LOS ANGELES — Hits from the 1980s are on the menu and the cast of “Mystic Pizza” is ready to deliver.
Krystina Alabado is a fan of the film and, of course, of the food.
“My favorite pizza would be a really, really solid Margherita pizza,” she said. “But add pepperoni. But like the little pepperonis.”
Alabado has been part of the process since the very beginning, when the musical was workshopped over Zoom during the pandemic. It’s based, of course, on the 1988 rom-com that starred three young actresses including Julia Roberts in what would be her breakout role as Daisy.
“The story is about three women who are finding themselves and coming of age and exploring what life can be for them,” explained Alabado, who plays Daisy in the show that opens this weekend at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. “And that sometimes, yes, it’s about romance and connections. But it’s also about friendship, and so importantly, about sisterhood.”
For writer Sandy Rustin, finding that balance was key. The movie, she says, focused on the female leads mainly through the lens of their relationships with the men in their lives.
“That was really common in storytelling about women back in that time period,” she said. “And for many years before that.”
Her goal was to give Kat, Daisy and JoJo more dimension, to figure out what else the trio wanted out of life.
“Not to negate the men or to say there’s anything wrong with a solid rom-com,” Rustin explained. “I think there is something important about being more full in your wants. So I think this musical really celebrates the genre of a romantic comedy, while still exploring the … yes, and what more could these women want?”
It helps that the story of these three women is being retold by three women. Rustin and director Casey Hushion worked together masked in a garage during the early months of COVID, taking long walks as they hashed out the plot.
Meanwhile, music supervisor Carmel Dean was in Australia. They cooked up the entire show over Zoom without ever meeting face to face.
In fact, they’d never been in the same room with Dean until the first day of rehearsal for the world premiere at Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine.
“And the three of us just kind of threw her arms around each other,” Hushion recalled. “It was like something out of the film.”
“It’s really awesome to be a part of a piece that centers three women and that is created by three women, and two women that I respect and admire and love collaborating with so much,” she added.
That staging was done outside in a specially constructed tent before a socially distanced and masked audience. Since then, the script has undergone rewrites, so this La Mirada production is the first time Mystic Pizza is being served up in a traditional theater.
“Feels like the first time,” Rustin said, joking. “Not to quote a cheesy 80 song, but … ”
Not that she could avoid them if she wanted to.
The soundtrack, she says, is a “giant dose of nostalgia” with songs of the 1980s and 1990s including hits by Cyndi Lauper, The Bangles and Wilson Phillips.
“They are the songs of my high school years, college years,” Rustin said. “You can’t ask for a better soundtrack. And the fact that we got the rights to so many of our first-choice songs is so wonderful.”
Singing all those classic, if not cheesy, tunes is a joy for Alabado but you know what would really be the pepperoni on her pizza?
“I really hope Julia Roberts comes and sees it,” she practically squealed. “I’m a huge fan of hers, and I would be totally nervous if she was in the audience.”
She says the show makes her wants to hug her friends and also have a dance party and she hopes audiences (maybe with Roberts among them) will leave the theater full from feasting on friendship, fun and the first taste of a brand new musical, hot out of the oven.