Turn up  the lights, tune up the orchestra, as we get ready for a Tustin Old Town Tradition.

Next week is the week Broadway comes to our town. The Tustin Area Council for the Fine Arts is, once again, hosting Broadway in the Park at Peppertree Park in Old Town Tustin. This is their 12th annual production of a hit Broadway play. Combining professional actors and support crews with local and amateur talent, TACFA seeks to bring a piece of the Big Apple to Old Town.

From their press release:

TACFA’s 2012 production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific will run August 21-25 in Peppertree Park!

With music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan, South Pacific draws from James A. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, combining elements of several of the stories in that book. (more…)

TACFA’s signature program, Broadway in the Park (BITP) is perfectly aligned with the Council’s mission to develop, showcase and support the arts within the greater Tustin area.

BITP is a first class musical production with a professional cast that offers affordable Broadway musical theater to people who live in the city and nearby communities. This popular event has a large and enthusiastic audience every night of its five-night run. And low-ticket prices ensure that everyone can afford to attend.

BITP is promoted extensively throughout the area, and has received broad coverage in local newspapers, bringing recognition and esteem to TACFA partners, sponsors and donors.

Family-friendly fare is not easy to find these days, but the Tustin Area Council for Fine Arts (TACFA), in association with Theatrical Productions, Inc. provides quality family entertainment at family-friendly prices!

My family and I have attended nearly every year. This is probably one of the biggest local events you will enjoy. The open air theater of Peppertree Park is transformed into a Broadway theater with a twist…. you bring your own seating and dinner with you. Some enjoy the convenience of table settings that offer a premium view. Others enjoy the simplicity of sitting in a couple of comfortable beach chairs while enjoying a glass of wine and a picnic dinner. If you are too busy to cook, you will fine plenty of food for a reasonable price. And, if your wine cellar is looking poorly stocked, fear not. The TACFA folks have made sure the wine will flow.

The first Broadway in the Park saw the production of “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat”. Other productions include, “Oklahoma”, “The Music Man”, and last year’s production, “Oliver!” I won’t say each year gets better and better. That’s because each year has brought it’s unique talent coupled with outstanding stories to the stage for Tustin to enjoy.

Tickets are still available on-line and may still be available at local shops in Old Town.