Lamb’s Players Theatre to present world premiere of ‘Calpurnia Tate’ musical for families

Half of the cast members in Lamb’s Players Theatre’s world premiere musical “The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate” are minors.

This is not at all daunting to director Kerry Meads.

“I don’t find it a challenge. It’s exciting for me,” she said. “These young people are so sharp. They have their own perspective. I love a young person’s eyes because they see differently. They aren’t jaded yet. They’re open.”

This new musical is based on Jacqueline Kelly’s 2009 historical young adult novel “The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.” The coming-of-age story is set in Texas, where the New Zealand-born Kelly grew up. The title character, a young girl living at the turn of the 20^th century, becomes fascinated with the natural world and with asserting herself at a time when girls and women occupied mostly secondary roles in the family and in society.

“It’s a story about being able to not be stifled,” said Meads. “The fact that her grandfather is invested in her is a beautiful thing to watch. He grows to respect her as a beginning scientist and encourages that in her.”

The book and lyrics for the musical were written by San Diego-based actor/director Omri Schein. The score is by Daniel Lincoln, who last collaborated with Schein on “The Remarkable Mister Holmes,” which premiered at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach in 2022.

The “Calpurnia Tate” production grew out of a well-received reading of the musical at Lamb’s Players, which the novel’s author, Kelly, attended.

“Omri came to me and said, ‘Would you be interested in working on this?’” Meads recalled. “He thought this would be a good family show for Lamb’s. It’s a charming, charming story.”

Twelve-year-old Aubriella Navarro is playing Calpurnia, who is called Callie.

“The young lady is a sharp cookie,” Meads said of Navarro. “I love working with young people. They’re so smart and so eager. The kids like feeling treated as a colleague, and the young people keep the adults on their toes.”

Christopher Vettel, who comes to Coronado from San Francisco, is portraying Calpurnia’s grandfather. Jacquelyn Ritz plays Callie’s mother and Geno Carr plays her father. Also in the cast are Lizzie Morse, who was in Lamb’s’ “Jane (A Ghost Story)” last year, and Sydney Joyner, one of the stars of the theater’s popular “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” jukebox musical from 2023.

Meads says the 90-minute show “is not a musical in the sense that it’s more cinematic in its structure. There’s a lot more underscoring, which I like.”

She calls Lincoln’s score “brilliant. Omri’s stuff is tricky because he’s so clever with words. Daniel figures it out.”

Because of the novel’s popularity with pre-teens and with teachers, Lamb’s will present a few morning, kid-friendly performances on April 24 and May 1.

Meads is looking forward to sharing with theater audiences young and old the tale of Kelly’s novel, which she says she only discovered after Schein approached her about the adaptation.

“I want to tell the story,” she said, “with a sense of joy and honor and respect.”

‘The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate’

When: Previews Saturday through March 22. Opens March 23 and runs through May 5. 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays; 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays

Where: Lamb’s Players Theatre, 1142 Orange Ave., Coronado

Tickets: $28-$82

Phone: (619) 437-6000

Online: lambsplayers.org

Coddon is a freelance writer.