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Santa Cruz Actors’ Theatre exists to ignite creativity and foster community by providing a space where bold, innovative performances entertain, inspire and transform artists and audiences.
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Now Playing
Conceived and written by Capitola songwriter/restaurateur Joe Ortiz, the musical "Escaping Queens" had its World Premiere at Cabrillo Stage in 2012. Since then, the creative team of Joe Ortiz and director Greg Fritsch have continued to develop the production. We are very excited to announce that this new version is making its debut this July at Actors' Theatre.
Escaping Queens
Over the Roof
In the shadow of the Queensboro Bridge, Joe Ortiz's musical memoir tells the story of an Italian/Puerto Rican family trying to escape the chaos and poverty of New York housing-project life. A gambling Puerto Rican father, a nurturing Italian mother, a love-crazed teenage daughter, a terrifying neighborhood bookie, and a gang of Doo Wop kids singing on the corner help weave the tale of a desperate escape from New York. At the center of it all, 10-year-old Joey learns the value of family, food, music, and the possibility of finding freedom and safety in a threatening world. The production’s original music draws on the same richness of traditions that the family itself does: Latin beats, Sicilian ballads, do-wop numbers on the street corner and radio hits reminiscent of 1950s era New York.
July 3 - August 2
Thurs, Fri & Sat @ 7 pm
Sun @ 2 pm
$35 general, $32 senior/student
Thursday tickets are 2 for 1 (use code 2for1)
Note: No show on July 4
Coming Soon
Auditions for the Actors' Theatre October 2026 Production
Feathers & Teeth
Tuesday July 14 from 6 to 9 pm at the theater
For more information see our Auditions page
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
by Tom Stoppard
presented and directed by Simon Hayward
This classic midcentury comic masterpiece is one of Tom Stoppard's earliest plays but also likely his best known. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two minor characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Stoppard crafts an ingenious backstory for these characters, which becomes an exploration of the meaning of life (or death), woven into Shakespeare’s greatest play. The two collegiate friends find themselves traveling to Elsinore, encountering a roving band of actors, a prince (maybe mad), pirates, and never manage to get a grip on anything--even which of them is which.
August 14 - 30
Thurs, Fri & Sat @ 7:30 pm
Sun @ 2 pm
Get Tickets (on sale July 1)
$40 general, $35 senior/student
Thursday tickets are 2 for 1
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