Adapted from Nick Hornby’s cult novel (and the Touchstone film featuring John Cusack and Jack Black), High Fidelity is the wry and sometimes painfully honest look at lives that are a little less than fabulous.
Presented by Out of the Box Theatre Company, High Fidelity plays April 26-30 at Center Stage Theater, 751 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara.
With a script by award-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole, Good People), music by Tom Kitt, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer of Next to Normal, and lyrics by Amanda Green (Bring It On, Hands on a Hardbody), High Fidelity explores the music we live our lives to.
This is a genuine rock ’n roll score, inspired by and peppered with musical references to some of the great rock and pop artists, the muscular American rock sound of Bruce Springsteen, the raw rage of Guns N’ Roses, the Eastern experiments of George Harrison and The Beatles, and more.
High Fidelity is about experiencing music autobiographically, about the connection we feel to the pop music of our times.
The show tells the funny/sad tale of Rob Gordon, a thirty-something indie record store owner who knows everything there is to know about music but nothing about how to have a mature, functional relationship.
When his girlfriend Laura leaves him, Rob has to learn (with a little help from Bob Dylan and Neil Young) to take life and love as seriously as he takes his music.
The cast showcases local talent alongside actors from Ventura, Oxnard, Simi Valley and Los Angeles. Featured are:
Nikko Arce (Mohawk Guy), Katherine Bottoms (Anna/Penny Hardwick), Shayde Bridges (Sarah Kendrew), Riva Brody (Alison Ashworth), Reneé Cohen (Laura), Samantha Eve (Marie LaSalle), Rob Grayson (Most Pathetic Man in the World), and Brittany Harter (Charlie Nicholson).
Also, Dave Hatfield (Barry), Gavin Juckette (Dick), Meredith LeMert (Jackie Allen), Marc Nicolas (Futon Guy/Bruce Springsteen), William Schneiderman (Rob), Willie Simpson (Ian), Zachary Allen Thompson (Hipster/Neil Young), and Sydney Wesson (Liz).
To buy tickets, call 963-0408 or visit www.outoftheboxtheatre.org.
— Samantha Eve for Out of the Box Theatre.