Shakespeare Orange County Star-Studded 'Fun-Raiser' Kicks Off SUMMERFEST 2015

Setting the tone for another season of great entertainment under the stars, Shakespeare Orange County (SOC) launches Summerfest 2015 at the Garden Grove Amphitheatre on June 13 with its 2nd Annual "Fun-raising" event.

Tickets to the evening begin at $25 and include a live performance of the 1939 radio adaptation of Kaufman and Hart's You Can't Take it With You with a celebrity cast that includes Rene Auberjonois, Seamus Dever, Kurtwood Smith, Joe Spano, Tamlyn Tomita and JoBeth Williams among many more.

There will be a silent auction with vacations, collectibles, tickets to performing arts events and even a musical instrument and lessons will go to the highest bidder - usually at prices far below their retail values. After the hour-long performance guests will mingle with the cast, SOC staff and supporters, as well as fellow arts lovers from SOC's increasingly diverse audience.

"This is our way of making Shakespeare Orange County visible and viable and welcoming to everyone," said John Walcutt, who took over as Producing Artistic Director before the 2014 Season. "Last year we initiated this event and everyone who made it said it was unforgettable. This year should be even better!"

'You Can't Take it With You'

George Kaufman and Moss Hart's You Can't Take it With You premiered on Broadway in 1936, winning the 1937 Pulitzer Prize. The following year a film version was released and in 1930, the Lux Radio Comedy Hour aired the edited version that SOC will present.

"It's a hilarious, fast-paced hour with all the great Kaufman and Hart characters, plus an announcer and show host," Walcutt explained. "We'll even recreate the original sound effects, jingles and commercials!"

Bo Foxworth directs the cast of Rene Auberjonois (M*A*S*H, "Boston Legal"), Robert Hays (Airplane), Nicholas d'Agosto ("Masters of Sex," Election), John de Lancie ("Star Trek," "Breaking Bad"), Seamus Dever (Castle, Army Wives), John Frederick Jones ("General Hospital," "Babylon 5") Kurtwood Smith ("That '70s Show," Robocop), Joe Spano ("Hill Street Blues," Apollo 13), Tamlyn Tomita (Joy Luck Club, Teen Wolf), Trieu Tran ("The Newsroom," Tropic Thunder) and JoBeth Williams (Poltergeist).

You CAN take it with you

The period commercials woven into the radio play will provide enough of a break in the action for additional giveaways and handing out the auction items to the winning bidders, Walcutt said.

"During the 'commercials' we'll be giving away lots of cool autographed show business prizes and auction items," he said. "The celebrities will hand out the prizes to the winners, who come up onstage and have their pictures taken with them. It's very interactive."

Among the donated items in the silent auction are:

• A day for up to 16 on a catamaran docked in Newport Beach
• Star Trek memorabilia autographed by John de Lancie ("Q") and Rene Auberjonois ("Odo")
• A violin and three private lessons from Pacific Symphony's first violin and Associate Concertmaster Paul Manaster
• A wine-tasting retreat at a hotel in Paso Robles
• A week for four at a Ketchum-Sun Valley condo
• Donations from arts organizations include Bowers Museum, Chance Theater and South Coast Repertory

The Stars Under the Stars

"We are very grateful for everyone who has volunteered their time and talents to helping create this great event to help gather Shakespeare Orange County's 'One Big Family Under the Stars,'" said Walcutt. "Especially the stars!"

Here are brief bios of the You Can't Take it With You cast.

Rene Auberjonois made an early impact as Father Mulcahy in Robert Altman's M*A*S*H before appearing in Altman's cult classics Brewster McCloud and McCabe & Mrs. Miller and later The Patriot with Mel Gibson. He has been a regular on several long-running television programs including "Benson," "The Pirates of Dark Water," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," "Judging Amy" and "Boston Legal," and provided voice to many animated series. He won a Tony Award® in 1970 for Best Supporting or Featured Actor in a Musical for Coco and was nominated for Best Supporting/Featured Actor in 1974 for The Good Doctor and as Best Actor in a Featured Role in 1985 for Big River and again in 1990 for City of Angels.

Nicholas D'Agosto appears on "Masters of Sex." He made his film debut in Election, directed by Alexander Payne and co-starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon. His other television credits include "Heroes," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Gotham."

