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SAN DIEGO (July 20, 2018)—The Old Globe today announced casting as its 2018–2019 Season kicks off with the world premiere of The Heart of Rock & Roll, inspired by the music of Huey Lewis and the News, featuring a book by Jonathan Abrams and story by Tyler Mitchell and Jonathan Abrams. It will be directed by Gordon Greenberg with choreography by Lorin Latarro and music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Brian Usifer. The Heart of Rock & Roll will be presented by special arrangement with Tyler Mitchell, W. Leo Kiely, Bill Kiely, Whitney Kiely Moehle, and Tamar Climan.
The Heart of Rock & Roll will run September 6 – October 21, 2018 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run September 6 – September 13. Opening night is Friday, September 14, 2018. Tickets are currently available by subscription only and will go on sale to the general public on Sunday, August 5, 2018, beginning at 12:00 noon. Tickets start at $39.00 and can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.
An electrifying world premiere musical comedy inspired by the songs of one of the most beloved and iconic acts in music history, Huey Lewis and the News. Mainstays on the Chicago dive bar circuit, Bobby and his band are hustling for their big break. But after their latest rejection, Bobby decides it’s “Hip to Be Square,” trades in his guitar, and starts “Workin’ for a Livin’” in corporate America. His boss, Cassandra, has struggles of her own, having sacrificed her personal life for the company. When they both get a shot at their dreams—for Bobby, another crack at rock stardom, and for Cassandra, a chance to become CEO—they must decide “If This Is It” for their careers, or if “The Power of Love” triumphs over all. The Heart of Rock & Roll celebrates the classic songs of Huey Lewis and the News in this heartwarming and hilarious new musical.
The Broadway veterans in the cast include Matt Doyle as Bobby (Sweeney Todd, The Book of Mormon, War Horse, Spring Awakening), Katie Rose Clarke as Cassandra (Miss Saigon, Allegiance, Wicked, The Light in the Piazza), Lindsay Nicole Chambers as Nina (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde, Hairspray), Patrice Covington as Roz (The Color Purple, Motown The Musical, The Book of Mormon), John Dossett as Stone (the Globe’s The First Wives Club; Newsies, Chicago, War Paint, Tony nominated for Gypsy), Paige Faure as Paige (played the title role in Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, How to Succeed, Bullets Over Broadway), F. Michael Haynie as Glenn (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wicked, Holler If Ya Hear Me), Orville Mendoza as Fjord (Peter and the Starcatcher, Pacific Overtures; The Wiz and The Orphan of Zhao at La Jolla Playhouse), Lucas Papaelias as JJ (Once, Cyrano de Bergerac, “The Knick”), Zachary Noah Piser as Eli (Wicked, Off Broadway’s Sweeney Todd), Christopher Ramirez as Wyatt (Icon Off Broadway, Freaky Friday at La Jolla Playhouse), and Billy Harrigan Tighe as Tucker (revivals of Sweeney Todd and Pippin, The Book of Mormon on the West End). The ensemble includes Nicolette Burton, Lindsay Nicole Chambers, James Royce Edwards, Oyoyo Joi, Lucas Papaelias, Robert Pendilla, Christopher Ramirez, MiMi Scardulla, Salisha Thomas, and Josh Tolle, as well as swings Bryan Banville and Katie Banville.
The creative team includes Tony Award winner Derek McLane (Scenic Design), Tony winner Paloma Young (Costume Design), Tony winner Howell Binkley (Lighting Design), David Patridge and Tony winner John Shivers (Sound Design), Matt Doebler (Music Director), Tara Rubin Casting/Eric Woodall, CSA (Casting), and Anjee Nero (Production Stage Manager).
