Musical Theatre West Goes for the Gold

The Golden State’s Musical Theatre West will celebrate its golden anniversary with a gala involving more than two dozen entertainers from the stage, screen, and TV. Celebrities set to help the theater celebrate this landmark event include Pam Dawber, Loretta Devine, Betty Garrett, Kim Huber, Dale Kristien, Rod McKuen, Brock Peters, Sally Struthers, and JoAnne Worley. The parade of stars will perform an evening of highlights from the first 50 years of Musical Theatre West, under the direction of David Galligan.

“We’re looking forward to kicking off our next 50 years with this stunning evening,” says executive producer/director Paul Garman. The company, originally known as the Whittier Civic Light Opera, was founded in 1952 and spent its first 25 years performing at various venues in the Whittier area. In 1997, Musical Theatre West began performances in Long Beach and has since made that city its exclusive home. “We’ve had phenomenal success since moving to Long Beach,” says Garman, “nearly tripling our subscription base and performing a record number of sold-out shows.”

The gala celebration is scheduled for Sunday, October 6, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton Street in Long Beach, CA. There will be a VIP reception at 5:30pm, followed by a 7pm performance. Tickets for the show only are priced at $35 and $50, for the reception and show at $95, and sponsor packages are available at $500 and $1000. Proceeds will benefit Musical Theatre West’s new rehearsal building campaign. Tickets can be purchased in person at the MTW administrative offices at 1800 Paolo Verde Avenue, Ste. E, or by phoning 562-430-2324. For more information, visit the website www.musical.org.