John de Lancie recently appeared in title role of the South Coast Repertory premiere of Mr. Wolf by Pulitzer Prize-winner Rajiv Joseph. He is remembered as "Q" in the "Star Trek" series, Colonel Frank Simmons in "Stargate SG-1" and Donald Margolis in "Breaking Bad." Other theater work includes the premiere of Alan Alda's Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie opposite "Breaking Bad" star Anna Gunn. The son of the Philadelphia Orchestra's longtime principal oboist, also named John de Lancie, he works extensively with major orchestras as a narrator, director and writer.

Seamus Dever, currently a regular on ABC's "Castle" as Detective Kevin Ryan, and has been in "Official Army Wives," "General Hospital" and "Mad Men," among others. His theater credits include 60 plays and musicals, several Ovation and Garland nominations, and an LA Drama Critics Circle Award for his portrayal of Alex in A Clockwork Orange.

Robert Hays starred as hapless Ted Striker in the historic disaster movie parody Airplane and its sequel. He began his career at The Old Globe in San Diego where he appeared onstage for eight seasons. Among his other credits are the TV series "Starman" and the film Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey. He was the voice of Iron Man in the 1990s series of the same name.

John Frederick Jones has graced stages from Maine to Alaska as an actor and director. Credits include The Grove Shakespeare, the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Center Stage and Alaska Rep. He teaches and directs at many universities and is a familiar face on TV, having appeared regularly on "General Hospital," "Babylon 5" and a refreshing "Got Milk" commercial.

Kurtwood Smith is joins the Shakespeare Orange County family for this even. The star of "That '70s Show" also appeared in the films RoboCop and Dead Poets Society with Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard and Ethan Hawke. He appeared in several Star Trek features and did voiceover work for many animated series and computer games. He won theatre's Drama-Logue Awards for Billy Budd, Idiot's Delight and Green Grow the Lilacs.

Joe Spano earned an Emmy nomination for his role on "Hill Street Blues," and has appeared in the films Apollo 13, Hollywoodland, Frost/Nixon, Primal Fear, and on television in "NYPD Blue," "The X-Files" and "NCIS." He is a champion of theatre, having helped cofound Berkeley Repertory Theatre and more recently earning LA Drama Critics Circle Awards for David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow and American Buffalo. He is a member the The Antaeus Company and has worked on Broadway, where he once shared the stage with Eli Wallach.

Trieu Tran has appeared in numerous theatrical productions, notably as Alan Strang in Equus with George Takei at East West Players, which earned him an LA Drama Critics Circle nomination and the title role in Oedipus The King in Portland, and The Legacy Codes at TheatreWorks. His film credits include the Ben Stiller comedy Tropic Thunder, Trade of Innocents, and Hancock with Will Smith, Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron. He is familiar to TV audiences for HBO's "The Newsroom," BBC's "Intruders" and "Men At Work" and "Malcolm in the Middle." He is also a familiar and much-appreciated face at SOC, having brought his autobiographical Uncle Ho To Uncle Sam to SOC last season in a concert version entitled Trieu Tran (Unplugged). He will return to the SOC stage in July as Romeo and again in September for an encore presentation of Unplugged.

Tamlyn Tomita manages to fit a second straight appearance at the SOC Gala into a busy schedule in Hollywood film and television. Her many credits include Joy Luck Club, Picture Bride, The Day After Tomorrow and The Karate Kid. Her TV work includes "Teen Wolf," "Resurrection" and "How to Get Away With Murder."

JoBeth Williams starred in Poltergeist, Poltergeist II and The Big Chill. She began her stage career as a company member with Trinity Repertory Company before moving to New York where she became a regular on "Guiding Light" and "Somerset." She is a three-time Emmy Award nominee and received a 1994 Academy Award nomination for her directorial debut, the short film On Hope. She recently appeared in Showtime's "Dexter" and NBC's "Private Practice."

Tickets, Information, and Social Media

Tickets begin at $25 and include the silent auction. A special "Dine with the Stars" VIP package, including pre-show dinner with the entire cast, is available for $500. Dinner is at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m.

The season, the second under Artistic Director John Walcutt, continues through October 30 with full productions of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It, Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, John Slade's acclaimed Walt Whitman Sings, an encore presentation of last season's sold-out hit Trieu Tran (Unplugged), a play reading and a new Friday Night Film Series.

To get more information on this event or the SOC 2015 Season email info@shakespeareoc.org or call 714-636-3729.

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