ANW Presents GREAT EXPECTATIONS, Through 12/19

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, offers a special choice for family holiday entertainment with Charles Dickens' thrilling GREAT EXPECTATIONS, hailed by critics who describe it as "inventive," "captivating," "theatrical wizardry," and "classic theatre at its best."  The production, which is the West Coast premiere of a powerful stage adaptation by Neil Bartlett, plays through Sunday, December 19, 2010, with performances on Sunday, November 21, 2pm; Sunday, November 21, 7 pm; Saturday, November 27, 2pm; Saturday, November 27, 8pm; Thursday, December 9, 8pm; Friday, December 10, 8pm; Saturday, December 18, 2pm; Saturday, December 18, 8pm; Sunday, December 19, 2pm; and Sunday, December 19, 7pm.  Special rates for groups (10 or more) and school groups are available.
 
ANW Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott co-direct the play, which features original music by noted composer Doug Newell.  Great Expectations is the story of Pip, orphaned as an infant and thrust into a childhood of cruel poverty, who clings to the hope of a brighter life.  On a rain-swept winter's eve, great tidings arrive: an anonymous benefactor has anointed Pip heir to a tremendous fortune, setting into motion a life's journey ripe with wonder, heartbreak and finally triumph.  Great Expectations' timelessness has spawned numerous films, including several silent movies and a 1998 motion picture starring Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow, and its universality was demonstrated in 2000 when the Pip character was parodied on an episode of the irreverent television show South Park.
 
To enhance the theatre-going experience, A Noise Within offers comprehensive study guides for every production, each with a synopsis, director's notes, general theatre lore, links to other resources and detailed information about the playwright, characters, setting, period, costumes, scenic design, music and more.  The Great Expectations Study Guide along with those for previous A Noise Within productions are available on-line at http://www.anoisewithin.org/education_studyguides.html. 
 
A Noise Within (ANW) is the only year-round classical repertory company in Southern California and one of only a handful in the entire country dedicated solely to producing classical dramatic literature in the repertory tradition of rotating productions with a resident company of professional artists.  Led by Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, A Noise Within has been hailed by critics as "adventurous," "compelling and current," "ingenuity at work," "a bona fide class act," and "what great theatre is all about."  Founded 19 seasons ago, ANW quickly established itself as one of the region's key theatre companies, attracting fiercely loyal audiences and consistently high praise from the media for its productions and as a leading force in arts education.  The company has presented more than 120 plays from the classics of world literature, each season producing works from authors ranging from Shakespeare and Molière to Ibsen, O'Neill and Shaw to Miller and Williams.  ANW's consistent dedication to quality has been rewarded with more than two dozen Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards as well as numerous LA Weekly and Backstage Garland awards.  A Noise Within's next chapter provides the long-awaited opportunity to sink deep and lasting roots when the company moves in 2011 from its long-time base in Glendale to a spectacular, permanent home in a Pasadena mixed-use development at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue.  The facility, hailed as an anchor in East Pasadena's arts growth, is designed to broaden A Noise Within's artistic possibilities, offer a greater scope of educational opportunities, meet ticket demand and allow the company to expand its role as a leader in the presentation and preservation of classical theatre.
 
Single Tickets are $46 (Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday matinees); $42 (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, Saturday matinees); and $32 (previews).  Groups (10 or more) are $25, or $30 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees; School Groups (10 or more) are $16, or $20 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees. 
 
A NOISE WITHIN is located at 234 South Brand Boulevard, Glendale, CA 91204.  To purchase tickets or for a full season brochure, call 818-240-0910 x1 or visit www.ANoiseWithin.org.