“Everyone at the Globe is beyond excited to have Huey Lewis’s thrilling songs open our 2018–2019 Season in this rocking and rollicking new musical,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Full of laughter and joy, The Heart of Rock & Roll tells a sweet story of how our wildest dreams sometimes do come true, only in slightly different ways than we imagined. Huey Lewis and the News’s songs—one monster hit after another—deliver jolts of joy and surges of energy, all perfectly suited to the musical theatre stage in Brian Usifer’s amazing arrangements. Huey’s talent has drawn a brilliant team of theatrical visionaries together, led by the witty and imaginative director Gordon Greenberg, and they’ve made a musical that’s about as great a night out as I can imagine. I can’t wait to share it with San Diego’s audiences.”
For the full press release on The Heart of Rock & Roll cast announcement, click here! For more details on The Heart of Rock & Roll, click here!
Photos: Katie Rose Clarke and Matt Doyle.
SAN DIEGO (June 18, 2018)—The Globe Guilders are pleased to announce their 28th annual fashion show and luncheon, Celebrating Couture 2018, presented by Neiman Marcus,to benefit The Old Globe’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Once again, Neiman Marcus is producing The Art of Fashion, an exclusively curated show featuring the Fall collections of several celebrated designers, including an exclusive preview of 18 gowns from Zac Posen’s Pre-Fall 2018 Collection. Celebrating Couture 2018 will take place on Thursday, August 16, 2018 in the Costa Del Mar Ballroom of the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
Each year, the Globe Guilders Fashion Show features couture expertly selected by Neiman Marcus from the elite designers they represent, including Posen, Oscar de la Renta, Chanel, Naeem Khan, Tom Ford, Carolina Herrera, and Marchesa. From New York to Milan, fashion has become the creative platform to reflect a world of assertion and empowerment. The 2018 fall trends include peacock hues, an eye-catching palette of saturated blues and greens; leather everything, matte or patent from top to toe; power tailoring, strong shoulders and double-breasted shapes; and anytime sequins. Mix, match, and layer fierce animal prints—leopard, zebra, tiger, and more. Accessorize with western or lace-up boots—chunky but chic, top-flap handbags, smoky crystal and jet-black jewelry; and glowing, luminous, selfie-perfect skin that makes every social media post perfection. Attendees will see how top designers bring these disparate trends to life on the catwalk, then shop to take them home!
This year the Globe Guilders Fashion Show is honoring Peggy Matthews as a beacon of fashion and longtime supporter of the Old Globe. Fashion informed most of Peggy's life, 17 years of which she spent as Midwest Editor at Mademoiselle magazine, based in Chicago. As part of her responsibilities, she traveled across America to stage fashion events. She mingled with iconic couturiers and also enthusiastically worked with student fashion organizations. After she retired, she and her husband Bob moved to San Diego, where she was persuaded to accept the position of Regional Promotions Director for the Broadway department store. She was a consummate volunteer, managing publicity for a myriad of organizations here in San Diego. With her background deeply imbedded in fashion, the fact that Peggy gave generous monetary gifts to the Globe Guilders and The Old Globe costume department surprises no one. Hats off to Peggy!
Guests will be greeted with a champagne reception at 10:00 a.m. in the sunlit foyer—when the competition begins for the chance to bid on silent auction items. New this year is a virtual bidding opportunity through the Gesture mobile application (www.Gesture.com). The live auction and Opportunity Drawing begins at 12:00 noon in the ballroom, followed by the fabulous fashion show and delicious lunch. After the show, Neiman Marcus will present a one-of-a-kind boutique for browsing and shopping in the foyer.
Globe Guilder President Kim Neapole is the proud Chair of Celebrating Couture 2018. “We are thrilled to be working with Neiman Marcus again this year,” said Ms. Neapole. “The grand finale of Zac Posen gowns will be spectacular! It is such a privilege to not only be a part of this beautiful event but also bring awareness to the important work that The Old Globe is doing in San Diego.” The proceeds continue to expand the impact the Globe makes in the community and help make theatre matter to more people. Over 500 supporters of the Globe are expected to attend this important event benefitting the Globe’s artistic and arts engagement programs, including prominent philanthropists, heads of corporations, and representatives of major organizations.
For the full press release on the Globe Guilders Annual Fashion Show, click here! For more details on the Fashion Show, click here!
