South Coast Rep to Present Zoe Kazan's TRUDY AND MAX IN LOVE, 1/5-26

Love in the modern world doesn't have an "easy button;" it's complicated and sometimes not very convenient. Take a look at one contemporary and very complex relationship in the next production at South Coast Repertory: Trudy and Max in Love by Zoe Kazan The show runs Jan. 5-26, 2014, on the Julianne Argyros Stage. Lila Neugebauer directs. Tickets are available online: www.scr.org.

Smart, insightful and funny, the story follows Max, a celebrity novelist, who is single, and Trudy, who is working on a new novel, and is happily married. They meet in a writer's room and form a fast friendship that leads to a complicated affair. The play explores the question of whether it's possible to love two people completely.

Director Neugebauer says Trudy and Max in Love is "disarmingly credible, intelligent and honest." She sees it as an adult coming-of-age story about two individuals who are innocent and damaged, who endure loss, but grow.

"It's a play about how love changes us," Neugebauer said. "How our idea of love changes so that we can evolve."

SCR commissioned Trudy and Max from Zoe Kazan, who is part of a legendary family that includes film and stage director Elia Kazan (her grandfather), and stage and screenwriters Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord (her parents).

Kazan also is known as an actor, playwright and screenwriter, including her hit indie movie Ruby Sparks. As an actress, she has appeared on Broadway, in the films Ruby Sparks, Revolutionary Road and It's Complicated and on television in the series "Bored to Death."

SCR Artistic Director Marc Masterson produced an earlier Kazan play prior to his tenure at South Coast Repertory. He finds her work to be creative and compelling.

"Trudy and Max in Love has a lot of her in it," Masterson said. "She's writing truthfully about herself and her generation. This is a love story for Zoe's generation."

The cast for Trudy and Max in Love includes Aya Cash, Celeste Den, Tate Ellington and Alfredo Narciso.

The design and creative team includes Laura Jelinek, scenic design; Melanie Watnick, costume design; Lap-Chi Chu, lighting design; Cricket Myers sound design; Jackie Hill, production manager; and Kathryn Davies, stage manager.

Trudy and Max in Love is generously supported by Honorary Producers Pam and Jim Muzzy.

Tickets start at $22. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, fulltime educators, seniors and groups of 10 or more. For complete information, visit: www.scr.org. Tickets may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances run Jan. 5-26. Ticket prices start at $22. Low-priced preview performances run Jan. 5-9, 2014.

Previews: Sunday, Jan. 5, at 2 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday, Jan. 7-9, 7:45 p.m. Note: Friday, Jan. 10, is an invitation-only performance. Regular performances (Special notes: There are no Monday performances. There is no evening performance on Sunday, Jan. 26.) Evenings: Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 11-12, at 7:45 p.m.; Tuesday-Sunday, Jan. 14-19, 7:45 p.m.; Tuesday-Saturday, Jan. 21-25, at 7:45 p.m. Matinees: Saturdays-Sundays, Jan. 11-12, Jan. 18-19 and Jan. 25-26, at 2 p.m. ASL-interpreted: Saturday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m.

Special Events:

· Post-Show Discussions: Tuesday, Jan. 14, and Wednesday, Jan. 15. Discuss the play with cast members of Trudy and Max in Love during free post-show discussions led by South Coast Repertory's literary team. Segerstrom Stage.

· Inside the Season: Saturday, Jan. 18, from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Led by members of SCR's literary staff, this lively two-hour session features in-depth interviews with cast members and artists from SCR's production staff, revealing secrets and offering insights into SCR's production of Trudy and Max in Love. The event includes a guided tour of the set. Segerstrom Stage. Tickets are $12 and may be purchased in advance or at the door.

Location: South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Folino Theatre Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available on Park Center Drive, off Anton Blvd.

Current and Upcoming Productions: A Christmas Carol, through Dec. 26; The Light in the Piazza, Jan. 24-Feb. 23; James and the Giant Peach (Theatre for Young Audiences), Feb. 7-23; Reunion, March 9-30; Rest, March 28-April 27; TBA (world premiere), April 13-May 4; Pacific Playwrights Festival, April 25-27; Tartuffe, May 9-June 8; and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Odd Tales (Theatre for Young Audiences), May 23-June 8. More information is available online: www.scr.org.

ABOUT South Coast Repertory: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is celebrating its 50th Season. Now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, SCR is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theatres in the United States. SCR is committed to theatre that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but through its wide array of education and outreach programs. While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theatre, SCR is renowned for its extensive new-play development program, which includes the nation's largest commissioning program for emerging and established writers and composers. Each year, it showcases some of country's best new plays in the Pacific Playwrights Festival, which attracts theatre professionals from across the country. Of SCR's more than 460 productions, one-quarter have been world premieres, whose subsequent stagings achieved enormous success throughout America and around the world. Two SCR-developed works have won Pulitzer Prizes, and another eight were named Pulitzer finalists. In addition, SCR works have won several Obie Awards and scores of major new-play awards. Located in Costa Mesa, California, SCR's Folino Theatre Center is home to the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio. Today, SCR produces 13 shows and eight public readings each season. More information is available at www.scr.org.