South Coast Repertory's Artistic Directors, David Emmes and Martin Benson, today announced the cast and creative team for the World Premiere of Richard Greenberg's Our Mother's Brief Affair, about two adult siblings who reunite to tend to their elderly mother and their astonishment to learn about her long-ago love affair. Commissioned by SCR and directed by Pam MacKinnon, Our Mother's Brief Affair will run from April 3 through May 3 on the Segerstrom Stage. Low-priced previews are available from April 3 through April 9. Opening night is April 10. Press night is Saturday, April 11 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to Our Mother's Brief Affair may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.
South Coast Repertory's 12th annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF) will shine the spotlight on seven new plays written by America's finest writers. Since its creation in 1998, PPF has grown into one of the most important festivals of new scripts in the United States. This year's Festival will take place during the May 1 through May 3 weekend and will feature five staged readings and two fully-produced World Premieres on South Coast Repertory's Segerstrom and Julianne Argryos Stages. Tickets to PPF may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.
Washington Irving classics include The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but he wrote other scary stories. Fans of the most ghostly ones will have a chance to see them brought to life when South Coast Repertory's Junior Players present Gold in the Bones - Three Haunted Pirate Tales by Washington Irving, adaped by Eric Coble, in the Nicholas Studio March 28-29 and April 4-5.SCR's
South Coast Repertory today announced the cast and creative team for the World Premiere of Goldfish, a life-affirming comedy about love lost and found written by John Kolvenbach. Commissioned by SCR and directed by Loretta Greco, Goldfish will run from March 15 through April 5, 2009 on the Julianne Argyros Stage. Low-priced previews are available from March 15 through March 19. Opening night is March 20. Press night is Saturday, March 21 at 7:45 p.m. Tickets to Goldfish may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.
South Coast Repertory?s final NewSCRipts reading of the 2008-09 season will be The Happy Ones by Julie Marie Myatt. Directed by Oanh Nguyen and commissioned by SCR, The Happy Ones is the 108th play to receive a staged reading as part of SCR?s venerable play reading program. Myatt?s My Wandering Boy received its World Premiere production at SCR in 2007 as part of the Pacific Playwrights Festival. The NewSCRipts reading of The Happy Ones will take place on March 2 at 7:30 p.m. on the Julianne Argyros Stage. Tickets are $12 each and may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.
South Coast Repertory will revive the musical play Indian Summer, one of the theatre's most popular Educational Touring Productions, for travel to Southland elementary schools Jan. 21 - April 4, 2009. There will be a free public performance at SCR on Jan. 26.
Set in the mid-19th century, Indian Summer is based on the true story of a young boy who grows up with a Native American tribe. The play directly supports California K-6 State Frameworks for History-Social Science, English-Language Arts and Visual and Performing Arts.
John-David Keller directs the show written by Richard Hellesen with music and lyrics by Michael Silversher. Indian Summer features Matt Bartosch, Daniel Behnke, Eagle Young and Ellen D. Williams. Bartosch and Behnke are recent graduates of SCR's Professional Intensive Program. Sets and costumes are designed by Angela Balogh Calin. Kathleen Allison is stage manager.
For over 40 years, SCR's Educational Touring Production has introduced children to theater by commissioning original musical plays which deal with important issues and making them available to Southern California elementary schools during the winter and spring. The tour reaches nearly 35,000 school children each year. Some of them will be experiencing live theater for the first time. Others will discover that their parents (or even their grandparents) saw the show when they were in elementary school.
South Coast Repertory today announced the cast and creative team for Michael Frayn's ingenious comedic masterpiece, Noises Off. Directed by Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award winner Art Manke, Noises Off will run from Feb. 6 through March 8 on the Segerstrom Stage. Low-priced previews are available from Feb. 6 through Feb. 12. Opening night is Feb. 13. Press night is Saturday, Feb. 14 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to Noises Off may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.