Photo: The runway show from the 2016 Globe Guilders Fashion Show. Photo by Douglas Gates.
SAN DIEGO (June 13, 2018)—The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team as the 2018 Summer Shakespeare Festival continues with the finest of the Bard’s work outdoors under the stars in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Celebrate romance with Much Ado About Nothing, directed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall (the Globe’s Love’s Labor’s Lost), running August 12 – September 16, 2018. Tickets start at $30.00, on sale to the general public now. Previews run August 12–17. Opening night is Saturday, August 18 at 8:00 p.m.
Marshall makes her triumphant return as director to our Festival Theatre stage with one of the greatest romantic comedies ever, in a production full of colorful characters, passionate poetry, and Shakespeare’s wittiest wordplay. Everyone can see that confirmed bachelor Benedick and headstrong Beatrice are meant for each other—except for Benedick and Beatrice themselves! While their friends try to trick the bickering pair into admitting they’re in love, their young sidekicks Hero and Claudio start a romance of their own. But will false accusations, broken promises, and even a nutty and bumbling police force prevent a happy ending?
“Much Ado about Nothing is one of the masterpieces of Shakespeare’s canon, and in a glorious production like this one, it delivers a special kind of joy,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “The play is sparklingly witty, sweepingly romantic, and full of music, laughter, dance, and poetry. It’s everything that’s thrilling about Shakespeare, all in one play. The brilliant director Kathleen Marshall returns to the Globe to make summer Shakespeare magic again, and her company of actors and designers is as good as it gets. This will be a highlight of the Globe’s work, and I know that our audiences will join me in cheering for it.”
The cast features Sara Topham as Beatrice (Olivia in the Globe’s 2015 Twelfth Night, Broadway’s Travesties revival and The Importance of Being Earnest, Saint Joan at the Shaw Festival, U.K. world premiere of Love Me Do) and Michael Hayden as Benedick (last at the Globe in Double Indemnity, Broadway’s Carousel, Judgment at Nuremberg, Cabaret, Henry IV, Parts I and II, “Chicago Fire”); Fred Applegate as Dogberry (Broadway’s Wicked, Tuck Everlasting, The Last Ship, La Cage aux Folles), Michael Boatman as Don Pedro, Balthasar (Ken Ludwig’s Robin Hood!, “The Good Fight,” Broadway’s “Master Harold”…and the Boys revival), Manoel Felciano as Don John (the Globe’s The Tempest, Ken Ludwig’s Robin Hood!, and Twelfth Night, Broadway’s Sweeney Todd, Amélie), James Newcomb as Antonio, Verges (the Globe’s Twelfth Night and Coriolanus), and René Thornton Jr. as Leonato (The Tempest, entire Folio at American Shakespeare Center in Virginia). The cast also includes students in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program, all of whom were seen earlier this summer in the Globe’s The Tempest: Carlos Angel-Barajas (Claudio), Sam Avishay (Messenger), Nora Carroll (Margaret), Yadira Correa (Conrade), Daniel Ian Joeck (Friar Francis), Jose Martinez (Watch), Renardo Charles Pringle Jr. (Messenger), Larica Schnell (Ursula), Jersten Seraile (Watch), Samantha Sutliff (Watch), Morgan Taylor (Hero), Wenona Truong (Sexton), Jared Van Heel (Messenger), and Eric Weiman (Borachio). The musicians are Abigail Grace Allwein (Violin) and James Michael McHale (Guitar).
The creative team includes John Lee Beatty (Scenic Design), Michael Krass (Costume Design), Stephen Strawbridge (Lighting Design), Sten Severson (Sound Design), Stephen Flaherty (Composer, “Sigh No More”), Abigail Grace Allwein (Music Director), Ursula Meyer (Voice and Text Coach), Tara Rubin Casting/Laura Schutzel, CSA (Casting), and Jess Slocum (Production Stage Manager).
For the full press release on Much Ado About Nothing, click here! For more details on Much Ado About Nothing, click here!
