The Chance Theater Announces 2010 Lineup

Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen and Managing Director Casey Long are pleased to announce Chance Theater's 2010 Season.

The four-play Mainstage Series and two-play Holiday Series comprise the award-winning intimate theater's 12th year of presenting dynamic theatrical productions in Orange County. The season includes exciting premieres, Tony Award-winning musicals and dramas, and the third installment of Chance Theater's family literature series.

Launching the Mainstage series is Stephen Sondheim's musical Merrily We Roll Along (January 29 - March 7), followed by the Southern California premiere of Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter by Julie Marie Myatt (April 16 - May 16). Our TBA Broadway Musical (which will be officially announced on March 1, 2010) runs July 2 - August 8, while the Orange County premiere of Edward Albee's Tony Award-winning play The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? will close the Mainstage series (September 24 - October 24).

The Holiday series consists of the Chance favorite The Eight: Reindeer Monologues (seventh anniversary production) and a musical version of The Secret Garden (third installment of the Chance Theater's literature series).

"I think this season is one of the most exciting in our 12-year history," says Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen. "The Orange County premiere of Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, two intimate stagings of award-winning Broadway musicals, and the Southern California premiere of one of Julie Marie Myatt's newest show - Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter - make for an exhilarating and diverse line-up that audiences have come to expect from the Chance."

Nguyen recently worked with Myatt on the staged reading and fully staged productions of The Happy Ones at South Coast Repertory, and it was through this working relationship that Myatt decided to grant the Jenny Sutter rights to the Chance. "I really enjoyed collaborating with Julie on Happy Ones, and our entire company is excited about tackling a fresh script from one of the country's hottest new playwrights, and one that is so relevant in today's tumultuous culture," noted Nguyen.

These six productions are just the start of the expansive list of events that will be produced by the theater's six person-staff, 30-member resident company of artists, and core group of volunteers.

"We have plans to bring in new performers for our guest artist series, another benefit concert, as well as many other special events," says Managing Director Casey Long. "More information will be posted on our website throughout the year."

Mainstage Series

JANUARY 29 - MARCH 7, 2010
Merrily We Roll Along
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth

The authors of the landmark Company reunite to turn the traditional showbiz musical on its head in this thrilling and compelling musical fable about friendship, compromise and the high price of success. Merrily We Roll Along begins in the present and moves backwards, tracing the lives of wealthy, jaded composer Franklin Shepard and his two estranged friends through each milestone of their personal and professional lives.

"One of America's musical classics" -- New York Time

APRIL 16 - MAY 16, 2010
Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter
By Julie Marie Myatt
Southern California Premiere!

A present-day story of personal recovery and acceptance. Upon her return from a difficult tour of duty in Iraq, wounded Marine Sergeant Jenny Sutter finds herself lost in the California desert, without the body and mind she once knew. The eccentric inhabitants of a makeshift community give her the homecoming she needs before returning to her previous life.

"Powerful drama...with graceful sensitivity" -- San Francisco Chronicle

JULY 2 - AUGUST 8, 2010
TBA: Broadway Musical
Tony Award Winner!

We can't announce our exciting Broadway musical until March 2010 because it is currently touring the country, but we can tell you it spells F-U-N! Don't miss another Chance intimate reimagining of a large Broadway musical in the tradition of our popular stagings of HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, Evita, Assassins, Sunday in the Park with George, Into The Woods, and Cabaret.

SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 24, 2010
The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?
by Edward Albee
Orange County Premiere

Tony & Drama Desk Award-Winning black comedy/drama by Edward Albee, concerning an architect who - in the same week that he receives an international prize, wins a lucrative contract, and celebrates his 50th birthday - is forced to confess to his wife and son that he's involved in a love affair that may destroy his life.

"Unquestionably one of the wittiest and funniest plays Albee has ever written." -- New York Times

Holiday Series

NOVEMBER 19 - DECEMBER 23, 2010
The Secret Garden, The Musical
Book by Marsha Norman
Music and Lyrics by Lucy Simon

This enchanting classic of children's literature is now a brilliant musical by a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright. Orphaned in India, an 11 year old girl returns to Yorkshire to live with an embittered, reclusive uncle and his invalid son. Her own personality blossoms as she and a young gardener bring new life to a neglected garden. This Tony Award winner is a treasure for children and adults alike.

"Elegant, entrancing...The best American musical of the Broadway season." - TIME Magazine

NOVEMBER 24 - DECEMBER 19, 2010
The Eight: Reindeer Monologues
by Jeff Goode

A Chance Un-Holiday Tradition - Back for its 7th year, because our favorite team of reindeer still have plenty to say. Accusations, rumors and all-out attacks are flying fast and furious around Santa's toyshop this holiday season. Go behind the tinsel and hear the truth about Santa straight from the eight reindeer who know him best. When a doe says "No", she means "No Way, Sucka!"

"Coarse, crude, vulgar and sidesplitting" - Orange County Register

Tickets & Contact Info

Single ticket prices range from $22-45. Season subscriptions are also available. Visit the website for details at www.chancetheater.com.
Casting and creative teams are announced as they become available.

The Chance Theater
5552 E. La Palma Ave
Anaheim Hills, CA 92807
www.chancetheater.com
Box Office: (714) 777-3033

About The Chance Theater

Recently nominated for six Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Awards (including Best Season), and named "Outstanding Arts Organization" for the second time in five years by Arts Orange County, the Chance is proud to be one of the leading ensemble based theatre companies in Southern California. Voted "Best Theater Group" by MyFoxLA for two years in a row and "Best Small Theater" by Orange Coast Magazine, the Chance is a recipient of the 2007 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle's (LADCC) Polly Warfield Award for Excellence. Founded in 1999, the Chance Theater's mission has always been to intimately present personally meaningful, uniquely engaging stories that promote dialogue within our community and provide a visceral experience for theatergoers. As a constituent member of Theater Communications Group (TCG), Network of Ensemble Theaters (NET), and the Los Angeles Stage Alliance (LASA), the Chance continues to bring national attention to the Southern California and Orange County theater scene through its recent achievements, which includes a 2006 GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Los Angeles Theater.

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