South Coast Repertory News

Undercover Productions will present the WORLD PREMIERE of ETHEL SINGS: Espionage in High C, written by Joan Beber. ETHEL SINGS begins previews on June 27th, with a June 28th opening at Walker Space. Directed by Jules Aaron, ETHEL SINGS has set design by Gary Guidinger, lighting design by John Eckert Original Music by Max Kinberg & costume design by Michele Young. Sarah Brown stages manages & Sherry Netherland assistant directs. Ethel Sings is produced by Linda Toliver & Gary Guidinger for Undercover Productions.

Winning upwards of 50 awards (including Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, LA Weekly, Ovation, and Garland Awards) in just the past five years (BEST PRODUCTION two years in a row), Rogue Machine's first offering (which opened on May 18th) for the 2013 season has sold out the original run. They will now be extending the schedule for the Los Angeles premiere of Dying City by Christopher Shinn (OBIE winner, Pulitzer Prize finalist) through August 5th.

Casting has been announced for The Hub Theatre's summer production of JORDAN HARRISON's gender-bending comedy, ACT A LADY. The men of a small 1920's Mid Western town have decided to put on a 'real fancy dress up' play in full drag. The cast is led by a trio of amazing actresses - Helen Hayes nominated actress TONI RAE SALMI as Dorothy, the no nonsense, accordion playing head of her household; Helen Hayes Award Winner and Hub veteran JENNA SOKOLOWSKI as Lorna, the object of men's affections and expert makeup artist; andNORA ACHRATI as Zina, the passionate and powerful theatre director accompanies her 'from the continent.'

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) has announced that Rene Augesen will play Blanche DuBois and Joe Manganiello will play Stanley Kowalski in its first-ever production of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, the Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece by Tennessee Williams. Directed by Mark Rucker, the production, which will open Yale Rep's 2013-14 season, will play September 20-October 12, at the University Theatre (222 York Street).

'Neva,' Guillermo Calderon's politically charged play, will open tonight, June 12 as a DouglasPlus event at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. 'Neva,' which is presented in collaboration with South Coast Repertory and La Jolla Playhouse, will be performed in the theatre's rehearsal room, Upstairs @ KDT, and will play for eight performances only through June 16, 2013.

NEVA, written and directed by Guillermo Calderon, in an English translation by Andrea Thome, will be co-produced by the South Coast Repertory and La Jolla Playhouse in A DouglasPlus Workshop Presentation in the Kirk Douglas Theatre rehearsal room, Upstairs @ KDT. Performances begin tonight, June 11 and continue through June 16, 2013.

South Coast Repertory has announced its June-September 2013 calendar. Details below!

Born and abandoned in the bathroom of a fast food restaurant, Bob travels across America determined to become a 'great' man. The Echo Theater Company presents the Los Angeles premiere of Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's hilarious, award-winning comedy, BOB: A Life in Five Acts. Echo artistic director Chris Fields helms the limited 4-week run, tonight, June 8 through June 30 at Atwater Village Theatre.

La Jolla Playhouse has announced the casts and creative teams for its upcoming productions of Tribes (June 25 - July 21 in the Mandell Weiss Forum), Sideways (July 16 - August 18 in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre) and Neva (June 26 - 30 in the Theodore and Adele Shank Theatre).

The internationally acclaimed drama Neva by Chilean writer Guillermo Calderon wraps up the Studio SCR series at South Coast Repertory this month, with a six-performance run, June 19-23. Tickets are $25-35. More information is available online: www.scr.org.

Village Green Productions has announced the return of THE BOOMERANG EFFECT, written by Matthew Leavitt, produced by Del Shores and directed by Damaso Rodriguz. THE BOOMERANG EFFECT will mark the final production Mr. Rodriguez will direct in Los Angeles prior to his becoming Artistic Director of the Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland. THE BOOMERANG EFFECT will preview tonight, June 6 & Friday, June 7 at 8pm and will open on Saturday, June 8 and will run through Saturday, July 27 at the Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave., in West Hollywood.

The poignant and provocative new musical, A Minister's Wife, makes its West Coast premiere at San Jose Rep June 20 - July 14, 2013.

"Neva," Guillermo Calderon's politically charged play, will open Wednesday, June 12 as a DouglasPlus event at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. "Neva," which is presented in collaboration with South Coast Repertory and La Jolla Playhouse, will be performed in the theatre's rehearsal room, Upstairs @ KDT, and will play for eight performances only through June 16, 2013 (including one preview on June 11).

The national tour of Roundabout Theatre Company's ANYTHING GOES, the new Broadway revival of Cole Porter's timeless classic musical theatre masterpiece, will make its Orange County premiere September 24 - 29 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts as part of the Curtain Call Series.

Chance Theater presents the third show of its 15th Anniversary Season - the hilarious and irreverent emo rock musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson by Alex Timbers, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman, and directed by Kari Hayter. Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson begins previews on July 5, opens July 12 and continues through August 4 at Chance Theater.

Aux Dog Theatre Nob Hill presents The Bicycle Men for one weekend only! The show runs July 18-20, on Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 7.30pm, with a special late night show on Saturday at 10pm.

Now performing at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through June 9, Director Amanda Dehnert's beguiling new revival of THE FANTASTICKS comes to vibrant life as an old-timey vaudevillian review that just happens to have a love story woven into it. This clever, magical makeover, setting the piece in the midst of an abandoned, dilapidated amusement park called Rocky Point, has wonderfully spilled over into the show's staging, sets, costumes, and, yes, even the songs and characters, resulting in a refreshing new take on the 50-plus-years-old musical.

Though the coming of summer usually signals local theaters' final shows for the 2012-2013 season, there are still plenty of things to see, hear and experience in the O.C. to keep avid theatergoers entertained. Below is a listing of our five top Summer Must-See Picks, plus a few other noteworthy shows to check out, too!