Tickets are selling fast and excitement is building for the all-singing, all-dancing and all-acting spectacular California Dreaming: The Summer of '69, which has its world premiere in the Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall tomorrow night.
Stars Marty Newell, Charlotte Graf, Violet Lees, Pearly McGrath, Alex Fraser, Sam Maxwell, Tiffany Menzies, Paul Halsted, Jason Fullerton, Samuel Farr, Tama Reedy, Renata Rubini, Ailsa Williamson and Jason Medina tonight run through their final dress rehearsal in full costume and makeup, on the set designed by Jeremy Wilken, accompanied by the five-piece band, after technical rehearsals all week.
Written and directed by Queenstown entertainer Margaret O'Hanlon (Rock and Roll Suicide, London Calling), a rock star, a film star and a cult leader converge at the "People's Park Sit-in" anti-war rally in Berkeley, California, in 1969, to the music of Jefferson Airplane, the Beach Boys, Janis Joplin, Burt Bacharach, Santana, the Doors and many more.
NIMA Entertainment production manager Nicky Viggers yesterday said California Dreaming was the company's most challenging show to date, as it involved dramatic acting. However, "the cast have pulled it together and added depth to their characters", she said.
"They are mesmerisingly good at it. It's a fantastic show that draws in so many themes."
• Tickets cost $40 from the Lakes District Museum, Arrowtown, i-Site Queenstown Visitor Centre and on the door.
