Moonlight Stage Productions' 2015 Winter Season to Feature SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM, ANNA IN THE TROPICS & More

VISTA, CA-Producing Artistic Director Steven Glaudini announces the 2015 Winter Season at the AVO Playhouse. The winter season kicks off Moonlight's celebration of its 35th anniversary year with three productions in the historic AVO Playhouse located in the Vista Village. Subscriptions, priced at $76 for three shows, will go on sale September 22. Single tickets, priced from $27-$32, will go on sale November 11.

"We are bringing to the AVO three shows that have not been performed on our stage before," Glaudini noted. "I am particularly proud to produce the San Diego premiere of the new revue SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM with director DJ Gray, who is associated with the original Broadway production. I'm also excited to have Jason Heil return to the AVO for another season and to have Carlos Mendoza stage his first non-musical Moonlight production. It's thrilling to have our season helmed by such esteemed directors."

Opening the season from January 15-February 1 is James Goldman's THE LION IN WINTER, directed by Jason Heil. "Every family has its ups and downs," and the royal family at the center of James Goldman's The Lion in Winter is no exception. The legendary story of King Henry II of England and the battle between his fiercely competitive sons to become the next in line is a modern-day classic. Completing the dysfunctional family circle is the King's banished Queen, the notorious Eleanor of Aquitaine, herself a prisoner for raising an army to dethrone her husband. The equally competitive King Philip of France enters the drama and the two countries find themselves on the brink of war at the whim of England's power-hungry royal family. This classic tale of sibling rivalry, adultery, and deception draws audiences into its irresistible web.

The San Diego professional premiere of SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM will run from February 12-March 1 with direction and choreography by DJ Gray and musical direction by Elan McMahan. This revelatory revue, produced for the first time in San Diego, offers an intimate portrait of the famed composer in his own words... and music. Through the use of interspersed interview footage, audiences get an inside look at Sondheim's personal life and artistic process that has remained largely undiscussed by the man himself, until now. Sondheim on Sondheim features two dozen carefully selected songs that form a massive theatrical potency, from the beloved to the obscure. Sondheim's story, inspiration, and genius is celebrated in this newly created revue by James Lapine with new arrangements by David Loud.

Carlos Mendoza directs the final show of the season, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play ANNA IN THE TROPICS by Nilo Cruz. Be transported to Miami of 1929 to a rundown Cuban cigar factory where the workers discover the relevance of literature in their lives. In these factories, "lectors" are employed to read to the workforce while they roll. The arrival of a handsome new lector straight off the boat from Cuba is a cause for celebration-at least by the daughters of the owner. The new lector unwittingly becomes a catalyst in the lives of his avid listeners when the tropical heat and the search for the American dream become a volatile combination.