Cast Of Ken Ludwig's THE GODS OF COMEDY Announced At The Old Globe

The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team as comic playwright Ken Ludwig, who delighted Globe audiences with Robin Hood! and Baskerville, returns with a hilarious world premiere: Ken Ludwig's The Gods of Comedy, directed by Amanda Dehnert (West Side Story at Carnegie Hall, world premieres of Kate Hamill's Pride and Prejudice and Ludwig's Baskerville). Presented in association with McCarter Theatre Center, The Gods of Comedy will run May 11 - June 16, 2019 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Old Globe Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, opening on May 16. Single tickets start at $30.00 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1362 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Performances at McCarter Theatre Center ran March 12 - 31, 2019.

Daphne and Ralph are young classics professors who have just made a discovery that's sure to turn them into academic superstars. But when something goes disastrously wrong, and Daphne cries out in a panic, "Save me, gods of ancient Greece!"...and the gods actually appear! College will never be the same as a pair of screwball deities encounters the carnal complexity of college coeds, campus capers, and conspicuous consumption. Two-time Olivier Award-winning comic playwright Ludwig brings us a world premiere with laughs that are simply divine.

The cast includes Jessie Cannizzaro as Thalia (Puffs at New World Stages); Steffanie Leigh as Zoe/Brooklyn (the title role in Broadway's Mary Poppins, War Paint, Gigi); Jevon McFerrin as Ralph (Hamilton on Broadway, Smokey Robinson in Motown on Broadway); Keira Naughton as Dean Trickett (Broadway's The Rivals, Three Sisters); Brad Oscar as Dionysus (The First Wives Club at the Globe, The Squirrels at La Jolla Playhouse, Tony Award nominations for Something Rotten! and The Producers); George Psomas as Aristide/Aleksi/Ares (Broadway's South Pacific and Fiddler on the Roof); and Shay Vawn as Daphne (soot and spit at The New Ohio Theatre).

The creative team includes Drama Desk and Lortel Award nominated scenic designer Jason Sherwood (recently: Rent the musical, Live on Fox!); costume designer Linda Roethke (Richard III at The Public); lighting designer Brian Gale (Disgraced at San Diego Rep, 24 years with The Walt Disney Company); sound designer Darron L West (Tony and Obie Award-winner, McCarter's Murder on the Orient Express); wig designer Carissa Thorlakson (Grand Hotel and Little Rock off Broadway); illusion designer Jim Steinmeyer (Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast on Broadway), choreographer Ellenore Scott (King Kong: The Musical on Broadway), and Alison Cote (Production Stage Manager).

"The Old Globe's audience loves to laugh, and our good friend Ken Ludwig, one of the towering comic playwrights at work today, always delivers for them," said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "In recent seasons he's given us hilarity in places ranging from Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest to Sherlock Holmes's London, and now, in The Gods of Comedy, he takes us to ancient Greece and the contemporary university. Ludwig's wild imagination gives us a classic fish-out-of-water tale: two Greek gods magically descend from Mt. Olympus and show up on a college campus. From there it's mayhem, mistaken identity, pratfalls, and slamming doors, along with some surprising insights on how the wit and wisdom of the classical world guide us today. Ludwig and the talented director Amanda Dehnert, making her Globe debut, have created a giddy confection that will entertain and beguile San Diego audiences, and I'm thrilled to have it on our stage."

Ken Ludwig is a two-time Olivier Award-winning playwright who has written over 28 plays and musicals, including six shows on Broadway and 7 in London's West End. Lend Me a Tenor won two Tony Awards and was called "one of the classic comedies of the 20th century" by The Washington Post. Additional awards include the Helen Hayes Award, the Edgar Award for Best Mystery of the Year, The Samuel French Award for Lifetime Achievement, and The Edwin Forrest Award for Contributions to the American Theatre. His Broadway plays have starred Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Tony Shalhoub, Lynn Redgrave, and Kristin Bell. His book How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare won the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book of the Year. His best known works include Crazy for You (5 years on Broadway, Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical); Moon Over Buffalo; Baskerville; A Comedy of Tenors; Sherwood; and a stage version of Murder on the Orient Express written expressly at the request of the Agatha Christie Estate. He holds degrees from Harvard, where he studied music with Leonard Bernstein, and Cambridge University. His work has been performed in over 30 countries in more than 20 languages, and is produced somewhere in the United States every night of the year.

