The Old Globe Presents Austen's EMMA, Closes 2/27

Jane Austen's Emma - A Musical Romantic Comedy with music, lyrics and book by Tony Award nominee Paul Gordon will close the Winter Season on February 27, 2011. Directed by Tony Award nominee Jeff Calhoun. 

Emma, a beautiful and clever young woman who prides herself on her matchmaking ability, is preoccupied with romance yet is clueless to her own feelings of love. When she takes on a young friend as her latest project, her well-intentioned efforts misfire, leading to a whirlwind of complications - and ultimately, true love. Gordon brings Jane Austen's masterpiece to musical life with songs that are "cleverly woven throughout" and "enhance the story in wonderful ways." (Variety)

"I have been talking with Paul Gordon since 2006 about producing Emma," said Spisto. "It's a masterful and fresh look at Austen's well-known story and I believe this is Paul's finest score to date. I'm also delighted to bring Jeff Calhoun to the project. Jeff is the perfect director to take Emma to the next step."

The Globe's 2010-11 Winter Season also features the U.S. Premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's Life of Riley, the West Coast Premieres of Kristoffer Diaz's Welcome to Arroyo's and Ayub Khan-Din's Rafta, Rafta... and the Regional Premieres of Ian Bruce's Groundswell, a psychological thriller set in South Africa, and Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning August: Osage County. Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound, will be presented in repertory. Rounding out the season is an American classic, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

Paul Gordon was nominated for a 2000 Tony Award for composing the music and lyrics to the Broadway musical Jane Eyre directed by John Caird and Scott Schwartz. Jane Austen's Emma premiered at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto in September 2007. The musical has since had successful regional productions at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Daddy-Long-Legs, written with John Caird, had its world premiere at Rubicon Theatre Company in the fall of 2009. It has since gone on to play TheatreWorks, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Broad Stage in Los Angeles and will receive productions at North Light Theater, La Mirada Theatre and Laguna Playhouse. His other works include Lucky Break, written with Jay Gruska and Seth Friedman, based on the 1976 film The Front, Death: The Musical and Analogue and Vinyl. Gordon is currently working on Little Miss Scrooge, a contemporary retelling of the Dickens classic. He has written several number one pop songs and is the recipient of nine ASCAP awards.

Jeff Calhoun is delighted to return to The Old Globe where he last co-directed Himself and Nora with Joe Hardy. He directed the pre-Broadway production of Bonnie & Clyde at Asolo Repertory Theatre following an award-winning run at La Jolla Playhouse (Craig Noel Awards for Outstanding New Musical and Outstanding Director of a Musical). Calhoun directed and choreographed the first National Tour of the stage musical adaptation of the hit Dolly Parton film 9 to 5. He also directed the world premiere productions, domestic and international tours of Disney's High School Musical: On Stage and Disney's High School Musical 2: On Stage. He directed and choreographed the Deaf West Theatre production of Pippin at the Mark Taper Forum and the award-winning Deaf West Theatre production of Big River (Tony and Drama Desk nominations, Best Revival; Drama Desk nomination for Best Director of a Musical; Ovation and L.A. Drama Critics Circle awards for Direction and Choreography). Calhoun was a producer as well as director/choreographer for the Broadway production of Brooklyn the Musical and the director/choreographer of the 1994 Broadway revival of Grease! (Tony nomination, Best Choreography). He co-choreographed the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun (Tony Award, Best Revival). His Broadway directing debut was Tommy Tune Tonight, and his collaboration with Tune led to the 1991 Tony for Best Choreography for The Will Rogers Follies.

In addition to Jane Austen's Emma, the Globe's complete 2010-11 Winter Season is as follows:

· Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound by Neil Simon (Sept. 14 - Nov. 7, 2010) Old Globe Theatre
Two of Neil Simon's most popular plays will be performed in repertory. The semi-autobiographical plays follow the life of Eugene Morris Jerome, from the foibles of youth in late-1930's Brooklyn, to a career as a comedy writer for radio. Scott Schwartz, who directed last season's hit production of Lost in Yonkers, returns to direct.

· Welcome to Arroyo's by Kristoffer Diaz (Sept. 25 - Oct. 31, 2010) Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre; (Nov. 4 - 7, 2010) Lincoln High School Center for the Arts
A brother and sister attempt to convert their family bodega into New York City's newest cultural sensation and unexpectedly discover a secret that could change their lives and, possibly, the history of hip hop music. Welcome to Arroyo's will also be performed at Lincoln High School Center for the Arts as part of the Globe's Southeastern San Diego Residency Project. Jaime Castañeda who directed the recent Chicago premiere will direct the Globe's West Coast Premiere. Diaz's The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist.

