Shangri-La Plaza (1990) (TV)

Director:

Nick Castle

Writers:

Nick Castle (writer)
Mark Mueller (writer)

Release Date:

30 July 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

A musical-comedy unsold pilot made by CBS in 1990. Macho Ira and sensitive George are two polar-opposite...

Plot Keywords:

Donut | Coffee | Strip Mall | Auto Mechanic | Unsold TV Series Pilot

Cast

Terrence Mann	...	Ira Bondo
Jeff Yagher	...	George Bondo
Melora Hardin	...	Amy
Savion Glover	...	Chili
Carmen Lundy	...	Geneva
Allison Mack	...	Jenny - Amy's daughter
Chris Sarandon	...	Victorio - The Landlord
Hilary Shepard	...	Veronica (theme song only)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barry Bernal	...	Chili's Backup Dancer
Glen Chin	...	Customer 3
Mark David	...	Customer 1
Travis Payne	...	Chili's Backup Dancer
Victoria Stevens	...	Customer 2
Lee Wilkof	...	Swabodian

Runtime:

USA:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

CBS Productions

Trivia:

Half-hour musical set in a Southern California mini-mall. Article in "Los Angeles Times" documented this novel location.

Would have been fun as a series

I'm pleasantly surprised to see I'm not the only one who remembers this fun half-hour pilot from over 15 years ago! Filled with kitsch sets and bright colors, the plot is as follows: When her deadbeat ex-husband dies, Amy and her young daughter Jenny inherit a coffee/donut shop at the local mall, next to a garage run by two mechanics, the Bondo Brothers. The two brothers, sensitive George & player Ira, both fall instantly in love with Amy. Amy plans to sell the shop and move to France, but is thwarted when she discovers the shop is heavily in debt. Faced with no choice but to stay for the time being, she begins working.

The musical numbers were nearly all memorable, and range from the kitschy ("Donut Hole") to one really beautiful ballad ("Don't Tell Me I Can Really Care"). Terrence Mann and Savion Glover (as a rapper on crutches) are major Broadway stars (and the other three leads clearly could have been...Melora Hardin and Carmen Lundy are singer/actresses....Jeff Yagher is just an actor with a great voice), and the songs are done with style and by someone who truly loves musical comedy.

I taped this pilot by accident in 1990 and my sister and I watch it every few years for fun (it's in terrible condition, but you can still hear the songs). Not sure if they could have sustained the energy for an entire series, but it could have been fun to watch the game cast give it a try.