'See How They Run' Puts the Mad in Madcap

The slapstick comedy runs through April 24 at the Camino Real Playhouse.

It’s perfectly all right if you imagine hearing a zany, madcap soundtrack during See How They Run at Camino Real Playhouse. Take it as proof you’ve preserved your faculties in the midst of this frantically fun fiasco of mistaken identities, preposterous coincidences, innuendo and “pun”tastic wordplay. Director Stephen Gomer said the Benny Hill show theme instantly came to mind when he first read See How They Run, written in 1943 by British actor and playwright Philip King. “I have a vivid imagination, and when I first read this, I had the music in my head,” said Gomer, who most recently directed the holiday show Greetings at the Playhouse. The theme music, also known as Yakety Sax, plays during scene changes and intermission as a sort of …

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Is Life ‘Getting Betta’?

A new play about an aging man and his robot assistant continues this weekend at the Camino Real Playhouse.

We’re well past Y2K, and it’s time to ask a few questions to better understand the age we’re living in. What is love? What is family? Does technology serve us, or do we serve technology? Do you have to be a human to be human? You’ll laugh at, as much as ponder over, some of the answers suggested in Getting Betta, a play written by Don Fried that gets its West Coast premiere on Stage II of Camino Real Playhouse. Bruce Alexander, a frequent Playhouse actor, director and playwright, takes a directing turn with this  production. A three-character cast navigates an emotional mine field in Fried’s clever and engaging send-up of new technology, assisted-living residences and modern relationships. Meet senior citizen Michael (Gary Severen), a …

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Viewfinder: Once Upon a Time at JSerra ...

JSerra Catholic High School's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, Cinderella, continues this weekend after its opening production on Friday, March 11. The show times are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets purchased in advance are $12 for students/seniors and $15 for adults. At the door, tickets are $20. They may be purchased in advance by calling (949) 493-9307.

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Jukebox Musical 'Breaking Up' Takes Them Back

The play, chock-full of Neil Sedaka tunes, continues weekends through Feb. 13 at the Camino Real Playhouse in San Juan Capistrano.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, the Neil Sedaka musical under way at Camino Real Playhouse, turned out to be a comely “Calendar Girl” for director Nick Charles. Charles had been trying to acquire the stage rights for another show, only to learn it would be unavailable for some time. Breaking Up Is Hard to Do was suggested, and Charles, a big fan of Sedaka’s music, realized he had found the perfect show to fill a gap in the Playhouse’s 21st-anniversary season. “It’s a ‘jukebox musical,’ one of the new wave of shows built around popular music,” explained Charles. “You have shows like Jersey Boys with 1950s and ’60s doo-wop and All Shook Up with Elvis Presley’s music.” Charles was confident Breaking Up Is Hard to Do would appeal to Camino Real …

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