Staged Reading of NORINE & THE KING OF SWATSVILLE Comes to Chance Theater

Chance Theater, Anaheim’s official resident theater company, will present a staged reading of a brand new play as part of the 2023 OTR New Works Series. Written by Jonathan Josephson, and directed by Chance Theater’s Artistic Director Oánh Nguyễn, this staged reading will be presented on Wednesday, September 20th at 7:30pm.

In July of 1903, famed baseball player Edward “Big Ed” Delahanty was found dead at the base of the Niagara Falls gorge. Now, Ed’s widow, Norine, is determined to uncover the truth behind her husband’s tragic end and find the ones responsible for his death. Little could she have anticipated that her investigation would take her down an ever-darkening road of Big Ed’s hidden life, and inner demons. Based on a true story.

Playwright Jonathan Josephson explained, “I was initially drawn to this true story because, one, I'm a huge baseball fan, and two, Ed Delahanty's life is chalk full of larger-than-life, bizarre, complex, mysterious circumstances that couldn't be more theatrical if I created them out of thin air. But the play really came alive upon a deeper investigation of the facts of Big Ed's life as we know it, and then my own interpretation of those facts (i.e. my fiction) which took me down a personal exploration of what it means to be happy, and when happy on the outside doesn't necessarily mean happy on the inside.” 

When asked about returning to the Chance, Josephson mused, “As a playwright, this will be my fifth new play adventure with Chance Theater! I couldn't wish for a more supportive, professional, and talented group of artists and staff to help me tell stories and make theatrical magic.”

MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT

As a former Literary Director and Company Member, Jonathan Josephson (JJ) served as a dramaturg for numerous Chance productions from 2007-2009. Over the years, several of his plays have appeared on Chance stages including “The Giant and The Pixie” (2008), “The Legend(s) of Sleepy Hollow” (TYA, 2015), and the 2017 Chance-a-thon. He is also the founding Executive Director of Unbound Productions and one of the creators of the multi-award-winning immersive theatre events “Wicked Lit” (Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery), “Mystery Lit” (Los Angeles Arboretum), and “History Lit” (Pasadena Museum of History). Forty of his plays have been produced all over the world including Actors Theatre of Louisville (Humana Festival), Milwaukee Rep (RepLab), and the Sam French Off-Off Broadway Play Festival (Festival Winner). Fifteen of his plays are published by Sam French, Playscripts, Stage Rights, YouthPlays, and others. He is a member of the Antaeus Playwrights Lab, DG, and ALAP. jonathanjosephson.com

MEET THE DIRECTOR

Oánh Nguyễn has been serving as Chance Theater’s founding Artistic Director since 1999. Oánh is a recipient of TCG’s New Generations Grant and the TCG Nathan Cummings Young Leaders of Color Fellowship. He was awarded the Outstanding Artist Award by Arts Orange County, profiled in Orange County Register’s “Most Influential People” series and OC Weekly’s People Issue, inducted into Anaheim High School’s Hall of Fame and was a commencement speaker for Chapman University College of Performing Arts. Oánh was Producing Associate at South Coast Repertory for three years. He also served on the advisory board of the Anaheim High School Performing Arts Conservatory, the board of Network of Ensemble Theatres, LA’s 99-seat Transitional Committee, and OC Theatre Guild, as well as panels and committees for Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Alternative Theatre Los Angeles, National Endowment for the Arts and Theatre Communications Group. His directing credits include productions at Chance Theater, East West Players, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, South Coast Repertory, Aurora Theatre Company, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, Chapman University, Azusa Pacific University, AMDA, CSU Fullerton, and served as the Associate Director for the international tour of David Henry Hwang’s “Chinglish” (Berkeley Repertory, South Coast Repertory, Hong Kong Arts Festival). His selected film credits include “Two Brothers” directed by Jean-Jacques Annaude, “Rush Hour 3” directed by Brett Ratner, and “Lonely Boy” directed by Dale Fabrigar (Best First Feature Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Louisiana International Film Festival and Audience Award Winner at the 2013 BolderLife Festival).