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Route 66 by La Jolla Stage Company Whether you were the King of the Road or The Little Old Lady From Pasadena, the best way to drive across the country from 1926 through the 1960s was Route 66 – the old interstate highway that ran from Chicago to L.A. The famous highway was morphed into a song, then a television series, and now you can live the historic journey vicariously through this musical revue recently performed at the La Jolla Stage Company. This musical road trip features Fun Fun Fun songs from the fifties and sixties with the common theme of cars and driving. On the Road Again, Beep Beep, GTO, I Get Around, and Dead Man’s Curve are just a few of the classics that this amusing little four-man ensemble (Skyler Dennon, Carl Barlow, Rick Hernandez, and Christopher T. Miller) takes us through, beginning quite naturally at a Texaco gas station where they sing the Texaco Star Theme. It wouldn’t do to get started on that 2,000+ mile journey on anything less than a full tank. Those two thousand miles take about ninety minutes and thirty songs to get you to Los Angeles, and it’s an entertaining ride throughout. Of course the popular tunes mentioned above are some great blasts from the past, but it’s a lot of the lesser-known songs that get the best staging. Those include a driver getting seriously overheated over a sexy billboard ad, a trucker living on Rolaids, Doan’s Pills, and Preparation “H,” and a terrifying brush with road rage in Diesel On My Tail. Other highlights include the ever-increasing race in Beep Beep, and lead-foot granny with a hotrod walker who burns up the stage near the end of our trip in Pasadena. The ride ended on August 1, 2004, but rumor is it may be cruising back soon!
Rob Hopper ~ Cast ~
Carl Barlow Skyler Dennon Rick Hernandez Christopher T. Miller Director: Tim Heitman Choreographer: Paul Pierson Costume Design: Jan Mah Stage Manager: Janet Zaidman |