Matthew Lopez Named Old Globe Playwright-In-Residence

Old Globe Executive Producer Lou Spisto today announced that Matthew Lopez has been named Playwright-in-Residence. The two-year residency includes a commission for a new play. Lopez will also take part in the Globe's education outreach and audience development activities. His plays include Zoey's Perfect Wedding, Reverberation and Tio Pepe, which was presented at The Public Theater as part of the 2008 Summer Play Festival. His work has also been seen and developed at Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Group, McCarter Theatre Center, Ars Nova and the Lark Play Development Center. Lopez's Civil War drama, The Whipping Man, is currently receiving its West Coast Premiere in the Globe's Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre through June 13.

"Matthew Lopez is an emerging voice in the American theater," said Spisto. "A fresh perspective and a narrative drive are the hallmarks of his developing talent. This residency will give him some time and opportunity to grow as a writer and learn more about his work as audiences respond to it."

The Whipping Man is set in Virginia following the final days of the Civil War. When a Jewish Confederate soldier returns to his childhood home, only to find it in ruins and occupied by his former slaves who are preparing for a Passover Seder, dangerous secrets of the past threaten to destroy their family, their connected history and their shared faith. Avery Glymph, Charlie Robinson and Mark J. Sullivan star in the West Coast Premiere. Directed by Giovanna Sardelli. The Whipping Man will run in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre May 8 - June 13. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office.

LOCATION: The Old Globe is located in San Diego's Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Valet parking is also available ($10). For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theaters and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for 75 years. Under the direction of Executive Producer Louis G. Spisto, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the 580-seat Old Globe Theatre, the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre and the 612-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 300,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theater's education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Catered Affair, and the annual holiday musical, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theaters across the country.

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