Director Amanda Dehnert's recent credits include West Side Story (Carnegie Hall at the Knockdown Center). World Premieres: Kate Hamill's Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages NY, Seattle Rep, Hudson Valley Shakespeare); Ken Ludwig's Baskerville (McCarter/Arena Stage); Eastland: A New Musical (also orchestration, Lookingglass Theatre Company); Cloudlands (Adam Gwon/Octavia Solis, South Coast Repertory). As director/composer/adaptor: Love's Labor's Lost, Timon of Athens (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); The Verona Project (California Shakespeare Theatre); Peter Pan (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Richard II (Public Theatre Mobile Unit). Other: Little Shop of Horrors (Cleveland Playhouse), The Fantasticks (Trinity Rep, Long Wharf, Arena Stage, South Coast Rep), Into the Woods, Julius Caesar (Oregon Shakespeare Fest.) My Fair Lady(Oregon Shakespeare Fest., Cleveland Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Virginia Stage, Trinity Rep.),Death of a Salesman (Dallas Theatre Center), and Cabaret (Stratford Shakespeare Festival).

McCarter Theatre Center (Co-Producer , Ken Ludwig's The Gods of Comedy), Under the leadership of award-winning playwright and Artistic Director Emily Mann, Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg, and Special Programming Director William W. Lockwood, McCarter's mission is to create world-class theater and present the finest artists for the engagement, education, and entertainment to the community. Winner of the 1994 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, world premieres include Christopher Durang's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2013 Tony - Best Play); Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brother/Sister Plays; Emily Mann's Having Our Say; and Danai Gurira's The Convert. McCarter brings artists from around the world to Princeton, New Jersey including Ahmad Jamal, Rhiannon Giddens, David Sedaris, and more. Education and outreach efforts serve tens of thousands through student matinees, in-school residencies, and adult classes. More at mccarter.org.

The Gods of Comedy at The Old Globe is supported in part through a gift from Production Sponsors Nicki and Ben Clay, Elaine and Dave Darwin, Paula and Brian Powers, Jean and Gary Shekhter, and Pamela J. Wagner and Hans Tegebo. The Artist Sponsors for playwright Ken Ludwig is Jo Ann Kilty and Evelyn Mack Truitt. Financial support is provided by The City of San Diego.

Additional events taking place during the run of The Gods of Comedy include:

VICKI AND CARL ZEIGER INSIGHTS SEMINAR: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 5:30 p.m.

This series provides an opportunity to closely connect with productions both onstage and backstage. A panel selected from the artistic company of each show (playwrights, actors, directors, designers, and/or technicians) engages patrons in an informal and illuminating presentation of ideas and insights to enhance the theatregoing experience. Reception at 5:00 p.m. FREE; no reservations necessary.

POST-SHOW FORUMS: Tuesdays, May 21 and 28, 2019 and Wednesday, June 5, 2019.

Join us after the show for an informal and enlightening question-and-answer session with cast, crew, and/or Globe staff members. Get the inside story on creating a character and putting together a professional production. FREE for ticketholders of that evening's performance.

SUBJECT MATTERS: Saturday, May 18, 2019 following the matinee performance.

Explore the ideas and issues raised by a production through brief, illuminating post-show discussions with local experts, such as scientists, artists, historians and scholars. Subject Matters will ignite discussion, bring the play's concerns into sharp focus, and encourage you to think beyond the stage! FREE; no reservations necessary.

Single tickets start at $30.00 and are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE [234-5623], or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors, military members, and groups of 10 or more.

Performances begin on May 11 and continue through June 16, 2019 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run May 11-15. Opening night is Thursday May 16 at 8:00 p.m. Regular performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday and Friday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. There will be an additional matinee performance on Wednesday, June 5 and no matinee performance on Saturday, June 8.

The Old Globe is located in San Diego's Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. Through a special arrangement with the San Diego Zoo, Old Globe evening ticket-holders have the opportunity to pre-purchase valet parking in the Zoo's employee parking structure. With a drop-off point just a short walk to the Globe, theatregoers may purchase fast, easy, convenient valet parking for just $14 per vehicle per evening. Pre-paid only, available only by phone through The Old Globe Box Office. Call (619) 234-5623 or visit www.theoldglobe.org/plan-your-visit/directions--parking/valet-parking. The Balboa Park valet is also available during weekend performances, located in front of the Japanese Friendship Garden. For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org.

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