· Jane Austen's Emma by Paul Gordon (Jan. 15 - Feb. 27, 2011) Old Globe Theatre.

A musical romantic comedy directed by Jeff Calhoun.

· Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (Jan. 22 - Feb. 27, 2011) Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre
Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Play, Death of Salesman is an unflinching examination of the American dream that is as relevant today as the day it was written. Pam MacKinnon, who helmed the Globe's world premiere production of Itamar Moses' The Four of Us, will direct. She received the 2010 Obie Award for her direction of Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park.

· Groundswell by Ian Bruce (March 12 - April 17, 2011) Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre
Set in a beachfront resort on the jagged edge of west South Africa, a black caretaker and a white ex-cop hatch a get-rich-quick diamond scheme on an unsuspecting guest. This haunting, psychological thriller lends a glimmer of hope and promise for a just post-apartheid society. Director Kyle Donnelly has previously directed Opus, Orson's Shadow and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe.

· Rafta, Rafta... by Ayub Khan-Din, based on All in Good Time by Bill Naughton (March 19 - April 24, 2011) Old Globe Theatre
This West Coast Premiere is the Winner of the 2008 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, Rafta, Rafta... is a hilarious look at the generational divide on sex and marriage within a close-knit Indian family living in London.

· Life of Riley by Alan Ayckbourn (April 30 - June 5, 2011) Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre
Sir Alan Ayckbourn, one of the world's most successful living playwrights (Absurd Person Singular and the recent Tony Award-winning revival of The Norman Conquests), was recently awarded the U.K.'s Critics' Circle Annual Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts and a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater. Life of Riley (his 74th play!) looks backwards, forwards and, now and then, sideways with wry comic affection on the lives we lived or might have lived. The Globe has also presented the U.S. premieres of Ayckbourn's Mr. A's Amazing Maze Plays and Intimate Exchanges. Richard Seer directs (his tenth outing at the Globe).

· August: Osage County by Tracy Letts (May 7 - June 12, 2011) Old Globe Theatre
Winner of the 2008 Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, The New York Times called August: Osage County "flat-out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years." This epic, modern-day masterpiece is sure to be the theatrical event of the season. Sam Gold, 2010 Obie Award winner for his direction of Annie Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation and The Aliens, will direct.

The Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program will present Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre Nov. 7 - 14, 2010. A joint venture of The Old Globe and the University of San Diego, the nationally-renowned Master of Fine Arts Professional Actor Training Program is an intensive two-year course of graduate study in classical theater. Ray Chambers directs.

The special holiday event, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, will return for its 13th consecutive year. The heartwarming musical, with book and lyrics by Timothy Mason and music by Mel Marvin, was originally conceived and directed by Jack O'Brien and has become a beloved San Diego holiday tradition. The Grinch will run in the Old Globe Theatre Nov. 20 - Dec. 26, 2010.

The current 2010 Summer Season features the annual Shakespeare Festival led by acclaimed director Adrian Noble. The Noble-directed King Lear runs June 12 - Sept. 23 and The Madness of George III June 19 - Sept. 24. Presented in repertory, the Festival also includes The Taming of the Shrew (June 16 - Sept. 26) directed by Ron Daniels. The World Premiere of the Broadway-bound musical, Robin and the 7 Hoods runs July 14 - Aug. 22 and is directed by Casey Nicholaw with lyrics by Sammy Cahn and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. The West Coast Premiere of Tony Award winner Joe DiPietro's romantic comedy, The Last Romance stars television icon and Globe Associate Artist Marion Ross and runs July 30 - Sept. 5. Richard Seer directs. Single tickets are currently on sale for the Summer Season.

All selections are subject to change.

SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS offer substantial savings with special subscriber benefits. Subscriptions 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. Subscriptions to the Globe's 2010-11 Winter Season range from $117 to $571. Nine-play packages range from $211 to $571. Five-play packages range from $139 to $388. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and younger, seniors and groups of 10 or more.

LOCATION: The Old Globe is located in San Diego's Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Valet parking is also available ($10). For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theaters and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for 75 years. Under the direction of Executive Producer Louis G. Spisto, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre, the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre and the 612-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theater's education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Catered Affair, and the annual holiday musical, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theaters across the country.