Sullivan Directs 'Lear' As Part of SCR's 45th Season

King Lear will crown South Coast Repertory's 45th season under the direction of Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan.  The 2008-2009 season kicks off with the World Premiere of An Italian Straw Hat, an SCR-commissioned musical by John Strand and Dennis McCarthy, and dead man's cell phone, the acclaimed new play by Sarah Ruhl.  The season also includes SCR-commissioned World Premieres by Amy Freed, Lauren Gunderson and John Kolvenbach, and two classics, The Heiress and Noises Off.  Tickets to South Coast Repertory's 2008-2009 Argyros, Segerstrom and Theatre for Young Audiences Seasons are currently available by subscription only and range from $42 to $495.  Single tickets will be available to the public on August 11.  Subscription packages may be purchased by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.  For additional information, visit www.scr.org.

The complete 2008-2009 season is as follows:

An Italian Straw Hat by John Strand and Dennis McCarthy (Sept. 5 – Oct. 5)
Segerstrom Stage.
Emmy Award-winning composer Dennis McCarthy ("Star Trek") teams up with Charles MacArthur prize winner John Strand (Tom Walker, Lovers and Executioners) and director Stefan Novinski for the World Premiere of a rollicking new musical based on the classic farce by Eugene Labiche.  Novinksi helmed the current season's hit production of A Little Night Music.  An Italian Straw Hat was presented as a staged reading at the 2007 Pacific Playwrights Festival, directed by Novinski.

dead man's cell phone by Sarah Ruhl (Sept. 21 – Oct. 12) Julianne Argyros Stage.
After playing to sold-out houses in New York this season, SCR presents Sarah Ruhl's fantastical play about a woman who answers a mysterious cell phone.  Ruhl returns to SCR following the West Coast Premiere of A Clean House which also enjoyed a New York run and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.  Bart DeLorenzo (Shipwrecked! An Entertainment) directs.

The Heiress by Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz (Oct. 17 – Nov. 16) Segerstrom Stage.
SCR Artistic Director Martin Benson stages the classic play about a widower and his daughter in 1850's New York.  Loosely based on the Henry James novel Washington Square, The Heiress is a psychological drama of love, innocence and betrayal.

 
You, Nero by Amy Freed (Jan. 4 – 25) Julianne Argyros Stage.
The World Premiere of Pulitzer Prize nominee Amy Freed's new comedy about the infamous Roman emperor who decides to commission a play that could be the Colosseum's biggest hit ever – if its hapless author lives to tell the tale.  Commissioned by SCR, You, Nero was directed by Sharon Ott as a staged reading at this season's Pacific Playwrights Festival.  Freed's plays include the SCR commissions The Beard of Avon, Safe in Hell and Freedomland.  Ott returns to direct.

Noises Off by Michael Frayn (Feb. 6 – March 8) Segerstrom Stage.
Michael Frayn's irresistible comedic masterpiece follows the on and off stage antics of an inept acting troupe as they stumble from bumbling dress rehearsal to disastrous closing night.  Noises Off is widely recognized as the most ingenious and hilarious back stage farce ever written.  Warner Shook (The Importance of Being Earnest, Born Yesterday) directs.

Goldfish by John Kolvenbach (March 15 – April 5) Julianne Argyros Stage.
From Chicago to New York to London, John Kolvenbach is one of today's most sought-after playwrights.  An SCR-commissioned World Premiere, Kolvenbach's bittersweet comedy about love lost and found received a staged reading at this year's Pacific Playwrights Festival under the direction of Loretta Greco.  Greco, recently appointed as San Francisco's Magic Theatre's artistic director, returns to direct.

(To Be Announced) (April 3 – May 3) Segerstrom Stage.
A World Premiere production will debut as part of the 2009 Pacific Playwrights Festival.

