Shakespeare Santa Cruz Announces 2011 Season

Today, Shakespeare Santa Cruz (SSC) artistic director Marco Barricelli announced the Company's 30th Anniversary season. In making the announcement, Barrricelli said, "To celebrate our first thirty years, I am thrilled to bring back a celebrated production from our past, to embark on a three-year cycle of history plays, and to announce the return of our annual holiday musical co-produced with the UCSC Theater Arts Department. I am also pleased to announce a renewed partnership with Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, where SSC last performed in 1992."

SSC's summer season will play July 19 - August 28, and will open with Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors directed by Danny Scheie in the indoor Mainstage Theater. Scheie was artistic director of SSC from 1993-1995, and currently serves on the faculty of the UCSC Theater Arts Department. In addition, he is a celebrated actor whose most recent credits include Much Ado About Nothing at California Shakespeare Theatre and La Bête, currently playing at Florida's Asolo Repertory Theatre. According to SSC managing director Marcus Cato, "Danny's production of The Comedy of Errors is one of the most Popular Productions in our history, and really helped establish SSC's reputation for innovative productions of Shakespeare. We produced it in both 1988 and 1993, and I am really excited that our 2011 audience will get to see an updated version of this classic."

The summer season will continue with The Three Musketeers adapted by Linda Alper, Douglas Langworthy, and Penny Metropulos, based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, and directed by Art Manke (2008's Bach at Leipzig). This will be the first production of The Three Musketeers by SSC, and will play the Sinsheimer-Stanley Festival Glen. Also playing in the Glen will be Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part One, directed by Scott Wentworth (2009's Love's Labor's Lost, among other SSC credits). This will mark the start of a three-year cycle of Shakespeare's history plays known as the "Henriad," which will continue in 2012 with Henry IV, Part Two, and conclude in 2013 with Henry V. Said Barricelli, "The history plays feature some of the most dramatic storytelling in the canon, and I think it will be very exciting for our audience to follow this story over the next three seasons." The summer season will be rounded out by the annual Fringe show, which features SSC's acting interns. The 2011 Fringe show is The Brothers Menaechmus by Plautus, directed by UCSC Theater Arts faculty member Patty Gallagher (2009's The School for Fiancé(e)s), and will play the Sinsheimer-Stanley Festival Glen.

After the close of the summer season, SSC's production of The Comedy of Errors will transfer to Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga where it will play an extended run September 9 - 18 in the 1200-seat, outdoor Lilian Fontaine Garden Theatre. SSC and Montalvo Arts Center have a history of collaboration going back twenty years when SSC transferred several productions there during the 1990, '91, and '92 seasons. According to Barricelli, "Renewing our relationship with Montalvo Arts Center is a hugely important development in growing our institution and broadening our reach to audiences outside of Santa Cruz County. This is an exciting first step in what I hope will be a long and very fruitful partnership."

November 19 - 20, SSC will present its second annual benefit performance, Bard Babes. Longtime Oregon Shakespeare Festival actor Robin Goodrin Nordli will bring her original, one-woman show to Santa Cruz for two performances that will benefit SSC's education and internship programs. This is after the success of Nordli and Michael Elich's original show Shakespeare's Labors In Love, which raised over $18,000 for SSC programs in 2010.

A Year With Frog and Toad, a co-production with the UCSC Theater Arts Department, will close out the 2011 season November 18 - December 11. A Year With Frog and Toad is a family-friendly musical based on the "Frog and Toad" books by Arnold Lobel. The show played 88 performances on Broadway in 2003 and was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The collaboration between SSC and UCSC Theater Arts on a holiday show began in 1997, under former artistic director Paul Whitworth, and continued until 2009 when budget cuts forced a two-year hiatus. "I am really pleased that we can bring the holiday show back this year," said Barricelli. Theater Arts Department Chair David Lee Cuthbert added, "This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to gain experience working with a professional company, and I know it's a tradition loved by the community."

Shakespeare Santa Cruz will hold a 30th Birthday Party on Cooper Street in downtown Santa Cruz on Saturday, April 16 from 1 - 5pm. The event will be free and open to the public. Details are forthcoming.

TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets ($70 - $125) for the 2011 summer season will go on sale March 15. 2010 season ticket holders enjoy a Priority Renewal Period from February 15 - March 14. Single tickets for the summer season ($33 - $50) and Bard Babes (all tickets $50) will go on sale May 17, and single tickets for A Year With Frog and Toad will go on sale August 9. Discounts are available for youth (under age 18), senior citizens, full-time students, and UCSC staff and faculty. Tickets will be sold through the UCSC Ticket Office at (831) 459-2159, online at shakespearesantacruz.org, or in person at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium Ticket Office.

Tickets for The Comedy of Errors at Montalvo Arts Center ($40 - $60, plus service fees) will be available beginning March 15 at the Montalvo Arts Center ticket office by calling (408) 961-5858 or online at montalvoarts.org. Discounted tickets for 2011 SSC season ticket holders and Montalvo Arts Center members will be available starting February 15.

For more information, visit shakespearesantacruz.org.

 

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