Artwork courtesy of The Old Globe.
SAN DIEGO (July 10, 2018)—The Old Globe’s 2018 Summer Season continues with today’s announcement of the complete cast and creative team for Barefoot in the Park, as director Jessica Stone (Ken Ludwig’s Robin Hood!, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) returns to the Globe to extend its decades-long relationship with giant comic playwright Neil Simon with this fresh and hilarious new look at his “bubbling, rib-tickling comedy” (The New York Times). Barefoot in the Park will play July 28 – September 2, 2018 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Tickets start at $30.00 and are on sale to the general public now. Previews run July 28 – August 1. Opening night is Thursday, August 2 at 8:00 p.m.
Fresh off a honeymoon at the Plaza Hotel, free-spirited Corie and her buttoned-down husband Paul find themselves struggling to adjust to married life in their run-down New York walk-up. Throw in a loopy meddling mother, an eccentric Bohemian upstairs neighbor, and a double date that goes disastrously wrong, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for laughter.
The cast includes Kerry Bishé as Corie Bratter (“Halt and Catch Fire,” “Narcos,” “Billions,” Argo, Pygmalion on Broadway, My Name Is Rachel Corrie Off Broadway), Jere Burns as Victor Velasco (Broadway’s After the Night and the Music and Hairspray, “Angie Tribeca,” “I’m Dying Up Here,” Incredibles 2), Mia Dillon as Mrs. Ethel Banks (original Broadway cast of Crimes of the Heart, Our Town with Paul Newman, The Miser, Hay Fever, The Cherry Orchard at La Jolla Playhouse), and Chris Lowell as Paul Bratter (“GLOW,” “Private Practice,” “Veronica Mars,” The Help, Off Broadway’s Jacuzzi); with Ed Hollingsworth as Deliveryman (the Globe’s Guys and Dolls) and Jake Millgard as Telephone Repairman and Deliveryman (the Globe’s Benny & Joon, Guys and Dolls, more).
The creative team includes Tobin Ost (Scenic Design), David Israel Reynoso (Costume Design), Amanda Zieve (Lighting Design), Lindsay Jones (Sound Design), Caparelliotis Casting (Casting), and Libby Unsworth (Production Stage Manager).
“Summertime at the Globe means laughter and fun, and no one delivers both better than Neil Simon,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Barefoot in the Park is a sweet, funny play about how delightful it is to figure out how to build a life that balances life, work, and love. In Corie and Paul, the young newlywed couple at the center of the story, the play reflects to all of us our best selves and reminds us that sometimes we all need to kick off our shoes and dance in the grass. Neil Simon is a towering figure in the American theatre, and we are thrilled to continue the Globe’s decades-long relationship with him. It’s also a treat to have the great comic director Jessica Stone back in San Diego. She and her crack team have put together a summer ice cream cone of a show, and I can’t wait to share it with our audience.”
For the full press release on Barefoot in the Park, click here! For more details on Barefoot in the Park, click here!
Artwork courtesy of The Old Globe.
SAN DIEGO (July 9, 2018)—For many San Diegans, their ability to understand and appreciate the wonders of the Bard during our Summer Shakespeare Festival has increased exponentially since they joined us for Thinking Shakespeare Live!, a 90-minute exploration of the language of Shakespeare led by the Globe’s Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and assisted by three professional classical actors. This special free program celebrates TCG’s newly released revised edition of Edelstein’s book Thinking Shakespeare: A How-To Guide for Student Actors, Directors, and Anyone Else Who Wants to Feel More Comfortable with the Bard.
The Old Globe will offer a reprise of Thinking Shakespeare Live! on Saturday, July 28 at 11:00 a.m. at the Neil Morgan Auditorium at the San Diego Central Library @ Joan Λ Irwin Jacobs Common. This is a free event with limited availability, so reservations are highly recommended. Tickets can be reserved after July 13 at 12:00 noon online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Globe Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. There will be a standby line on the day of the event starting at 10:00 a.m. The Central Library is located at 330 Park Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92101.
