EURYDICE, CHINGLISH, et al. Set for South Coast Rep's 2012-13 Season

South Coast Repertory's 49th season will offer audiences an exciting blend of current hits and world premieres. The season begins with Alan Ayckbourn's hilarious farce, Absurd Person Singular, and will include new plays by some of the hottest writers on the theatre scene, including the world premiere of Noah Haidle's Smokefall and a second world premiere to be announced; Sarah Ruhl's comic tale of loss, Eurydice; the Southland debuts of Bill Cain's touching How to Write a New Book for the Bible, Amanda Dehnert's trailblazing musical take on Shakespeare, The Verona Project, and David Henry Hwang's hit comedy Chinglish; and the West Coast premieres of Samuel D. Hunter's poignantly funny The Whale and Stephen Adly Guirgis' Broadway hit The Motherf**ker with the Hat.

The 2012-13 season was chosen by SCR's Artistic Director Marc Masterson. "I am excited by the range and vitality of these plays in my inaugural season at SCR," Masterson said. "From sparkling new work to plays with recent Broadway pedigrees, the writers and artists assembled for this season draw on long relationships with our audience."

The 2012-2013 season will also include the 33rd rendition of the holiday favorite A Christmas Carol, starring Hal Landon Jr., Nov. 24 through Dec. 24, 2012.

Also on tap is the 16th annual Pacific Playwrights Festival, one of the preeminent festivals of new plays in the United States. The festival, which features five staged readings and two full productions, will take place Apr. 26-28, 2013.

And SCR's Theatre for Young Audiences season features three beloved children's stories brought to life on stage, Robin Hood, Anastasia Krupnik and The Night Fairy.

Season tickets are currently available by subscription only, and may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office. Packages range from $48 to $517.50. Single tickets will be available to the public on August 5.

ABOUT SCR: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theatres in the United States. SCR is committed to theatre that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but through its wide array of education and outreach programs. While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theatre, SCR is renowned for its extensive new-play development program, which includes the nation's largest commissioning program for emerging and established writers and composers. Each year, it showcases some of country's best new plays in the Pacific Playwrights Festival, which attracts theatre professionals from across the country. Of SCR's more than 460 productions, one-quarter have been world premieres, whose subsequent stagings achieved enormous success throughout America and around the world. Two SCR-developed works have won Pulitzer Prizes, and another eight were named Pulitzer finalists. In addition, SCR works have won several OBIE Awards and scores of major new-play awards. Located in Costa Mesa, California, SCR's Folino Theater Center is home to the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio. Today, SCR produces 13 shows and eight public readings each season.

The 2012-2013 Season

Absurd Person Singular by Alan Ayckbourn (Sept. 7 – Oct. 7, 2012) Segerstrom Stage
He's back! England's most prolific and pithy playwright-and one of SCR's most popular-outdoes himself this time by setting a party in the living room but keeping the drama in the kitchen. Three kitchens, in fact, on three successive Christmas Eves when relationships change, fortunes soar and then dive and the social kaleidoscope gets all shook up. Add an off-stage couple whose jokes are really bad, some of the most ingenious failed suicide attempts ever devised and lots of gin, and you've got a ferociously funny farce with very sharp teeth. Take a bite! Directed by David Emmes.

Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl (Sept. 23 – Oct. 14, 2012) Julianne Argyros Stage
It's one of the greatest love stories of all time. And in this lushly inventive reimagining of the classic myth, Eurydice and her musician-lover, Orpheus, are a modern couple-playful, charming and rapturously happy. On their wedding day, Eurydice wanders off, enticed by a letter from her deceased father, only to find herself reunited with him in a visually stunning underworld. But Eurydice must re-learn human language in order to remember all she left behind and, ultimately, choose between two worlds in this whimsical and breathtaking story of the power and fragility of love. Directed by Marc Masterson.

· How to Write a New Book for the Bible by Bill Cain (Oct. 19 – Nov. 18, 2012) Segerstrom Stage

"Write about what you know." Bill Cain took that advice, and this is the stunning result-a play about a family so appealing you will want to find a comfortable chair and settle down in their living room. When Bill comes back home to care for his often maddening (but always funny) mother, he tells the family story as it unfolds-in evocative flashbacks. The memories are both bitter and sweet, for this is a family with its own set of commandments. They squabble, yes, but even their arguments are beguiling. Theirs is a timeless tale. Directed by Kent Nicholson.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by Jerry Patch (Nov. 24 – Dec. 24, 2012) 

Recapture the spirit of an old-fashioned Christmas with this cherished Dickens classic and all your favorite characters-Tiny Tim and the Cratchit family, the Fezziwigs, the Ghosts of Christmas past, present and yet-to-come-and, of course, Ebenezer Scrooge himself. Directed by John-David Keller.

