La Jolla Playhouse Adds GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS and AN ILIAD to 2012/13 Season

La Jolla Playhouse announces two more productions for its 2012/13 season: An Iliad, a one-man adaptation of Homer's classic tale, adapted by Lisa Peterson (Surf Report, Be Aggressive) and Denis O'Hare (Take Me Out), from a translation by Robert Fagles, directed by Lisa Peterson. The production will run June 19 - July 15, 2012 in the Mandell Weiss Forum. The Playhouse will also present David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning Glengarry Glen Ross, directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley, running February 2 - March 3, 2013 in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.

The Trojan War has never been more enthralling than in An Iliad, a new adaptation of Homer's epic saga that takes audiences on a sweeping and unforgettable journey. On a bare stage, a poet appears from the back of the theatre to re-tell Homer's The Iliad. One of the oldest works in the history of western civilization, The Iliad centers on the ten-year siege of Troy, with Greeks and Trojans locked in a brutal combat, culminating in the heroic and ferocious final battle between Achilles and Hector. But this storyteller points at something more. In this eye-opening version, we are on the front lines of every major war in history, reliving a futile struggle that has replayed itself over thousands of years and millions of lives. This riveting one-man play transports audiences through time to feel the glory, honor, rage and jealousy that inspire war, as well as the exhaustion, loneliness and pain it leaves in its wake. "A brilliant and thrilling adaptation," raved the Philadelphia Enquirer; while The New York Times hailed it as "smartly conceived and impressively executed...an age-old story that resonates with tragic meaning today."

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama, Glengarry Glen Ross is David Mamet's scorching play about a group of desperate salesmen in a Chicago real estate office. When a contest is announced to earn the new sales leads, the men resort to manipulation, bribery and even theft to keep their jobs. The Darwinian struggle that ensues is a stinging indictment of a culture that rewards the strong, punishes the weak and values success above all else. Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley brings Mamet to The Playhouse stage for the very first time with this modern masterpiece about cutthroat real estate salesmen trying to grind out a living in a never-ending scramble for their share of the American dream. The New York Times stated, "Mr. Mamet hears American scheming with an exactitude and delight still unsurpassed by any other dramatist."

"In the nearly 30 years since it first burst upon the scene, Glengarry Glen Ross hasn't lost an ounce of its ferocity, relevance or impact. It's a long-overdue privilege to bring the work of David Mamet to The Playhouse's stage," said Ashley. "We also welcome back Playhouse favorite Lisa Peterson with her and Denis O'Hare's stunning adaptation of Homer's Iliad. Audiences will be riveted by this classic re-telling, which resonates in today's world while bringing to life the glory - and cost - of the Trojan War."

These two productions join the previously-announced world-premiere, Playhouse commissioned musical Hands on a Hardbody (April 27 - June 10, 2012 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre), book by Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife), lyrics by Amanda Green (Bring It On: The Musical), music by Trey Anastasio (lead singer of the popular band Phish), directed by Neil Pepe (Speed-the-Plow) and choreographed by Benjamin Millepied (BLACK SWAN). When an auto dealership in Longview, TX launches an endurance contest, ten economically-strapped strangers embark on a journey that puts their hearts, minds and bodies to the test. The contestant who keeps at least one hand on a brand-new hardbody truck the longest gets to drive it off the lot. What initially seems like a mere publicity stunt soon becomes a soul-baring battle of wills. Only one can win, but for all involved, the truck holds the key to their own private American dream. Based on the documentary film of the same name, Hands on a Hardbody features a brilliant rock, folk and country score from Amanda Green and Trey Anastasio, along with a masterful story by Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright, whose work has been showcased at The Playhouse with Creditors and I Am My Own Wife.

Tickets for An Iliad, Glengarry Glen Ross and Hands on a Hardbody are currently available only as part of a subscription package. For more information, please visit LaJollaPlayhouse.org or call The Playhouse Box Office at (858) 550-1010.

The nationally acclaimed, Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse is known for its tradition of creating the most exciting and adventurous new work in regional theatre. Founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, The Playhouse is considered one of the most well-respected not-for-profit theatres in the country. Numerous Playhouse productions have moved to Broadway, including Big River, The Who's Tommy, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Walk in the Woods, Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays, the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, Jersey Boys, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Farnsworth Invention, 33 Variations and the 2010 Tony Award-winning musical Memphis. Located on the UC San Diego campus, La Jolla Playhouse is made up of three primary performance spaces: the Mandell Weiss Theatre, the Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre, and the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for La Jolla Playhouse, a state-of-the-Art Theatre complex which features the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre. La Jolla Playhouse is led by Artistic Director Christopher Ashley and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg.

 

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