart, Jason

Sluyter, Laurie Carmel, Dak Kinser, Karl Jaecke, John Briganti, Phil

Andrews, Grace Lynne, Justin Bowler, Tiffany Berg, Rossann Andrews,

Tim Nowicki and Lesley Sluyter.

“Broadway Dreams” will be staged at 8 p.m. Jan. 29 and 30 and at 2

p.m. Feb. 1 in the Library Theater, 7111 Talbert Ave., Huntington

Beach. The donation is $27, which includes a mandatory $2 city

surcharge. Seats can be reserved by calling the playhouse at (714)

375-0696.

The show is being billed as the playhouse’s “first annual

fundraiser.” Board members hope that “Broadway Dreams” will help them

realize their own dreams of theatrical autonomy.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.