Joanne DeNaut News

The DCPA Theatre Company, the producing regional theatre arm of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA), is proud to announce full casting and creative teams for the world premieres of Bonnie Metzgar's You Lost Me and Tony Meneses' twenty50.

Today, South Coast Repertory Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Director Paula Tomei announced the 13 creative dream teams for the 2019-20 season, the first programmed by Ivers. The roughly 100 individuals are among the theatre industry's finest, most creative and versatile talents.

David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly, a tale of obsession, perception and the allure of fantasy, will conclude South Coast Repertory's 2018-19 season. Hwang's break-out hit-a Tony Award-winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist-is about more than steamy seduction and fantasy; inspired by a true account, it's a compelling story of espionage, East-West relations and betrayal. Desdemona Chiang, in her SCR debut, directs the show on the Segerstrom Stage, May 11-June 8. Tickets are available online at www.scr.org.

It has been called the most important photograph ever taken-an image that led to a breakthrough in genetics research. The X-ray crystallographer who took it, Rosalind Franklin, is at the heart of Anna Ziegler's Photograph 51, next up on South Coast Repertory's Julianne Argyros Stage, directed by Kimberly Senior, March 3-24. Tickets are available at www.scr.org.

From Mo Willems, the author of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale and the Elephant and Piggie books, comes a tale that transforms naked mole-rats into something cute and fun (and funny).

Nearly 40 years ago, Stephen Sondheim's bent-on-revenge barber, Sweeney Todd, sliced his way into the canon of musical theatre. The multi-award-winning Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is next up on the Segerstrom Stage at South Coast Repertory, Jan. 19-Feb. 16. Kent Nicholson directs the production. Tickets are available at www.scr.org.

South Coast Repertory opens the 2018-19 Theatre for Young Audiences series with Nate the Great, Nov. 2-18.

Southern California audiences will be able to get lost in Jane Austen's elegant, Regency era romantic classic, Sense and Sensibility, next month. The production opens South Coast Repertory's 55th season. British playwright Jessica Swale adapted Austen's story and the show is directed by Casey Stangl on the Segerstrom Stage, Sept. 1-29.

Southern California audiences will be able to get lost in Jane Austen's elegant, Regency era romantic classic, Sense and Sensibility, next month. The production opens South Coast Repertory's 55th season. British playwright Jessica Swale adapted Austen's story and the show is directed by Casey Stangl on the Segerstrom Stage, Sept. 1-29.

Wendy Wasserstein's witty, award-winning comedy, The Sisters Rosensweig, wraps up the 2017-18 season at South Coast Repertory. The production, directed by Casey Stangl, runs May 5-June 2 on the Segerstrom Stage. Tickets are now available at www.scr.org.

South Coast Repertory concludes the 2017-18 Theatre for Young Audiences series with Amos & Boris, adapted from the classic children's book by William Steig. This theatrical retelling has been adapted for the stage by Sofia Alvarez with music and additional lyrics by Daniel Roland Tierney. The world premiere will be directed by Jessica Kubzansky on the Julianne Argyros Stage, May 19-June 3. Tickets are available now at www.scr.org.

Playwright Kemp Powers knew he'd found something incredible in the personal recollections of former slaves documented by a federal writers project during the Great Depression. Discovering the different voices and views in those first-person histories inspired him to learn more and write Little Black Shadows, which has its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, April 8-29, on the Julianne Argyros Stage. Directed by May Adrales, the show is part of the Pacific Playwrights Festival. Tickets are available now at www.scr.org.  

Spending her days caring for her ailing mother, Lucha yearns to break her monotonous routine. Here's a wild idea: an all-girl mariachi band! But it's the 1970s, and girls can't be mariachis...or can they? As Lucha and her spunky cousin hunt for bandmates, dodge disapproving relatives, and bring Mom along for the ride, they wonder: will the band come together? American Mariachi is a heartwarming and hilarious world premiere comedy about family, progress, and the freedom to dream big that will send your heart soaring and put a bounce in your step with a wave of vibrant, infectious live music.

Playwright Amy Freed has always been a Shakespeare fan. Her breakout hit, The Beard of Avon (SCR-commissioned and premiered, 2001), was a smart, funny look at the controversy surrounding the authorship of Shakespeare's plays. Now comes SHREW! (March 24-April 21, Segerstrom Stage), in which Freed has re-imagined The Bard's play, The Taming of the Shrew, as a wickedly funny love story of two people who find their way to true, deep and mutual love. Art Manke directs SHREW!, which is an anchor production of the 2018 Pacific Playwrights Festival. Tickets are available at www.scr.org.

Part comedy, part mystery and part rock concert, playwright Lauren Yee's Cambodian Rock Band explores an overlooked chapter of history-1970s Cambodia with its vibrant surf-rock music scene and then under the Khmer Rouge regime. The play features songs by the Long Beach-based band Dengue Fever. The world premiere of this South Coast Repertory commission is directed by Chay Yew on the Julianne Argyros Stage, March 4-25. Tickets are available at www.scr.org.

Romance, mistaken identities, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics served up with a generous dash of comedy are at the heart of Shakespeare in Love, adapted by Lee Hall from the Oscar-winning film written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, with music by Paddy Cunneen. South Coast Repertory Artistic Director Marc Masterson directs the production on the Segerstrom Stage, Jan. 13-Feb. 10. Tickets are now on sale: www.scr.org.

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) and The Old Globe are proud to announce full casting and creative team for the World Premiere production of American Mariachi, directed by James V squez.

The Old Globe's 2017 2018 Season continues with the world premiere of Jos Cruz Gonz lez's American Mariachi, a heartwarming comedy with live music. Directed by Globe favorite and San Diego native James V squez (Rich Girl, Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas!) and presented in association with Denver Center for the Performing Arts Theatre Company, American Mariachi will run March 23 to April 29, 2018 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

Romance, mistaken identities, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics served up with a generous dash of comedy are at the heart of Shakespeare in Love, adapted by Lee Hall from the Oscar-winning film written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, with music by Paddy Cunneen. South Coast Repertory Artistic Director Marc Masterson directs the production on the Segerstrom Stage, Jan. 13-Feb. 10. Tickets are now on sale: www.scr.org.

Some of the most-recognized phrases in the English language come from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol: Bah!, Humbug! and God bless us, everyone. South Coast Repertory's annual production of the Dickens classic returns for its 38th year; performances run Nov. 24-Dec. 24 on the Segerstrom Stage. Hal Landon Jr. returns as Scrooge and John-David Keller directs both for their 38th consecutive year. Tickets are now on sale at scr.org.