In addition to its Jay Manley-directed production of Beauty and the Beast, the Mountain Play will also mark the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, specifically the landmark Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival, which drew at least 36,000 people to the Mountain Play’s home Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre on June 10-11, 1967. That event, which pre-dated the Monterey International Pop Festival and Woodstock, featured performances from The Doors, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Hugh Masekela, Canned Heat, Dionne Warwick, Country Joe and the Fish and many more.
To mark the occasion, the Mountain Play is putting on its own Magic Mountain Play Music Festival, featuring a cadre of live bands and a concert version of the rock musical Hair, which tells tells the story of the “tribe”, a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the “Age of Aquarius” living a bohemian life in New York City and fighting against the Vietnam War.
The June 10th performance is part of a Marin-wide celebration of the Summer of Love, including the Marin County Fair and Italian Street Painting Marin, both of which are built around the Summer of Love theme this year.
While the Summer of Love celebration is certainly timely, the Mountain Play’s production of Beauty and the Beast seems perfectly timed, particularly since the Disney live action film of the same name has earned more than $500 million globally in just its first two weeks.
Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage version of Beauty and the Beast is built around songs written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman along with new songs by Menken and Tim Rice. The original Broadway production ran for more than 13 years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The play tells the saga of Belle, a young woman from a small village, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress.
The 411: The Mountain Play’s production of Beauty and the Beast runs on Sundays from May 21-June 18. MORE INFO & TIX. The Magic Mountain Play Music Festival is on Saturday, June 10. MORE INFO & TIX. Save $5 off general admission with the Early Bird Discount by going here until March 31.