Emilie – The Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life at the Petit Théâtre at Cirey Tonight by Lauren Gunderson (April 19 – May 10) Julianne Argyros Stage.
This highly theatrical rediscovery of one of history's most interesting women – the 18th century Parisian Emilie du Châtelet – and her lifelong affair with the Enlightenment superstar Voltaire was presented as a staged reading at this season's Pacific Playwright's Festival.  Kate Whoriskey (The Piano Teacher, Life is a Dream, The Clean House) directed the reading and will also stage the full production.

King Lear by William Shakespeare (May 15 – June 14) Segerstrom Stage.
Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan returns to SCR to direct Shakespeare's soaring masterpiece.  Hamlet, Sullivan's previous production at SCR, was a major theatrical event in Southern California.

The 2008-2009 Season will also include the holiday favorites, A Christmas Carol and La Posada Mágica (The Magical Journey).  A Christmas Carol will be presented on the Segerstrom Stage Nov. 29 through Dec. 27.  La Posada Mágica, celebrating its 15th season, will be presented on the Julianne Argyros Stage Dec. 11 – 23.

SCR's Theatre for Young Audiences season features three lively and colorful productions for the entire family.  All performances take place on the Julianne Argyros Stage.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing based on the book by Judy Blume, adapted for the stage by Bruce Mason (Nov. 7 – 23).
 Judy Blume's enormously popular book hits the stage with hilarity, and sibling rivalry has never been so much fun.  Jessica Kubzansky directs.

A Year with Frog and Toad music by Robert Reale, book and lyrics by Willie Reale, based on the books by Arnold Lobel (Feb. 13 – March 1).
 Nominated for three Tony Awards including Best Musical, A Year with Frog and Toad is a song-filled year in the life of two charming woodland characters and their friends that Variety declared "delights young eyes and minds."  Nick DeGruccio directs.

The Brand New Kid based on the children's book "The Brand New Kid" by Katie Couric, music by Michael Friedman, book by Melanie Marnich, lyrics by Michael Friedman and Melanie Marnich (May 29 – June 14).  Adapted from CBS anchor Katie Couric's popular children's book, The Brand New Kid is an upbeat new musical about friendship and tolerance.  Shelley Butler (James and the Giant Peach, Charlotte's Web) directs.

The Pacific Playwrights Festival is one of the preeminent festivals of new plays in the United States.  The 12th Annual Festival will take place May 1 – 3 and will feature seven new plays over three days.

SCR's 2008-2009 NewSCRipts Season consists of Monday evening readings of plays by emerging and established writers.  Past NewSCRipts play selections have included Three Days of Rain by Richard Greenberg, Sight Unseen by Donald Margulies and Wit by Margaret Edson.

All selections are subject to change.

Season subscriptions can be purchased by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa.  Subscriptions to SCR's complete season of nine plays range from $279 to $495.  Segerstrom Season subscriptions (5 plays) range from $155 to $275 and Julianne Argyros Season subscriptions (4 plays) $124 to $220.  Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, educators, seniors and new patrons under 35 years of age.  Theatre for Young Audience subscriptions consist of three plays and range from $42 to $78.  NewSCRipts subscriptions to four Monday night readings and a special subscriber choice reading at the Pacific Playwrights Festival are $40.

SINGLE TICKETS go on sale August 11.

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 off Anton Blvd. on Park Center Drive.

Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, under the artistic direction of David Emmes and Martin Benson, is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theaters in the United States.  Founded in 1964, SCR is committed to theater that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but through its education and outreach programs.  While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theater, SCR is renowned for its extensive new play development program, including the Pacific Playwrights Festival.  Of SCR's more than 425 productions, 108 have been World Premieres with subsequent stagings achieving enormous success across America and around the world.  SCR-developed works have garnered eight Pulitzer Prize nominations with Margaret Edson's Wit winning the prize in 1999 and David Lindsay-Abaire's Rabbit Hole in 2007.  Located in Costa Mesa, California, in 2002 SCR opened the Folino Theater Center, an expanded three-theater complex that includes the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio.

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