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Homegrown musical comedy opens tonight

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A community production that co-director Amy Krause calls “just plain funny” opens May 7 in the Charles R. Nunn Performing Arts Center at Olive Peirce Middle School, 1521 Hanson Lane.

Mountain Valley Academy students will stage Call Me Jimmy: The Musical tonight and May 8 and 9. Show time is 7 each evening, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, May 9.

A musical comedy set in San Francisco in the 1930s, the mystery tells the story of a down-on-his-luck detective named Jimmy Castallano and offers all the intrigue of the era.

Call Me Jimmy: The Musical is a completely homegrown creation and production. Written by A.J. Bess, a former Mountain Valley Academy student, the play has been presented several times before in Ramona, including at Ramona Lutheran School and Ramona Community Theatre. Bess played Jimmy in the Ramona Community Theatre presentation.

The play is very funny and has been a hit with all of the audiences who’ve seen it.

For the new Mountain Valley Academy performance, the play has been enhanced with additional scenes and characters. As suggested in the play title, it has been expanded into a musical, with the original lyrics and music by Marina and Kelly Jenkins, who are also from Ramona.

The singers will be accompanied by a six-piece “pit combo.” The music is dedicated to the spirit and memory of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, George Gershwin, Richard Rogers and Cole Porter.

The production showcases 37 actors on stage, 27 with speaking roles.

Krause, one of the two directors, commented, “Not only is Call Me Jimmy: The Musical Ramona homegrown, it is also just plain funny, entertaining, and, if anyone has seen the play version, they will certainly want to see the new musical version,” said Krause, who directs the show with Kelly Jenkins.

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