south bay musical theater

We bought season tickets (3 shows) to this community theater company. The theater is small and therefore every seat is a good one, from which you can see the actors expressions and feel "close to the action." Each performance is produced and directed by a different set of individuals, and so the quality is totally dependent upon this team. The first performance, Les Miserables, was absolutely out of this world — 5 stars. Produced by Gary Daum and directed by Jay Manley, all 11 performances of this show were sold-out, and featured excellent musicians, singers, and actors. This was a top quality show that could rival most shows in the major theaters of San Francisco. The second show, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, was good — perhaps 4 stars. But the third show, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, was unsuitable for family fare and had no business being in the community theater. Although there was no pre-warning in any of the event advertisements while selling tickets, it was not until we arrived at the theater that we saw a sign that the performance was "unsuitable for those under 14" (and additionally those with morals and propriety). We skeptically went into the theater since we had paid for the tickets the previous year, but were assaulted by the F-bomb and other vulgar obscenities and lewd behavior by the actors. Producer Jay Steele and director Doug Brook made what could have been a 3 or 4 star performance (or higher) into something that cannot be recommended. Although the acting and singing were good, the constant barrage of indecency was insulting and ruined the performance. Thus we must say that this is a mixed bag — some excellent, and some poor. Hopefully the theater company will learn from this mistake and not repeat it again.