Curtain Call: Play it Cool

New musicals are hard to come by. New Musicals that aren't based on a movie or a book are even harder to find. New musicals that are good and are not based on a movie or a book are like a needle in a haystack.

So imagine operatorLA's surprise when he stumbled into Celebration Theatre on Saturday night and found a gem of a show, Play It Cool. Play It Cool is centered around Mary's Hideaway, a fictional Hollywood jazz club, circa 1953. Inspired by 1950s film noir, the musical looks at the laws governing gay and lesbian clubs of the time; when women weren't allowed to bartend and men couldn't dance with other men; when every glance had a double meaning and every word was an innuendo and everything had to be done to strict code. Play It Cool is set against a sexy 1950s Hollywood backdrop and celebrates the gay men and lesbian women of that time who had the guts to break the rule.

Rarely, especially in LA, is operatorLA so pleased with a theatrical endeavor. CCool's music is fantastic, the voices of the cast are amazing and choreography is outstanding! The audience on the night he attended was mesmerized and gave the cast a much earned standing ovation and more. The applause would not stop.

Keep in mind, it is a new production, so there are some elements that can be fixed or tightened but these elements do not distract enough to keep the audience from engaging in a pleasurable evening at the theatre.

Play it Cool runs at the Celebration Theatre until July 16th.

For more information visit the Celebration Theatre Website.