Capuchino Community Theatre

Capuchino Community Theatre was a community-based, non-profit organization based at Capuchino High School in San Bruno, California.

History

CCT was devoted to presenting musical productions utilizing the musical and dramatic talents of children and adults. Members of the community built the sets and made the costumes. Professional drama and music directors were hired by a board of directors for the productions. Some of the actors who appeared in CCT production were professionals who volunteered their talents, reportedly to gain additional experience in their careers.

CCT's first production, in 1981, was "The Sound of Music" by Rodgers & Hammerstein, directed by Capuchino High School music and drama teacher Robert Meadows.

In the summer of 1982, CCT presented Meredith Willson's "The Music Man", again directed by Meadows. Gary Young was the music director and Pat Bartholomew, who ran a Millbrae dance studio, was the choreographer for this and some of CCT's other productions. Typically, the cast included some professional actors who wanted to gain more stage experience; they brought high standards to the CCT productions and some served as mentors to the talented amateurs in the casts.

Director and broadcaster Jack Brooks (1935-1984) directed the 1983 production of "Kismet". He proved a very demanding director who sought to raise production standards; while some cast members were challenged by the long, sometimes exhausting rehearsals, others recognized that he sincerely sought to improve CCT's reputation. The production was visually impressive, with lavish sets and costumes, and performances were generally very well received by the audiences.

In December 1983, CCT presented the first complete performances of a "play with songs," "The Wanderers", written by Roberta Ewald, who had been a cast member of earlier productions. Ewald based the story on the experiences of her father, who came to the United States from Sweden. She later attempted to have the show produced on Broadway. Although attendance was light for the performances in Capuchino's little theater, audience members were generally delighted by the light-hearted production, which had both dramatic and comic elements. A unique touch was the casting of a number of Scandinavian performers.

Jack Brooks was scheduled to direct "Of Thee I Sing" by George and Ira Gershwin in 1984; however, just as auditions began that June, Brooks died suddenly and was replaced by Simon Levy of San Francisco's "Beach Blanket Babylon" musical review; this was the first CCT production to feature a performance at Sigmund Stern Grove in San Francisco, California, before an estimated 20,000 persons. That was the first performance of the show's run and featured a professional orchestra; the production subsequently moved to Capuchino High School for a number of performances. It was the last production choreographed by Pat Bartholomew, a Millbrae dance teacher, who had already signed a contract to choreograph shows in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The summer 1985 production was Frank Loesser's "Guys and Dolls", which had last been presented at Capuchino in May 1964 under the direction of Kenneth L. Ton and Otto Mielenz. It was again a very impressive, ambitious production.

CCT has also presented special spring dinner theater productions. Due to rising production costs, CCT abandoned full scale musical productions. The organization continued for several years by presenting dinner theater shows of excerpts from various musicals with minimal staging. It has now ceased operations. [Eyewitness account by Robert E. Nylund, member of CCT, 1982-85.]

Footnotes