Celebrating Petaluma History Through Song and Dance

A couple of months ago, Colette McMullen and several friends came together and created something called a 24 hour theater.

“The writers got together Friday night and wrote the script, then we ran through it and by 7pm Saturday it was on the stage,” says McMullen, who runs a local production company called Satori Studioz. “It made me realize that this is a lot of fun…that process of coming up with ideas and working with people to create something.”

That led McMullen to produce Petaluma The Musical, a play about Petaluma’s history featuring original music, songs, theatrics and some parody too. It will show at starting August 25 through August 28.

The play is based on a fictional story of Ben and Sarah who meet on a riverboat coming to Petaluma, go their separate ways, but then get reunited and start a family. Using songs and dance, it tells the story of Petaluma from the 1920s to the 1950s, celebrating the people, industry and landscape of the region that McMullen says she has fallen in love with.

Check out a sneak preview from an earlier performance this summer by clicking on the video on the right

“I came up with the idea because the community in this town is very unique and people are very supportive of the arts, music and theater,” says McMullen, who has a background in publishing, but has always enjoyed putting on mini-plays with family and friends. “It’s been a very magical process. We really have a dream team of people who are involved.”

These include Kevin Loewen, a local musician, singer and songwriter who plays Ben, Karen Mathre, who plays Sarah and Rob and Mary Neidel, who are professional singers and actors living in Petaluma. Elaine Silver was the head writer of the play and Leslie Scatchard, the director.

The play runs August 25-28 and tickets are just $10. They are expected to sell out and none will be available at the door. Purchase tickets here. 

Check out a about Petaluma the Musical.