BWW Preview: Coachella Valley Repertory's Big Plans and its Upcoming Season

Coachella Valley Repertory (CVRep), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional theatre in Rancho Mirage that has been nominated for 29 Desert Theatre League star awards for the 2015-16 season, is the only theatre in the Coachella Valley that has union Small Professional Theatre status with Actors' Equity. It operates a conservatory and a children's program, as well as presents main stage productions clustered around a different theme each season. Broadway World recently spoke to Ron Celona, CVRep's founding and producing artistic director, about CVRep's plans for the 2016-17 season, and its longer term goal to build a new facility.

This summer, CVRep announced that it has obtained a two-year option to purchase the IMAX theater in Cathedral City, at the corner of Route 111 and Cathedral Canyon Boulevard. The organization plans to turn the property into a 200-seat, modern theatrical venue. In order to complete the purchase and renovation and build up a contingency reserve, Mr. Celona said CVRep needs to raise $6-million over the amount it must raise annually for operating expenses. CVRep's board has announced a capital campaign to obtain the necessary funding for the new facility.

The project's architect, John Sergio Fisher and Associates, has designed 300 theaters internationally. Mr. Celona said that he wants the new facility to be a high-end, "state of the art" playhouse, with an orchestra pit that can hold ten musicians.

CVRep's current stage, which is long and narrow, accommodates only certain types of productions. Mr. Celona mentioned that the company's brilliant set designer, Jimmy Cuomo, must currently overcome significant hurdles to accommodate large sets or choreography. "Imagine [what Mr. Cuomo will be able to do] with a full, huge stage," he said - specifically, a thrust stage that extends into what would be seating in a more traditionally configured theatre. Mr. Celona noted that the large stage will allow CVRep to mount new kinds of productions, and the building's construction for IMAX, with its high ceiling, will give ample space above the proscenium to hold scenery until it is needed. Two-story sets will also become feasible.

The capital campaign will launch in October, with a private event. The first public fundraiser will take place in November. The board members plan to host additional fundraisers each month. Mr. Celona said that the board members and staff members of CVRep have themselves already made contributions totaling half a million dollars. Regardless of the amount donors can give, they will have the opportunity to have something named in their honor, whether a brick, a seat, or the auditorium. Mr. Celona would ideally like to move into the new facility for the 2017-18 season, but if fundraising and construction take longer than that, the inaugural season will be 2018-19.

Meanwhile, CVRep has planned a season for 2016-17 that explores relationships in general and marriages in particular. "There's so much in it that excites me," Mr. Celona said. Although he would ordinarily direct all the main stage productions, this year, Mr. Celona feels that he must be available for matters relating to the building project. The highly regarded Luke Yankee will serve as guest director for the final show, and may also direct another.

CVRep is making other changes this season: It is extending each run from three weeks to four, and adding three Tuesday evening performances and an additional Saturday matinee for each play.

This season's offerings are:

ANNAPURNA
By Sharr White
October 26-November 20, 2016
After twenty years apart, Emma tracks Ulysses to a trailer park in the middle of nowhere, for a final reckoning. What unfolds is a visceral and profound meditation on love with the simplest of theatrical elements: two people in one room.

BABY
Music by David Shire, Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., Book by Sybille Pearson
January 18-February 12, 2017
Three couples on a university campus deal with the painful, rewarding and agonizingly funny consequences of the universal experience of pregnancy and upcoming parenthood: The college students, barely at the beginning of their adult lives; the thirty-somethings, having trouble conceiving but determined to try; and the middle aged parents, looking forward to seeing their last child graduate from college when they receive unexpected news about the results of their night of passion.

DISGRACED (Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama)
By Ayad Akhtar
March 8-April 2, 2017
Mr. Celona calls this play, which examines Islamophobia, "my edgiest and most challenging of the season," both for him and the actors, and for the audience. A successful Pakistani-American lawyer and his white wife host a dinner party for an intermarried Jewish-Black couple, and the gloves come off. There will be a talk back session following every performance.

LATER LIFE
By A.R. Gurney
April 26-May 21, 2017
Comically, and sometimes painfully, two people rediscover each other and themselves later in life while a bevy of free-spirited people rally behind them and remind them of the infinite possibilities that life holds.

To order, please call the Box Office 760-296-2966. (No online subscription sales at this time.)

Individual tickets go on sale September 6, 2016.

Evening Shows start at 7:30pm; Matinees (Sat. & Sun.) start at 2:00pm

SUBSCRIPTION PRICES (includes $2 per ticket handling fee)
3 Plays $141 4 Plays $188

*Preview Nights - 1st Wednesday (B1), 1st Thursday (C1)
3 Plays $126 4 Plays $168

** Opening Night 1st Friday (D1) - Play with Post-Performance Reception
3 Plays $171 4 Plays $228

A Flex Subscription gives you the subscription rate savings, but with the flexibility to choose your performances at a later date. Flex subscriptions are limited, so you can sign-up now to ensure you receive the subscription rate and book your dates after September 6, 2016.

The CVRep Web site is www.cvrep.org .

CVRep is located in The Atrium, at 69-930 Highway 111, Suite 116, in Rancho Mirage.

To contribute to the capital campaign, contact:
Andrea Spirtos, CFRE, Vice President of Development
(760) 296-2966 ext 107
aspirtos@cvrep.org

To contribute for annual operations, contact:
Barbara Wolser, Director of Development
(760) 296-2966 ext 103
barbara@cvrep.org

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