Noises Off follows the on-and off-stage antics of an inept acting troupe as they stumble from bumbling dress rehearsal to disastrous closing night. Everything that can go wrong does, as actors desperately try to hang on to their lines, their performances and the furniture. Add a slippery plate of sardines and many slamming doors, and you have the most hilarious backstage farce ever written.
Art Manke received his fifth Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for directing SCR's West Coast premiere of Bach at Leipzig in 2006. Other work with SCR includes last season's Taking Steps, the world premiere musical version of The Wind in the Willows and choreography for numerous productions. Elsewhere in Southern California, Manke has directed The Constant Wife, Private Lives and the American premiere of Noel Coward's Star Quality for Pasadena Playhouse and the world premiere of The Ice-Breaker at Laguna Playhouse. Manke was a co-founder and artistic director (1991-2001) of A Noise Within where he directed the works of Shakespeare, Moli?re, Wilde, Coward and Sophocles. Other credits include work with Denver Center Theatre Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Old Globe Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, American Players Theatre, among others.
The cast features Nancy Bell (Belinda Blair), Bill Brochtrup (Garry Lejeune), Kandis Chappell (Dotty Otley), Winslow Corbett (Poppy Norton-Taylor), Kaleo Griffith (Lloyd Dallas), Brian Hostenske (Tim Allgood), Timothy Landfield (Frederick Fellows), Jennifer Lyon (Brooke Ashton) and Nick Ullett (Selsdon Mowbray).
The creative team for Noises Off includes John Iacvelli (Set Design), Angela Balogh Calin (Costume Design), York Kennedy (Lighting Design), Vincent Olivieri (Sound Design), Ken Merckx (Movement Consultant), David Newell (Dialect Coach), Linda Sullivan Baity (Dramaturg) and Jamie Tucker (Stage Manager).
Dee and Larry Higby are the Honorary Producers of Noises Off. OC Metro is the Media Partner.
Associated events taking place during the run of Noises Off include:
POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS Wednesday, Feb. 18 & Tuesday, Feb. 24
Discuss the play with members of the Noises Off cast during free post-show discussions led by South Coast Repertory's literary team after the 7:30 p.m. performances on Feb. 18 and Feb. 24.
INSIDE THE SEASON: Noises Off Saturday, Feb. 21, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. $12
Inside the Season is a series of interactive classes that provide a comprehensive inside look at the theatrical production process. Each two-hour class is led by School and Community Programs Director Linda Sullivan Baity and features creative personnel from South Coast Repertory's current production. Tickets are $12 each and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at (714) 708-5555. (Tickets to Noises Off are sold separately.)
TICKETS to Noises Off can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances begin on Feb. 6 and continue through March 8. Ticket prices range from $20 to $64. Low-priced preview performances are available from Feb. 6 to Feb. 12. Performance times: Previews: Friday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, Feb. 7 at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 8, Tuesday, Feb. 10 and Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m.; and Thursday, Feb. 12 at 8:00pm. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m.; and Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, educators, seniors and groups of 15 or more. There will be a 'Pay-What-You-Will' performance on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2:30 p.m. ($10 Minimum) and an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, March 7 at 2:30 p.m.
?GAYTINO!, written and performed by Dan Guerrero, will have its Off-Broadway premiere at the Zipper Factory Theater for two nights only: Saturday, January 10th (8pm) and Sunday, January 11th (7pm). Diane Rodriguez directs what the Washington Post called 'a disarming twist on the triumph-of-the-human-spirit theme.' Tickets can be purchased at www.thezipperfactory.com or at the box office 1 hour before each performance. For more information, visit http://www.gaytino.com.
