Take a musical journey through the time when folk music met rock music and gave birth to an explosion of music that was danceable, singable and oh so romantic when the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley and the Pulaski Theatre presents the national tour of California Dreaming on Feb. 13.
California Dreaming celebrates that brief magical moment in the mid- ‘60s and early ‘70s when American youth migrated to California by the millions and transformed pop culture forever. When well-groomed folk musicians grew out their hair and plugged in their Fenders and Rickenbacker’s, the radio began to sizzle with tight harmonies and dreamy lyrics.
California Dreaming features the music of groups like the Mamas and Papas, The Beach Boys, The 5th Dimension, The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Songs like “What a Day for a Daydream,” “I Get Around,” “Turn, Turn, Turn,” “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Our House,” “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” “Little GTO,” “Good Vibrations” and “California Dreamin’.”
The show is a tribute to and filled with music that defined an era and introduced the world to the good vibrations of love, peace and summertime fun.
The show is produced by Springer Theatricals, the national touring arm of the Springer Opera House, a 143-year-old National Historic Landmark theatre in Columbus, GA. The Springer is also the State Theatre of Georgia and produces a year-round schedule of plays and musicals. It is home to the Springer Theatre Academy, the largest program for the training of young actors in the Southeast. Springer Theatricals has one of the nation’s busiest touring schedules, performing in more than 60 cities every year.
Since Reconstruction days, the Springer has been a revered Southern cultural institution with the world’s most celebrated artists making pilgrimages to perform in the Edwardian elegance of its main stage theatre. From Edwin Booth, Lilly Langtry, George M. Cohan, Ethel Barrymore and Irving Berlin in the old days to more modern appearances by Mary Martin, Truman Capote, Hal Holbrook, Burt Reynolds, Marvin Hamlisch and Garrison Keillor, the Springer has been a centerpiece for the performing arts in the South since 1871.
The Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley and the Pulaski Theatre have partnered to present four wonderful shows through Springer Theatricals. The shows were, Route 66, Patsy Cline, Honky Tonk Angels and the Marvelous Wonderettes. California Dreaming is our fifth. It’s hard to believe the Theatre has been opened five years.
California Dreaming will be performed at the Pulaski Theatre on Feb. 13. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Reserved seating tickets for the show are $20 in advance and $25 at the door and are on sale now. Call the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley to purchase tickets. Buy early to ensure you get your favorite seat.
