History Of Cabrillo Stage

Over the years Cabrillo Stage has earned the reputation for the best, splashiest summer musical theatre event in the Monterey Bay. However, it has been original Producing Artistic Director Lile Cruse’s vision and dedication to bringing first-rate Broadway productions to our county that has made Cabrillo Stage what it is today.

Cabrillo Stage was born out of Cabrillo College’s Summer Rep program of the 1970s. It was a demanding season of three plays and one mainstage musical featuring veteran Hollywood and stage actors. Visiting talent included the likes of Vivian Vance starring in Everyone Loves Opal, John Carradine in The Man Who Came To Dinner, Sylvia Sydney in Arsenic And Old Lace, and Jim Hutton in Harvey.

By the late 1970s the infamous Proposition 13, the Jarvis-Gann Amendment, took its toll locally by eliminating most of the tax revenue that helped fund Cabrillo College’s Summer Rep program. Not wanting to lose the Summer Rep program altogether, the Cabrillo College administration gave Lile Cruse, then Performing Arts Division Chair, the opportunity to recreate Summer Rep as an independent and financially self-sufficient program. With Cruse’s vision and leadership, a company with the aspirations of producing unparalleled musical theatre was set to produce one major stage musical each summer.

Taking the dual role of Executive Producer and Musical Director, Lile Cruse ambitiously selected the dance heavy Chicago for Cabrillo Stages inaugural production in 1981. Chicago, a new musical at that time, was an ambitious undertaking for the new company. Cruse hired nationally renowned Belle Calloway to star in the production, who later would come to be a nationally recognized Broadway actress. Cabrillo Stage’s breakaway production of Chicago was a hit with both the public and the reviewers. The production also set a standard for professional theatre that had not been seen before in the county, and marked the first show with paid actors, and the now renowned full pit orchestra.

In 1982 Cabrillo Stage installed a state of the art lighting system in the Cabrillo theare. Equipped with new sound operating technology as well, Cabrillo Stage produced Hello Dolly, Mame, and Gypsy, the following seasons, sending Cabrillo Stage to the top of the list for summer theater events.

Now primed to become the Monterey Bay’s only professional musical theatre company, 1987s South Pacific was a benchmark for Cabrillo Stage. Up to this point visiting directors were casting roles to actors, not singers. South Pacific director Marcia Taylor cast vocal sensations Michelle Rivard and veteran Broadway actor/ singer Alan Gilbert in the title roles. Accolades were given to the superior crooning and a new standard was set at Cabrillo Stage.

1988’s production of My Fair Lady starring film veteran Peter Donat and Kathryn Atkins was a another huge success, to the point that Cabrillo Stage added a six-show week to accommodate the crowds. To this day Cabrillo plays a six-show week, Wednesday through Sunday.

Cabrillo Stage has seen tremendous growth year to year. In 1989, Cruse introduced producing contemporary musicals alternating with classics, starting with Evita. By 1991 Cabrillo’s reputation had grown significantly and actor’s were pouring in from the all over the Bay Area, Southern California and New York to audition for Cabrillo Stage.

Over the next few years Cruse chose a variety of shows: Sweeney Todd (1993), The King and I (1994), Oliver! (1995), and The Sound of Music (1996), Funny Girl (1997), Annie (1999), and Peter Pan (2000), all of which were highly praised by the critics.
"Our phenomenal production team gives each show a unique vision," Says Cruise, "And we do whatever it takes to make a unique theatre experience which results in our high production values."

Today Cabrillo Stage has an unsurpassed reputation for bringing you the "must see event of the summer season" (Ann Bennett, Santa Cruz Sentinel). Always aiming for cutting edge musical theatre, Cabrillo Stage produced the Monterey Bay premiere of Honk! The Ugly Ducking in 2001, and brought you the wildly successful Some Like It Hot in 2002.

With the continued goal of presenting unparalleled musical theatre to thousands, Cabrillo Stage entered its 22nd season with West Side Story. In 2003, 15, 000 people attended the summer production of West Side Story which was hailed by critics as not only an artistic success, but a triumphant culmination of all that Cruse had attempted to achieve over the years. With the fanfare of West Side Story Cruse chose to resign after 22 years.

Cruse chose acclaimed scenic designer Skip Epperson as the new Producing Artistic Director for Cabrillo Stage. In accepting Cruse’s mantle, Epperson, along with Manging Director Dustin Leonard, produced The Music Man in 2004.

With Summer 2005, Epperson and Leonard tested the repertiore waters by producing two musical productions, Annie Get Your Gun and The Fantasticks. The company was thrilled to have Lile Cruse return as guest Musical Director and Conductor of the pit orchestra for Annie Get Your Gun.

As CS launched into it's 25th anniversary season, Epperson turned the artistic reigns over to Jon Nordgren, renowned for the bands program in the Music Department at Cabrillo College. Upon this changing of the guard, Lile Cruse commented. "I have observed Nordgren’s high production values for years and I am confident he will uphold the professional standards for which Cabrillo Stage has come to be known."

In accepting his new role as Artistic Director, Nordgren said, "I plan to continue the tradition of excellence that Lile and Skip have established at Cabrillo Stage. It is my hope that the community will continue to support our endeavors to keep this Santa Cruz tradition alive for many years to come." Nordgren plans to launch a permanent repertiore season, and many more surprises, as the company anticipates the opening of the new Arts Education Complex at Cabrillo in 2009.