Woodminster Summer Musicals

"When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm is a golden sky, and the sweet silver song of a lark. Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone." (Rodgers & Hammerstein, Carousel). It is with great sadness that we are announcing the postponement of our 2020 Season. After looking at many possible scenarios for this summer and with Joaquin Miller Park being closed until September, it is... clear that for everyone's safety and well-being, we will have to cancel our 2020 Season. We will be moving all three shows to 2021. If you have already purchased tickets, we have sent an email explaining the exchange process for next year. The cast, crew, musicians, designers and front of house staff will all be offered their same positions for 2021, and we hope that every single one of them is able to join us. Producers Associates has faced many significant challenges since 1967, but this one definitely takes its place at the top. Thanks to our amazing audience, Board members, staff, performers, etc, the sun will come out tomorrow and for many years to come. We walk into that tomorrow together. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or 510-339-0241. Very Sincerely, Harriet & Joel Schlader 2021's Season: An American in Paris: July 9-11, 15-18 On Your Feet!: August 6-8, 12-15 Something Rotten: September 3-5, 9-12

Tonight would've been closing night on the incredible Bay Area Premiere of Something Rotten and the summer blues is an understatement for us right now. We missed Woodminster so much this summer, and we can't to return next year. We want to thank all of you for your support during these times. Continue staying safe and taking care. See you soon, Woodminster

On behalf of the entire Woodminster Summer Musicals family, we are very sad to learn of Jameson’s passing. He has helped fuel many years of Broadway musicals on chilly summer nights with his donation of much appreciated, delicious, hot coffee. Our condolences to his family.

Another round of song and performer requests for #WSMusicalMondays

#MusicalMonday is back and today we have Jenny Matteucci and Daniel Lockert singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel. We are so missing the stage right now, the spectacular views, and our amazing audiences.

Around this time tonight, we would have just finished our Opening Night of An American in Paris. We are really missing the always stellar view from the breezeway, the call for vocal warmups in the men’s dressing room, the smell of popcorn, the sounds of the audience applauding, and seeing the final product of a show. We hope everyone is well and taking care of yourselves, your families, and your community. We will get through this together.

At Woodminster Summer Musicals, we believe in standing against racism. In all our productions, we energetically recruit a cast, crew, and audience that represent the rich diversity of our Bay Area community. Our goal, as it always has been, is to provide entertainment in the form of musical theater, and we passionately feel that musical theater and art share messages that can impact the world. This is why we have chosen to share 2018’s Jim Schlader scholarship recipient, Cai ...Freeman singing I Know Where I’ve Been from Hairspray for this Musical Monday. We all have an opportunity to open our hearts and minds to gain greater understanding and become better listeners. We ask you to join us in listening, educating, and helping our community. If you would like to reach out to help our efforts in combating racism in the theater community, please email [email protected] with any inspirations, observations, and recommendations.

The Woods' favorite duo is back to express their heartfelt Agony for #WoodminsterSummerMusicalMondays. Noel Escobar says, "Theatre is the greatest expression of imagination and creativity. To hear and see an audience’s reaction through the storytelling of an ensemble of actors, is overwhelmingly satisfying." And Gary Stanford shares, "Theater and storytelling are the oldest forms of communication. We need to write new stories to survive our art form!"... We hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Leave a comment, message us, or send an email to [email protected]

Another week, another wonderful Woodminster throwback! Taylor Smit performed in our production of Catch Me If You Can back in 2014. She says, "There’s something about a cast that always feels like family, whether you’re together for 3 weeks or 5 years. Maybe it’s the shared sweat and tears, celebrating the same successes or lifting each other up when you feel like you can’t go on. Maybe it’s the hours of rehearsal dedicated to the same goal of putting on the best show possibl...e, the joined laughter, the intimacy and trust needed to put up a moving scene or sparkling dance number. Whatever it is, it’s the thing I cherish most about the theater. And I can’t wait to get back to it." We couldn't agree more and we can't wait to get back to the magic that is live theatre. #WoodminsterSummerMusicalMondays

The Bay Area Premiere of Mamma Mia! was one of the most exciting and fun shows we've ever produced at Woodminster Summer Musicals. For this #WSMusicalMonday we asked our cast of Mamma Mia! to record themselves dancing and singing to those wonderful ABBA tunes and we created this little video for you all. It was so much fun getting the cast back together, even if it was just virtually. We hope you get up and dance with us just like you did in 2017! Take care and we'll see you for another #WoodminsterSummerMusicalsMonday <3

We would like to congratulate our very own Harriet Schlader on being Oakland’s Mother of the Year! Oakland, CA Since 1954, it has been a beloved and time-honored Oakland tradition to gather in the Morcom Amphitheater of Roses on the Saturday before Mother’s Day to honor a woman who has an outstanding record of leadership and service to their community. Although the current crisis precludes a gathering, the City of Oakland continues this tradition by honoring the 2020 Oa...kland Mother of the Year, Harriet Schlader. Harriet mother of Kim, Joel, Todd and Jody has served the arts community in Oakland in a number of capacities, including the Oakland Cultural Arts Advisory program, Oakland Unified School District, and Theater Bay Area. In 1967, along with her late husband, Jim, she founded the Producers Associates to reinvigorate the summer theater under the stars at Woodminster Amphitheater in Joaquin Miller Park. Producers Associates, a non-profit organization, has been producing the Woodminster Summer Musicals continuously for over 50 years. Every summer, it produces three Broadway-style performances and is Oakland’s longest continually running live theater. Read full press release here: https://www.oaklandca.gov//city-of-oakland-honors-2020-mot

This week on #WoodminsterSummerMusical Mondays is Carl Danielson. Carl has been in countless productions at Woodminster and has conducted here as well. "I was inspired by a show I saw at Woodminster when I was seven, starring two Broadway legends, friends of Schladers. When I was 15, I started apprenticing there and have been consistently taught, mentored and supported for all these years." Enjoy and we can't wait for you to Be Our Guest once again under the stars!

2020 Press Release: http://woodminster.com/assets/2020seasonpressrelease.pdf

Romar DeClaro sings Empty Chairs at Empty Tables from our most popular show of all time, Les Miserables (2014). Let us know if you were in the audience for that one! Romar says, Performing at Woodminster has been a dream come true! I will miss it dearly this year! Whether I’m part of the show or not, I’ve always loved the experience there. We are saddened by the recent announcement that our 2020 Season has been postponed, but are so grateful that we have 50+ years of Musi...cal Theatre performers to call upon to continue to showcase the importance of Art. Stay healthy and enjoy!