Dance, Cry, Sing To 'Violet'

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The 2014 Tony-nominated play VIOLET that debuted on Broadway shows audiences that life is not black and white.

People show different shades of experiences. Those experiences come out in song for this hit musical performed as a Bay Area Musicals Production at San Francisco's Alcazar Theatre.

Showtimes will run to March 17, so time is running out to see this cerebral-minded musical that will either want to make you dance out of the Geary Street theater or ponder at a coffeehouse what constitutes beauty.

Saratoga singer-songwriter, actress Juliana Lustenader, 26, in the musical inspired by the story "The Ugliest Pilgrim" by Doris Bett stars in the lead role in the story of a young woman's quest for beauty amid an image-obsessed culture. Violet's face is disfigured from a childhood accident, yet she dreams of a miracle transformation through the power of faith. She hops a Greyhound bus, convinced a televangelist can heal her. The journey sends her on a path of self actualization and an awakening of what it means to be an outsider.

Lustenader appeared right at home with "Violet," as the show features a folk/bluegrass/gospel score from Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori.

The singing will knock your socks off, with a eclectic cast pulling together a few hours of perfect harmony.

The plot is well-defined yet philosophical. The only thing an audience member will go away wondering is what it would have been like if the actor's face would have shown the debilitating scar. But of course, that's the magical mystery and manner of theater.

Tickets range from $35 to $65 and may be purchased online at www.bamsf.org/violet.