A Broadway hit and regional favorite, Pump Boys and Dinettes will end its current, scheduled run at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, Oct. 3. Jason Edwards, whose parents actually ran a gas station/grocery store, directs and stars as Jim in the musical, which began performances at the California venue Sept. 17.
Somewhere down Highway 57, lies the Pump Boys filling station and garage where "Uncle Bob" 's Winnebago is still up on blocks and Jim Jackson, L.M. And Eddie are doing their best to make a living. But these are Pump Boys with a dream, a dream to make music, whether it be country pop, blues, or a touch of gospel.
Staged on Broadway in 1982, Pump Boys was created by Jim Wann and its original cast members (including a pre-famous Debra Monk). The La Mirada cast features Linda Edwards Campbell, Lonnie Rowell, Dan Wright, Emily Mikesell (Radio Gals in NY) and David Helmsley Caldwell.
Tickets ($34) are available by calling the box office at (562) 944-9801. Up next for La Mirada: D.L. Coburn's two-handed comedy-drama, The Gin Game.
-- By David Lefkowitz & Sean McGrath