South Coast Repertory News

The manicured life of an actor-turned-politician and his impeccable wife is upset when relatives arrive at their Palm Springs home for the holidays - including daughter Brooke who's about to publish a tell-all memoir. caryn desai [sic] directs Jon Robin Baitz's Other Desert Cities, opening tonight, June 6 at International City Theatre in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.

The New Group opened the New York premiere of Annapurna by Sharr White, directed by Bart DeLorenzo and featuring Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman, on April 21. The limited Off-Broadway engagement will officially end its run on June 1.

This Summer, Orange County, CA---which includes Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Santa Ana, Irvine, and even cities just a hop over the county line like La Mirada and Long Beach---is so chock-full of hot stage goodies, that you may have to earmark a lot more time in the next three months to properly satisfy all your theatrical cravings. Here's our Top 5 Summer Must-See picks, plus a few other noteworthy shows to check out around the area, too!

Apply by May 30, 2014 to be eligible for all 25 PAID opportunities through the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF). Applications are available online at SDCFOUNDATION.ORG.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts will present LA Opera Off Grand with a special concert performance of Jules Massenet's lyric masterpiece Thais tonight, May 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

South Coast Repertory turns classic fairy tales inside out for the season's final Theatre for Young Audiences production: The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. John Glore adapted the play from the book by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. The show, with a host of wacky characters and silly songs, is directed by Jessica Kubzansky and runs today, May 23-June 8 on the Julianne Argyros Stage.

Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike will feature Resident Actor Jeffrey Bean as Vanya, Sharon Lockwood returning to the Alley as Sonia, Alley Artist Josie de Guzman returning as Masha, and Resident Actor Jay Sullivan as Spike. Rounding out the cast and making their Alley debuts are Rachael Holmes as Cassandra and Sarah Nealis as Nina. Jonathan Moscone, Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater, helms the production and returns after having directed the Alley's 2011 production of Amadeus.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) has announced its 2014/15 season: George Orwell's Animal Farm, adapted for the stage by Althos Low, directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon; and the world premiere of This Is Modern Art by Kevin Coval and Idris Goodwin, directed by Lisa Portes.

A curse lies upon the land of Thebes and its ill-fated rulers that reiterates generation upon generation. Casey Stangl directs the world premiere of The Curse of Oedipus, written by Kenneth Cavander and developed by The Antaeus Company. Opening weekend for the fully double-cast production runs June 19 -22 at the Antaeus Theater in NoHo, with previews beginning June 12.

ONCE, winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, will play at Segerstrom Center for the Arts for a limited engagement from August 19 - 31.

South Coast Repertory's 2014-15 season moves from the Mediterranean island in Shakespeare's The Tempest to Cornwall in a new take on the classic Tristan & Yseult, from Mecca in Zealot by Theresa Rebeck to an updated look at the Land of Oz in OZ 2.5 by Catherine Trieschmann. SCR will present classic, contemporary and new works, including Mr. Wolf by Rajiv Joseph, Of Good Stock by Melissa Ross and Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice. Season subscriptions are available now; single tickets will go on sale on Aug. 1.

The 17th Annual Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival, scheduled to be held June 13 - 14, announced three theatres coming together in the Rocky Mountains to develop new works. Actors Theatre of Louisville (Kentucky), Primary Stages (New York) and South Coast Repertory (California) are confirmed for the festival that is presented under Artistic Director Andrew Leynse (Artistic Director, Primary Stages), Producer and Director of Theatre Emily Tarquin (Denver Center Theatre Company, CO) and Executive Producer Jim Steinberg. The festival is sponsored by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons to Orange County on August 16, 2014. Single tickets, which start at $49 are available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket savings for 20 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236. The TTY number is (714) 556-2746.

Following their recent breakout success on America's Got Talent, receiving great accolades from the judges and audiences, Lightwire Theater brings its unique method of storytelling to light at Segerstrom Center for the Arts today, May 17 at 1:00pm and May 18 at 1:00pm and 3:30pm in Samueli Theater.

Miss Saigon is about to return to the West End, opening at the Prince Edward Theatre on May 21, and though this production has had a smooth road to opening night so far, the original production was a bit more controversial. In a recent piece in The Guardian, which begins with 'I lied to producer Cameron Mackintosh,' playwright David Henry Hwang admits to being involved with the 'Yellow Face controversy'.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts and THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, are pleased to announce a lottery ticket policy for the Orange County engagement, today, May 13 - 25, 2014. The production will conduct a pre-show lottery at the Segerstrom Hall box office, making a limited number of tickets available for $25 each.

Three Day Hangover presents TWELFTH NIGHT, or Sir Toby Belch's Lonely Hearts Club Cabaret, their next immersive, boozy Shakespeare event performed in a bar. The first full production of their 2014 Season, TWELFTH NIGHT, written by William Shakespeare and adapted by Beth Gardiner, will be staged at McGee's Restaurant and Pub, 240 West 55th Street (bet. Broadway & Eighth Ave.) in NYC from June 6-30, 2014.

Ordinary Days, an acclaimed new musical by Adam Gwon, brings Round House's 2013/2014 season to a harmonious close as it makes its area premiere. Signature Theatre's Matthew Gardiner makes his Round House directing debut with this Off-Broadway hit by one of musical theater's most exciting new composers. Ordinary Days runs at Round House Theatre Bethesda from May 28 thru June 22. Opening night is Monday, June 2, 2014.