Christopher Ashley, Jo Bonney, Arthur Kopit, et al. Set for La Jolla Playhouse

La Jolla Playhouse announces the first four plays of its 2011/12 Season, including The Playhouse co-commissioned Milk Like Sugar, by Kirsten Greenidge, directed by Rebecca Taichman; the world-premiere of A Dram of Drumchhicit, by Arthur Kopit and Anton Dudley, directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley; Peer Gynt, by Henrik Ibsen, adapted and directed by David Schweizer; and American Night: The Ballad of Juan José by Richard Montoya for Culture Clash, directed by Jo Bonney. The final two subscription shows of the 2011/12 season - both musicals - will be announced shortly.

"We're so proud of this season celebrating the arrival of several new artists and Playhouse veterans," said Ashley. "I'm delighted to be staging a brand new piece co-written by renowned playwright Arthur Kopit in his Playhouse debut, as well as present a wildly imaginative Ibsen adaptation and a co-commissioned work by up-and-coming playwright Kirsten Greenidge. We also welcome back Culture Clash with their latest piece that yet again speaks to the current issues facing our region with humor and heart."

Following several exciting workshops, The Playhouse will bring the world premiere of Milk Like Sugar, by Kirsten Greenidge, co-commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse and Theater Masters, to the Forum stage. Stuck in a dead-end town and ignored by her family, 16-year-old Annie decides to create her own future, entering into a pregnancy pact with two of her high school friends. With savage humor and gritty poetry, this new play explores the challenges of choosing between the safety of the life you know and the danger of the life you desire.

Fresh from directing the Tony Award-winning best musical Memphis and his acclaimed 2010 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley helms the world premiere of Arthur Kopit and Anton Dudley's A Dram of Drumchhicit. An American entrepreneur has found the perfect Scottish island on which to build his new golf course. But as secrets - and bodies - are unearthed, the true nature of the island wreaks comic havoc, in this new comic supernatural farce by the author of the Tony Award-winning musical Nine and Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad.

The Playhouse is also pleased to present Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt (co-production with Kansas City Repertory Theatre), adapted and directed by David Schweizer. This daring adaptation of Ibsen's sweeping epic will be performed by just five performers playing 40 characters on a stage full of inventive surprises. Audiences will be taken on a wild and surreal adventure in this brilliant version in which the title character dreams, swindles and charms his way through life in an exhilarating quest for fame and fortune.

Culture Clash, last seen at The Playhouse in 2006 in Culture Clash's Zorro in Hell returns with their newest work, American Night: The Ballad of Juan José, written by Richard Montoya for Culture Clash, developed by Culture Clash and Jo Bonney, directed by Jo Bonney (The Seven, Adoration of the Old Woman), and commissioned by Oregon Shakespeare Festival. As the title character feverishly studies for his U.S. Citizenship exam, he becomes ensnared in a tumultuous, whirlwind journey through pivotal moments of American history. Juan discovers America's best in a handful of unsung citizens who made courageous choices in this provocative, irreverent comedy about our shared past - and future.

Subscriptions for The Playhouse's 2011/12 season are currently on sale for 6-Play and Design-Your-Own packages by calling (858) 550-1010 or by visiting www.lajollaplayhouse.org. Prices range from $135 to $402.

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