South Coast Repertory starts off the New Year with the World Premiere of You, Nero, a comedy by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Freed. Commissioned by SCR, You, Nero imagines a meeting during the declining years of the Roman Empire between Scribonius, a put-upon playwright, and Emperor Nero, the all-powerful, narcissistic arbiter of art. The Roman romp stars Danny Scheie as Nero and John Vickery as Scribonius. Produced in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre and directed by Sharon Ott,You, Nero will run from Jan. 4 through Jan. 25, 2009 on the Julianne Argyros Stage. Low-priced previews are available from Jan. 4 through Jan. 8. Opening night is Jan. 9. Press night is Saturday, Jan. 10 at 7:45 p.m. Tickets to You, Nero may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.
?GAYTINO!, written and performed by Dan Guerrero, will have its Off-Broadway premiere at the Zipper Factory Theater for two nights only: Saturday, January 10th (8pm) and Sunday, January 11th (7pm). Diane Rodriguez directs what the Washington Post called 'a disarming twist on the triumph-of-the-human-spirit theme.' Tickets can be purchased at www.thezipperfactory.com or at the box office 1 hour before each performance. For more information, visit http://www.gaytino.com.
JANUARY - APRIL 2009
JANUARY
January 4 - 25 ● Julianne Argyros Stage ● World Premiere
YOU, NERO
By Amy Freed
Directed by Sharon Ott
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 is directed by Sharon Ott
who directed the staged reading at the 2008 Pacific Playwrights Festival. Freed's plays include the
SCR commissions The Beard of Avon, Safe in Hell and Freedomland.
Previews Jan. 4-8, opens Jan. 9, closes Jan. 25.
Tickets: $20-$64 (Previews $20-$45, Regular Run $28-$64) See last page for performance
schedule.
South Coast Repertory starts off the New Year with the World Premiere of You, Nero, a comedy by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Freed. Commissioned by SCR, You, Nero imagines a meeting during the declining years of the Roman Empire between Scribonius, a put-upon playwright, and Emperor Nero, the all-powerful, narcissistic arbiter of art. The Roman romp stars Danny Scheie as Nero and John Vickery as Scribonius. Produced in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre and directed by Sharon Ott,You, Nero will run from Jan. 4 through Jan. 25, 2009 on the Julianne Argyros Stage. Low-priced previews are available from Jan. 4 through Jan. 8. Opening night is Jan. 9. Press night is Saturday, Jan. 10 at 7:45 p.m. Tickets to You, Nero may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.
Blending the traditions of Mexican street theater and Latin Jazz, La Posada Mágica (The Magical Journey) returns to South Coast Repertory for its 15th consecutive holiday season.
South Coast Repertory's first NewSCRipts reading of the 2008-09 season will be Mat Smart's Thomas Repair. Thomas Repair is the 106th play to receive a staged reading as part of SCR's venerable play reading program. Smart also had the honor of kicking off the 2006-07 NewSCRipts season with his play The 13th of Paris. The NewSCRipts reading of Thomas Repair will take place on October 27 at 7:30pm on the Julianne Argyros Stage.
Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg's Our Mother's Brief Affair will receive its World Premiere at South Coast Repertory as part of the theater's 12th annual Pacific Playwrights Festival. Commissioned by SCR and directed by Pam MacKinnon, Our Mother's Brief Affair will run April 3 through May 3, 2009 on the Segerstrom Stage. Low-priced previews are available from April 3 through April 9.
Beloved children's author Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, an enormously popular tale of sibling rivalry and unfortunate digestive mishaps, will open South Coast Repertory's 2008-09 Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) season.
South Coast Repertory's first NewSCRipts reading of the 2008-09 season will be Mat Smart's Thomas Repair. Thomas Repair is the 106th play to receive a staged reading as part of SCR's venerable play reading program. Smart also had the honor of kicking off the 2006-07 NewSCRipts season with his play The 13th of Paris. The NewSCRipts reading of Thomas Repair will take place on October 27 at 7:30pm on the Julianne Argyros Stage.
South Coast Repertory today announced the cast and creative team for The Heiress, the psychological drama of love, innocence and betrayal by Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz.
