Photos courtesy Michael Brosilow and Northlight Theatre Productions
Everyone—no matter how ordinary—has a story and a song worth hearing.
That’s the premise of the one-woman show Songs for Nobodies written by Joanna Murray-Smith, with orchestrations by Andra Velis Simon, and presented by PCPA August 14–23 at the Marian Theatre in Santa Maria, and August 28–September 7 at Solvang Festival Theater.
Award-winning actor/singer Bethany Thomas takes the audience on a journey to discover how the lives of five “ordinary” women (the Nobodies) have been changed by five legendary singers: Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday, and Maria Callas.
“Through small encounters and chance meetings they learn they are made of the same stuff,” according to guest director Rob Lindley. “We learn that the bathroom attendant, the spotlight operator, the librarian, the reporter, the nanny are just as important as the superstars that enter their lives.”
Featured songs include “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Crazy,” “Amazing Grace,” “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do,” and “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.”
“This marks our third production of Songs for Nobodies, Lindley says. “It’s a pleasure to revisit the text and further explore a piece that invites us all to take the time to really see someone; allow their orbit to pull us in new directions and explore the multitudes of possibilities right before us each day.”
Jake Cannon is music director and keyboardist who accompanies Thomas on stage, along with Evan Goldhahn on percussion and Nancy Nagano and Ben Williams on the cello.