Transcendence Theatre moves rest of season to Beltane Ranch

Every summer since 2012, audiences for Transcendence Theatre’s popular “Broadway Under the Stars” musical revues have flocked to Jack London State Historic Park to enjoy the performances in a unique outdoor setting — the evocative winery ruins that were once part of the American writer’s ranch.

But this summer has been different.

The first show of the summer season, “The Beat Goes On,” which closed July 2, was moved from the park to the Belos Cavalos equestrian facility in Kenwood, pending an environmental study on the impact of the productions on the park, a public comment period and final permit conditions for the theater’s use of the park as a venue.

Brad Surosky, executive director of Transcendence, had hoped to return to Jack London park for the remainder of the season, but the study still has not been completed.

So instead, for the rest of the summer season, Transcendence will move to Beltane Ranch in Glen Ellen, presenting “The Full Monty,” the second full Broadway show in Transcendence history, July 28 to Aug. 20. (The company’s first full musical was “A Chorus Line” in 2019.)

The musical traces the misadventures of half a dozen out-of-work steel workers who decide to become strippers to raise money. A British film version was released in 1997. The company’s disclaimers say the show contains strong language, and brief nudity in the finale, which will be obscured by a lighting effect.

“An Enchanted Evening,” the company’s tribute to the music and dance of Broadway, will run Sept. 7-17. Unlike the summer’s first Transcendence show, “The Beat Goes On,” which featured pop and rock music, the season’s last show takes the company back to its Broadway traditions. Transcendence was founded and has been continued by performers with Broadway and national touring company credits.

“We couldn’t stay at Belos Cavalos for the rest of the summer,” because of the venue’s already-booked schedule, Surosky said. Still, he expects the move to Beltane Ranch will have a minimal effect on loyal Transcendence audiences.

“Everything, in regards to the size of the stage and the audience (760 people per show), will be the same,” Surosky said. “We’ll have the same pre-show picnic and the same show. It’ll be the same experience, with food and wine.”

There are even some short-term advantages, he said.

“Parking is on-site, just like Belos Cavalos, but closer,” he added. “The backdrop at Jack London park is vineyards and mountains, and it’s very much the same at Beltane Ranch. It’s a stunning venue.”

Yet there are some compromises involved.

“Instead of the winery ruin walls at Jack London park, we’re using hay bales for walls at Beltane.”

All in all, he hopes the trade-off will work for audiences.

“People can still drink wine and see the night sky as they watch the show,” Surosky said.

The current environmental review process follows a lawsuit filed in 2019 by an association of active and retired state park rangers over the theater company’s continued use of Jack London State Historic Park.

For most of its existence, the theater company has held its open-air Broadway-style musical productions in the park, drawing thousands of enthusiastic patrons on summer nights to the protected ruins of the late novelist’s old winery.

Ultimately, Surosky still hopes Transcendence can return to Jack London park next year. The company’s original selection of the site was not by chance.

In 2011, Suroksy and his wife, Amy Miller, Transcendence artistic director, took a Memorial Day weekend road trip up from Los Angeles to pinpoint a venue for their venture. Transcendence co-founder Stephan Stubbins, who has since moved to New York, also was on that trip.

As performers with Broadway and national touring company experience in musicals, the Transcendence founders started researching outdoor theaters across America and found that many of them started in parks.

A stop at Trione-Annadel State Park in Santa Rosa and a chat with rangers there soon led them to Jack London State Historic Park, long a popular site for outdoor events.

At the time, state budget cuts had threatened parks with closure.

“Jack London park was looking for income,” Surosky said. “We did a one-night show as a test. That started our relationship with the park.”

That test was an open-air concert of show tunes at the park in October 2011. It drew 900 people to an outdoor stage at the old winery ruins next to Jack London’s cottage on the park grounds.

The theater company’s tenure at the park officially began the following summer. The company pledged $5 from every ticket sale to support Jack London State Historic Park. Over the last decade, that’s resulted in more than $650,000 raised to help keep the park open and functioning year-round.

In the wake of the pandemic, which forced Transcendence and other theaters to close for nearly two years, the company has suffered severe financial losses, and Surosky said the company was counting on 2023 to get things back on track.

“There are so many costs that weren’t in the budget. All the extra time it took to take down our venue and move it has cost well over $100,000,” he said. “Jack London park is our home, and right now, we’re just trying to survive.”

The relocation of Transcendence this summer also has had an effect on the park.

“The transition, though temporary, means a significant loss in operational budget for Jack London Park Partners, the nonprofit organization that funds and operates the park,” Matt Leffert, executive director of Jack London Park Partners, explained in a statement released earlier this month.

“Working with a small staff of 10 paid employees and a corps of 250 volunteers, the park receives no funding from California State Parks,” Leffert said. “Without the revenue the theater provides, there may be difficult decisions ahead for this beloved landmark that welcomed over 100,000 visitors from around the world in 2022.”

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5243. On Twitter @danarts.