Get ready for a fun and fresh new show inspired by South Bay history, where you will meet sea turtles, seagulls, starlets and of course, a
devious villain! Don't worry, though, because the surfers will bring everyone back to the beach! Sing along to upbeat surf tunes composed by some of the surf music greats and discover why, "life's an ocean."

This award-winning musical was first written in 2010 and performed subsequently at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center as well as the Norris Theatre: Read a review:

Music, Dance, Fantasy Light Up Stage

Love conquers all in the alternate-reality Redondo Beach depicted in 'The Strand: A Beach Musical.'

• By Vickey Kalambakal

  An old man sings of life's lessons with the ancient sea turtle he rescued as a boy. True love melts the Grinch-like heart of a greedy man. Local historical societies have the resources to save our heritage from development.

And seagulls breakdance.

The Strand: A Beach Musical is a fairytale, but instead of heading to  Never Never Land, the show transports us to the Redondo Beach that might have been. Once there, we're invited to settle in for a feel-good, whimsical story.

The action starts on the sand as a baby sea turtle old is the youngest member of the cast is nearly eaten by a hungry seagull. A young boy named Willy rescues her, talks to her, and brings her to the ocean, then goes into the Hotel Redondo to learn that surfer George Freeth has arrived.

Soon, a set of talented teenage dancers tap, Charlston, jitterbug and disco their way to an era much like our own—with a few exceptions. In this alternate future, the Hotel Redondo still exists and sea turtles still breed on South Bay beaches. The backdrops that set each scene contribute to the illusion by showing a coastline devoid of condos and high rises.

Love stories and youthful shenanigans ensue, of course.

The play, originally written by Susan Schuchert  as a musical for kids, is upbeat and clear, and all is accompanied by the kind of music that makes old and young want to get up and dance.

When The Strand: A Beach Musical was first staged several years ago, Beach Boys music and other familiar tunes were used. There are still fun pieces that boomers will remember fondly, like "The In Crowd" and a few bars of "Pipeline."

Mostly, though, songwriter John Brown has produced new tunes that carry on that early sixties beat. Since that era is midway between the beginning of the play (around 1907) and the end, it seems fitting—and more importantly, it's fun to listen to. 

Join us this July 9-27! In celebration of our 20th summer, we will be one of the first to produce, "School of Rock, The Musical."

Andrew Lloyd Webber chose to license this script only for performers under the age of 18. And we have the rock and roll background to do just that!! Ages 5-18 welcome to act, sing, dance or all of the above. For more information, go to http://fantasiafamilymusic.org.

Since 1999, the mission of Fantasia Family Music has been to educate and train all youth, regardless of backgrounds, in performing arts as a means of inspiring creativity and elevating the human spirit, as well as building an understanding of team work and collaboration.

Our vision has always been to empower this performance potential and develop it to its fullest, so that this creative outlet and its universal language will become a lifelong learning process and opportunity for all of our students, parents and staff who participate in our organization.

As we approach our third decade, our founders, teachers and Board of Directors are committed to continue seeking clear and deeper pathways to ensure diversity, equity, inclusion and access to all programs, and within all practices in our organization.

Fantasia Family Music commits to serving these human differences with fair and just practices, resources and financial expenditures, while we continue to examine fresh means of promoting equity in all of our performing arts programming.

These practices will further reflect the very origin of our name. ‘Fantasia’ was chosen because of its dictionary definition, “a work of art in which fancy and imagination rove unrestricted”. ‘Family’ was chosen to represent a group of the creativity community unifying to experience performing arts without restriction. These core values were part of our original business plan and will be sharpened and extended through continual pursuit into the future.