Out of the Box’s Taylor-made Retrospective

If Donald Trump can re-post deepfake AI images implying that Taylor Swift has endorsed him in response to her terrorist threat-canceled European shows, there’s certainly no reason that Out of the Box theater company – which is much more politically/socially aligned with Swift’s actual proclivities – can’t co-opt the title of the pop singer’s massive, record-setting worldwide tour revisiting her career for the last two years. “The Eras Tour – A Collaborative Fundraiser” will celebrate the 26 years of musicals produced and performed by Out of the Box at Center Stage Theater over the last 14 years. Proceeds will benefit both the homegrown company and the theater. The August 29 show begins in the theater’s courtyard above Paseo Nuevo with a cocktail hour, with music provided by theband featured in their production of busker love story Once performing sing-along Irish folk tunes. Moving inside the black box venue, the lucky audience will experience a setlist of songs from the OOB oeuvre performed by some familiar faces, both locals and special guests. On tap are selections from contemporary musicals Reefer Madness, Assassins, Spring Awakening, Fun Home, BARE, Heathers, The Rocky Horror Show, Jesus Christ Superstar and many more past shows, with lots of former cast members returning to perform. 

“We’re turning 15 in the spring, but it’s still a challenging time for the performing arts ever since the pandemic,” said Santa Barbara-native founder/artistic director Samantha Eve. “We’re at a point where we really do need to fundraise to bring these offbeat shows.”

Revisiting the more than two dozen OOB shows should be a pure treat for the audience, but it’s been both joyful and painful for Eve to take a trip down memory lane to select the songs for the retrospective. 

“It’s been really hard because there are so many good ones but we can’t do them all,” she said. It almost hurts that we’re leaving out some of my favorites.” 

What’s been heartwarming is the response from former cast members going back years who are donating their talents for the single fundraising show, including some who have grown over the years. Nikko Arce, who played Johnny in Tick Tick … Boom just a couple of years ago, will reprise “Why,” and Ember Reiter, who was 11 when she portrayed Small Allison in Fun Home and Young Amelie in Amelie, will instead perform “Whispering” from Spring Awakening – which is more suitable to her current age. Bella Garcia Holland, who played the title character in OOB’s recent Alice by Heart, will perform “Changing My Major,” Fun Home’s song of sexual awakening. 

“It means a lot to me to have so many of our actors come together to support Out of the Box,” said Eve, who in addition to directing will herself be reprising “Unworthy of Your Love” from the early OOB production of Assassins. “I haven’t touched that one in a decade.”

The singers will be accompanied by frequent OOB pianist Sio Tepper, while projections will provide the immersive “sets” since the stage will be basically bare. The evening will also feature unique auction prizes and cocktails and themed concessions – treats also drawn from previous productions and once again created by Eve, who is also a cupcake chef. 

Lest anyone worry that OOB will be making concessions toward commercialism to stave off funding issues, be assured that next two productions definitely fit the Out of the Box oeuvre: a concert revue at SOhO of songs by Joe Iconis, best known for his Tony-nominated score for Be More Chill, followed at Center Stage by Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, the sung-through musical adaptation of a segment from the novel War and Peace. 

For tickets and more details about the one-night-only trip down OOB’s memory lane, visit https://centerstagetheater.org.