There may be times when, as the saying goes, two much is indeed not enough, but in the case of Roger Q. Mason’s audacious but overly ambitious, overlong California Story, too much is just that. Too much.

The California story Mason has to tell, or at least one of them, is that of Pio Pico (Peter Mendoza), who achieved fame (though not unfortunately a happily ever after) as the last governor of Alta California, as the state of California was known before the United States claimed ownership following the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848.

It’s a story that could have just as easily been told traditionally, but traditional is the furthest thing from playwright Mason’s mind.

Instead, California Story gives us a sassy trio of “Legendary Children,” portrayed by a trio of female performers (Morgan Danielle Day, Gracie Cartier, and Aphrodite Armstrong) in drag queen mode, a voyage forward in time to the year 2051 that has “White Man” Sawyer Shine planning a rocket trip to the moon, Joey Navarrete-Medina’s dance club-ready choreography, and the stunning design contributions of Salmah Beydoun (scenic and video designs), Martha Carter (lighting), Karen Boyer (costumes), Andrea Lopez (props), and Levi Manners (sound).

And because a 90-minutes-no-intermission format would add up to just enough of an already over-the-top thing, California Story is already heading toward the hour-and-a-half mark when the word “Intermission” pops up on the titles-projection screen signaling that we’ve still got an hour or so more of this to go.

Mason scores high marks for good intentions in setting out to show how people of color like Pio Pico were used and abused by whites like Pico’s business partner John (Shine). (Not that Mexico hadn’t already stolen Alta California from the Indigenous people who had been its stewards since time immemorial.)

 Nor can I fault the blood, sweat, and tears that’s gone into bringing California Story to LACC’s Caminito Theatre under Michael Alvarez’s collaborative direction.

The charismatic Mendoza never fails to mesmerize as Pio Pico goes from proud leader to bruised and broken by another man’s pride and prejudice, an equally watchable Davi Santos does his own powerful work as Pico’s brother in life and in arms, and Shine makes a particularly strong impression as he takes John from amiable dreamer to authoritarian prick.

 Still, despite sensational work being done by the aforementioned trio (all three of whom go Full Monty at some point in the extravaganza), and the sassy banter provided by Day, Cartier, and Armstrong, whether in heels or roller skates) that gives WeHo drag stars a run for their Hamburger Mary’s Bingo Night money, I can’t help wishing that director Alvarez had done more to curb Mason’s more outré impulses.

It also doesn’t help that gorgeous Cuban actress Camila Arteche seems linguistically ill-equipped to meet the challenges of a mostly English-language role.

California Story is produced by Outside In Theatre inn Partnership with LACC Theatre Academy. Lopez is associate producer. Mona Heinze is dramaturg. Celina Lee Surniak is intimacy and fight director. Noelle Rodriguez is dialect coach. Christa Troester is stage manager and Grace Wilkerson is assistant stage manager.

As a theater reviewer who’d much rather rave about a show than pan it, I wish I didn’t feel it necessary to rain on what is clearly Roger Q. Mason’s labor of love, but for me at least, the slings and arrows of outrageous prejudice Pio Pico had to suffer get lost in the far-out fantasia that is California Story.

Los Angeles City College Caminito Theater, 855 North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles. Through June 3. Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30. Sundays at 3:00. No performance Monday May 19.
www.outsideintheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
May 12, 2026
Photos: Angel Origgi

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Tags: Los Angeles Theater Review, Outside In Theatre, Roger Q. Mason