Jules Aaron To Direct PRIVATE LIVES at GTC Burbank

New dates and a director have been announced for Table for Two's Production of Noël Coward's classic comedy Private Lives at GTC Burbank.

Previews for Private Lives will now start on Thursday, February 16, 2012. Opening night is set for Saturday, February 18. The production will run through March 25. The show was originally scheduled to start previews February 2 and run through March 11.

The new dates were announced to accommodate the schedule of award-winning director Jules Aaron, who has signed on to direct Private Lives. Aaron most recently directed Michael Learned in Southern Comforts at International City Theatre and at Garry Marshall's Falcon Theatre.

"I'm thrilled that Jules has made time in his very busy schedule to direct our production of Private Lives," says Christopher Trela, co-founder of Table for Two productions and co-producer of Private Lives. "I've seen many of the shows he's directed over the past 20 years, and have always admired his classic yet modern style, which is perfect for Coward's witty script."

Private Lives follows the saga of perpetually dueling lovers Amanda and Elyot, two divorcees who unwittingly book adjoining rooms while honeymooning with their new spouses. They soon realize the folly of their new marriages and impulsively flee together to Paris, only to be caught days later by their jilted spouses. This stylish, savvy and still-timely comedy is loaded with pointed barbs about modern romance and the people we can't live with-or without.

Written in 1930, the original London production of Private Lives starred Noël Coward, Gertrude Lawrence, Adrianne Allen and Laurence Olivier. A Broadway production followed in 1931. The play has been revived several times on Broadway (including a memorable 1983 production that starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton), and has been produced in theaters around the world.

"This professional production of Private Lives is the first time in 10 years that the play has been staged in the Los Angeles/Burbank area," notes Stasha Surdyke, co-founder of Table for Two Productions and Producer of Private Lives. "Another production of Private Lives is currently running on Broadway, but local audiences can enjoy our version without making the trek to the Big Apple."

Tickets are $24.50 - $34.50 per person, and go on sale in mid January. A limited number of VIP packages will be available. For more details, visit www.Table4Two-PrivateLives.com.

ABOUT Jules Aaron
Jules Aaron has directed more than 250 productions, including over seventy-five World Premieres. He has worked at The Public Theatre (New York), South Coast Repertory, Actors Theatre of Louisville (Humana Festival), the Pasadena Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Utah Shakespearean Festival, McCoy/Rigby Entertainment at La Mirada Theatre of the Performing Arts, International City Theatre, Colony Theatre, Hudson Theatre, Odyssey Theatre, Victory Theatre, and many others.

Among the many notable actors Jules has directed are Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Bruce Davison, Carrie Snodgress, Zelda Rubinstein, Greg Itzin, Sam Anderson, Mercedes Ruehl, Lee Meriwether, Jeff Demun, Ralph Waite, Marian Mercer, and Michael Learned. He has received 20 Drama-Logue awards, three Garland Awards, and an LA Drama Critics Circle award (with several nominations). He was also named Special Chair at UC Davis.

Jules has most recently directed the acclaimed production of Southern Comforts with Michael Learned at International City Theatre and at Garry Marshall's Falcon Theatre. He will be directing the West Coast premiere of "The Paris Letter" for Group Repertory, and is currently back and forth to New York as the Book Writer of Yes I Can, a Broadway musical based on the Life of Sammy Davis Jr. scheduled to open in New York the Fall of 2012.

Jules has a Ph.D. in Dramaturgy, Theatre History and Criticism from NYU. He has Been Artistic Director of the Unit Theatre (in N.Y. and L.A.), as well as Artistic Director at Grove Shakespeare Theatre. He was Head of the M.A. program at UC Riverside and Head of the MFA Directing Program at California institute of the Arts for 17 years. He is now on the Adjunct Faculty at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

ABOUT TABLE FOR TWO PRODUCTIONS
Table for Two Productions was founded by Stasha Surdyke and Christopher Trela to create and host theatrical & culinary fundraising events for arts organizations, as well as present professionally produced plays in venues throughout Southern California. Christopher and Stasha co-write the Table for Two dining column in the Newport Beach Independent, and they are the co-editors of Coastal Food and Wine, a website devoted to covering epicurean experiences along the coast of So Cal.

Producer Stasha Surdyke is an Ovation-nominated actress who has appeared in numerous commercials, films, television shows and theatrical productions throughout Southern California. A graduate of University of Washington's School of Drama, she was one of eighteen students accepted into the school's prestigious two-year Suzuki program and received her BA in Drama and a minor in Communications from UW. Stasha is a proud member of Actor's Equity and Screen Actors Guild.

She was nominated for a 2011 Women in Business Award by the Orange County Business Journal for successfully launching Coastal Food and Wine, a print/web/social media-based publishing business. She is a member of the Southern California Restaurant Writers Association, Orange County Press Club, and the Noël Coward Society.

Stasha oversees media relations and other creative services for the boutique PR agency, ArtsPR. Stasha designed the press kit for Laguna Playhouse's production of The Second City: Can You Be More Pacific? which won a Public Relations Society 2011 PROTOS Award of Excellence.

Twice nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year by the Orange County Business Journal, Christopher Trela is the owner and president of ArtsPR, a boutique PR agency that specializes in public relations services for arts organizations. Current clients include The Laguna Playhouse, Irvine Barclay Theatre, Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Festival Ballet Theatre, Chance Theater, The Queen's Gallery/MUZEO, Costa Mesa Playhouse, Young Singers of OC, and Classical Mystery Tour (a Beatles tribute band that performs with orchestras around the world). Christopher is also the founder of New Voices Playwrights Workshop, and has written plays that have been produced at venues throughout Orange County, Los Angeles and New York. 

Christopher is President of the Orange County Press Club, serves as an Arts Commissioner for the City of Newport Beach, and is an Adjunct Professor of Public Relations at Chapman University. Christopher is a member of the Public Relations Society of America.

ABOUT GTC BURBANK
Nestled in the George Izay Park in Central Burbank, GTC Burbank's venue is an attractive, comfortable and intimate theater. This 98-seat state-of-the-art theater offers seats that are never more the 30 feet from the stage. GTC Burbank is located at 1111-B West Olive Ave, Burbank CA, 91506. Private Lives is a Guest Production at GTC Burbank. For more information on GTC Burbank, go to www.gtc.org.

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