Two youth theater productions—“A Wrinkle in Time” (above) and “Spring Awakening” (below)—were set to go up at the end of 2018, but the Woolsey Fire put a stop to theater in Malibu for months.
Finally, after battling fire, power outages, rain, flood and mudslides, both shows appeared on stage last weekend.
Both Malibu High School and the Malibu Playhouse survived the firestorm that came through Malibu on Nov. 9, and the following days when many more buildings burned, despite both being in the direct line of fire.
“A Wrinkle in Time,” a production of local nonprofit Young Actors Project, appeared on stage at the Malibu Playhouse over the weekend and featured talented young actors ages five to 13. Many of the actors in the production lost homes in the fire, making the production, as well as “Once Upon a Grapevine” (another Young Actors Project production), “very special shows for our community during the recovery proces,” according to director Shoshana Kuttner.
“We decided to continue with the productions that were planned for last December, so that the children can have a sense of completion and build their confidence back up,” Kuttner shared in an email with The Malibu Times.
“Spring Awakening,” the Malibu High School fall musical, was set to premiere Nov. 15, scarcely a week after the fire tore through Malibu, threatening Malibu High School and destroying the homes of dozens of students.
Set to run last weekend, the musical (rated PG 14 for explicit content and language) only ran for one show due to danger from mudslides and flooding.
