PCPA Will Present ARCADIA

From the author of Shakespeare in Love, Tom Stoppard's Arcadia is considered one of the greatest plays of its time. It runs August 16 - 25 in the Marian Theatre and August 30 - September 9 in the Solvang Festival Theater.

Arcadia is a romantic mystery set in the elegant Coverly estate and taking place in both 1809 and 1993. In the 1800s we are introduced to the precocious 13 year old Thomasina and her tutor Septimus Hodge. The young pupil asks, "If we can mathematically chart a bell curve, then why not a bluebell or a rose?" We are witness to this genius of a girl who proceeds to devise a mathematical equation that would not be acknowledged for 100 years.

In the late 20th century, we ,meet a patronizing academic, Bernard Nightingale, who has found a few scrawls in notes and in a book believed to have belonged to the poet Lord Byron. He deduces Byron was at the Coverly estate one weekend and was challenged to a duel. Nightingale is convinced that Byron killed a Mr. Chater, solving the ages old question of Byron's mysterious departure from the British Isle to France in 1810.

Back in time, Thomasina is pondering over the Law of Thermodynamics and realizes that it eventually spells out the inevitable end of civilization, the world, and all things in the universe.

This will be the second time Roger DeLaurier has directed Arcadia. The first being 1999 for a production that ran in the Severson and to date remains the only PCPA production to ever be held over for an extended run. Now it plays on the main stage allowing for the design to better capture the stately manor of the Coverly's who are one of the most important families in England.

DeLaurier said, "The play works on so many levels, that's part of why it's so great. But, the play really isn't about math or quantum physics. Ultimately, the play is a love story across time, juxtaposing emotion and intellect."

Under DeLaurier's direction, the creative team includes Scenic Designer Jason Bolen, Costume Designer Sara Curran Ice, Lighting Designer Tim Thistleton, Sound Designer Elisabeth Weidner, and Stage Manager Zoia N. Wiseman. The cast includes Resident Artists Peter S. Hadres* as Jellaby, Polly Firestone Walker as Lady Croom, Andrew Philpot* as Capt. Brice, Amani Dorn* as Hannah Jarvis, Katie Fuchs-Wackowski as Chloe Coverly, and George Walker as Bernard Nightingale. Guest Artists include Grace Theobald as Thomasina Coverly, Luke Myers as Septimus Hodge, Ben Abbott as Ezra Chater, Paul Henry as Richard Noakes, Wallace Bruce as Valentine Coverly and Griffith Munn as Gus and Agustus Coverly.

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard was first produced in 1993 at the Royal National Theatre in London with a New York run beginning in March of 1995. Both productions were directed by Trevor Nunn. The Broadway production featured Blair Brown, Victor Garber, and Paul Giamatti in his Broadway debut. In London it won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. In New York it was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and the Tony Award for Best Play. A revival opened in London in 2009 and returned to Broadway in 2011 where it was nominated for a Best Revival Tony Award. The Daily Telegraph review said, "I have never left a play more convinced that I had just witnessed a masterpiece."

Visit the Arcadia web page for more information pcpa.org/arcadia.html

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