Sequim Gazette staff

Olympic Theatre Arts might have the perfect remedy to warm up your cold weekends with its latest production “Summer of Love.”

With nostalgic hits from the late-1960s, the musical follows runaway bride Holly (Mindy Gelder) and her fiancé Curtis (James Willis) in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in 1967 where the couple meets a tribe of hippies that show them convention isn’t the only way to live.

The 13 cast members and five member backing band range from age 16 to 62, which director Jaie Livingstone said brings the teens in touch with the music of their parents while the older cast members are reconnecting with the music from their teen years.

“My vision for this show to be a nice reminiscence of the good time of that era and show those people who didn’t get to go to San Francisco and Woodstock a slice of what it was like without having real drugs. We use the music to get the story across,” she said.

Along with Gelder and Willis, the cast consists of Penny Pemberton, Pat Owens, Lola Hassan-Adams, Zach Campbell, Pamela Ziemann, Amy Meyer, Tyler Mayfield, Hayden James, Nick DiPietro, Joel Yelland and Nina Mendiburu.

Livingstone said this production is one of the most technological advanced show they’ve done at OTA with 11 of 13 cast members using wireless mics followed with the backing band.

 The show runs Feb. 7-23 with Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Advance tickets are available online at www.olympictheatrearts.org or you can purchase them at the box office, 414 N. Sequim Ave., Monday through Friday, from 1-5 p.m. A preview is set for 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 5, with tickets $10 (or free to OTA members). A pay-as-you-wish performance is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12. A reception follows the Feb. 7 show.  

“Summer of Love” was written by Roger Bean.  

Kitsap Bank and Karma Wellness Cooperative sponsor the shows.