The Motherf**ker with the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis (Jan. 6 – 27, 2013) Julianne Argyros Stage
Set smack in the middle of New York's mean streets, this Broadway hit is exhilarating, hilarious-and totally irreverent. Recently sprung from prison, Jackie has an AA sponsor and is back with Veronica, the love of his life since eighth grade. The problem is, Veronica can't shake her drug habit, and she refuses to answer when he asks about "the man hat that-ain't-my-hat" on their bedside table. But Jackie is a survivor, and if he sometimes loses sight of his goal, he never loses his decency, in this devastating examination of acceptance, loyalty and love. Directed by Michael John Garcés.

Chinglish by David Henry Hwang (Jan. 25 – Feb. 24, 2013) Segerstrom Stage
Daniel's family sign company is in trouble, but he has a great idea: score a fat contract in China, where signs for English-speaking tourists are mangled by hilarious mis-translations. But he forgets the first rule: always bring your own translator because business deals involve much more than wining and dining. And when Daniel falls in love with a beautiful bureaucrat, even feelings take on different meanings. The repartee is fast and funny and the timing is spot-on in this East-West comedy that embraces both sides of the cultural divide. Directed by Leigh Silverman. (A co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre.)

The Whale by Samuel D. Hunter (Mar. 10 – 31, 2013) Julianne Argyros Stage
Charlie is different from most of us. First, he's an online writing teacher with one friend, a nurse who nearly kills him with kindness, and one acquaintance, a troubled young missionary who's determined to rescue his soul. Second, he's in bad health but refuses to be hospitalized. Oh, and third, he weighs in at 500 pounds. When his estranged daughter turns up suddenly, Charlie makes a deal to buy her time, if not her affections. He hopes their connection will give her life-and his - meaning at last. Directed by Martin Benson.

Smokefall by Noah Haidle (Mar. 29 – Apr. 28, 2013) Segerstrom Stage
Two new souls are about to enter the world-Violet is pregnant with twins. Her daughter, the most beautiful girl in Grand Rapids, stopped speaking when there was nothing left to say. Her elderly father has only fleeting memories, but they're always loving and often funny. Her husband will soon drive away and not return. So theirs is a future that remembers the past, and it's filled with surprise. This time-bending world premiere is a lyrical, unpredictable and ineffably beautiful meditation on the mystery and fragility of life. Directed by Anne Kauffman. (A world premiere co-production with Goodman Theatre, Chicago, Illinois.)
World premiere. (Apr. 14 – May 5, 2013) Julianne Argyros Stage TO BE ANNOUNCED
The Verona Project words and music by Amanda Dehnert (May 10-Jun. 9, 2013) Segerstrom Stage
Rewrite Shakespeare? Sacrilege! Unless it's The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and the trailblazing creator is Amanda Dehnert. The gents are still Proteus and Valentine, and they're still struggling with first love, but in this freshly hip version they're also figuring out who they are and want to become. One love interest is now a boy, the other is a free spirit who grows geraniums in her oven-and they're all in a rock band. In a setting that's pArt Theatre and part concert, The Players are young, somewhat motley, somewhat eclectic and totally wonderful. Directed by Amanda Dehnert.

Theatre for Young Audiences Season
Robin Hood by Greg Banks (Nov. 2 – 18, 2012) Julianne Argyros Stage
He's the same legendary Robin Hood who leads a band of Merry Men, stands up for what is right, wields a bow and arrow, defeats the sheriff (often!) and loves Maid Marian. But in Ivey Award-winner Greg Bank's re-imagining, Robin and his yeomen are full of tricks and full of fun-and they'll include the audience in the action. Don't be surprised if you're asked to yell out, "They went that way!" or cheer, "Long live Robin Hood!" in this contemporary twist on a medieval world with live music.

Anastasia Krupnik, adapted by Meryl Friedman from the book by Lois Lowry (Feb. 8 – 24, 2013) Julianne Argyros Stage
Ten-year-old Anastasia is opinionated, sassy and funny. Really funny. Of course, she also has a funny name, but she'll Make Up For it in this offbeat story taken right from the pages of her diary. It's all about the things she loves-and hates-and what she plans to do about them. This memorable story from the Newbery Medal-winning author of The Giver is a wonderful portrait of childhood and family life with all its ups and downs.
The Night Fairy, a new adaptation by John Glore from the book by Laura Amy Schlitz (May 24 – June 9, 2013) Julianne Argyros Stage
Flory is a fairy no taller than an acorn, who loses her exquisite wings in a fight with a bat, falls into the garden of a Giantess and takes up residence in a birdhouse. This magical story from a Newbery Medal winner is as visually bewitching as the night fairy herself. But Flory is as fierce and ferocious as she is elegant, and she's about to discover that she needs every drop of bravery-and equal amounts of understanding and compassion-in her new life among the daylight creatures. Directed by Oanh Nguyen.

All selections are subject to change.