Where's Poppa?

Stage

TWO YEARS AGO, Diversionary Theatre’s artistic director, Dan Kirshner, fielded a question from a patron: “Why don’t you ever do a show I can bring my 3-year-old-daughter to?” This was a new challenge for Diversionary——founded in 1986 to present works with gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender themes——and it put Kirshner in search of a family play that would fit his theater’s mission. He didn’t find one, so he took the logical step: He commissioned it.

Thus was born The Daddy Machine (January 18-27), a musical version of a children’s book by Johnny Valentine. In it, a boy with lesbian parents gets upset over not getting his favorite pancakes and inadvertently invents a machine that eventually brings him 62 dads, each with a stack of pancakes. Patricia Loughrey did the script, with a score by Rayme Sciaroni, who co directs with Siobhan Sullivan.

Loughrey had one big concern in doing the adaptation: “The book’s storyline, although dynamic, doesn’t develop the characters, and the instigating incident——why the kids want to create a daddy machine——is missing.” Accordingly, she worked closely with Family Matters, a local LGBT parenting organization. “They urged that the play not send the message that children with same-sex parents are missing something essential. Yet they conceded their own children ask: ‘Do I have a father?’ The challenge was to add depth and detail to the story, and to address the issue of ‘daddy’ in a way that invites kids and their families to talk about that role without reinforcing the message some kids hear——‘parents’ equals one man, one woman.’ ”

ANOTHER ORIGINAL PLAY also centers on a child, but with a weightier message. The Blessings of a Broken Heart (January 4-20) is a workshop drama adapted and staged by Todd Salovey, San Diego Rep’s associate artistic director, based on the book by Sherri Mandell. In May 2001, Mandell’s son Koby, 13, went hiking with a pal near their homes in the Israeli settlement of Tekoa. The next day, their bodies were found in a nearby cave. They had been stoned to death. Koby’s mother, Sherri, poured her grief into the book and set up a foundation, named after her son, to help bereaved families.

Salovey chose the story because of its inspirational qualities. “She took this tragedy and used it to transform her life into something it never could have been without it. By sharing her story and healing, she’s influenced and impacted tens of thousands of people.”

SAN DIEGO MUSICAL THEATRE, an ambitious enterprise by executive directors Gary and Erin Lewis, kicked off last May with a much-praised mounting of The Full Monty and plans for a full season. That phase starts this month with Guys and Dolls (January 25–February 3), followed by Bye Bye Birdie (June 20-29) and Dreamgirls (September 12-21). Originally, Erin says, the Birdie slot was occupied by Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, but its producers decided on a national tour of the show and pulled the rights.

Monty was presented at the Birch North Park Theatre, but the new season relocates to El Cajon’s East County Performing Arts Center. Erin says the Birch venue, which houses Lyric Opera San Diego and other events, wasn’t able to provide enough dates. Plus, she adds, “We’re excited to have a larger theater.”

BROADWAY/SAN DIEGO returns the Andrew Lloyd Webber–Tim Rice favorite Jesus Christ Superstar (January 2-6), with Ted Neeley singing the title role, as he has in several iterations of the show, including the 1973 film. This time around, supposedly Neeley’s last appearance as Christ, was originally dubbed “The Farewell Tour,” but that phrase has been dropped——possibly because it inspired too many jokes about resurrection.

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