Parking at the San Diego Central Library: The parking structure at the Library contains limited, non-reserved spaces that are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Two-hour free parking validation will be available in the first floor lobby. For those who do not choose to validate, the regular parking rate is $1.25 per 20 minutes or part thereof. Early arrival in downtown is recommended.
Coinciding with The Old Globe’s 2018 Shakespeare Festival, Thinking Shakespeare Live! is a fast-paced, funny, and altogether fascinating guide to the language of the Bard. This popular program reveals a performer’s approach to Shakespearean language so audiences may easily understand the poetry of the Bard. It is an ideal introduction to Shakespeare for families and young audiences as well as an exciting new look at the playwright for Bardophiles. In this lively 90-minute program, Edelstein, called by NPR “one of the country’s leading Shakespeareans,” provides audiences a unique opportunity to learn the methods he imparts to professional actors in the rehearsal room. As Edelstein and three skilled actors demonstrate these techniques live on stage, this entertaining behind-the-scenes look at the creative process offers a primer on the tools used to hear and understand Shakespeare. With humor and insight, it brings audiences into the intoxicating world of the Bard and shows how his masterful poetry can come to life for everyone. Edelstein has performed this across the country, most recently at the Folger Shakespeare Library on June 1, and he will continue to bring the presentation to other cities throughout the summer.
“I’m pleased to mark the publication of the revised edition of my book Thinking Shakespeare by once again presenting its live incarnation,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Thinking Shakespeare Live! is such fun for me to do, and I relish the opportunity to share my passion for this amazing writer with new audiences. The program opens the door to the rehearsal room and shows how those of us lucky enough to work on Shakespeare for a living go about this work. I’m especially pleased to present the program at the San Diego Central Library @ Joan Λ Irwin Jacobs Common and to extend the Globe’s important partnership with the Library in this way.”
For the full press release on Thinking Shakespeare Live! 2018, click here! For more details on Thinking Shakespeare Live!, click here!
Photo: Old Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein leads Thinking Shakespeare Live! (2013). Photo by Doug Gates.
SAN DIEGO (June 18, 2018)—For the second consecutive year, The Old Globe will participate in the George Stevens Senior Center’s annual Juneteenth Celebration by presenting an original play developed in the coLAB workshop: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley: From Slavery to Modiste. Written by local community member and new playwright Claudia Thompson, it will be directed by the award-winning Delicia Turner Sonnenberg (Skeleton Crew at the Globe last spring).
The presentation will feature performances by other workshop participants and a cast of local actors led by Andréa Agosto as Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley.
The Old Globe created coLAB workshops as part of its continued effort to make theatre matter to more people. This arts engagement program involves a collaborative art-making process between community members and artists uniting storytelling and playmaking. The goal is to develop original pieces and showcase them in established community festivals.
The Juneteenth Celebration event begins at 11:00 a.m. and ends at 2:00 p.m. The presentation of Thompson’s Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley will take place as part of the June 19 event at 1:00 p.m. RSVP is required to this free presentation by calling (619) 266-2066.
Two free encore presentations will take place on Sunday, June 24 at 12:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. in the Globe’s Hattox Hall (located above Lady Carolyn’s Pub). A post-show talkback will be held immediately following the 12:30 p.m. performance. RSVP is required to this free presentation through the link: https://www.theoldglobe.org/reserve/index.aspx?performanceNumber=15529
The play, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley: From Slavery to Modiste, follows Keckley’s life and the challenges of being a former slave who became the most talented dressmaker of the 18th century. Her story encompasses sorrow, grief, loss, triumph, strength, confidence, and friendship. As an employee of the Lincoln White House, she experienced a tumultuous relationship with First Lady Mary Todd, from triumph to grief. Keckley was a slave for over 30 years and purchased her freedom for $1,200, moving to Washington DC to operate a very successful dressmaking business. She eventually became Lincoln’s dressmaker, confidante, and best friend. She was a designer, quilter, businesswoman, teacher, philanthropist, author, and mother.
“We are so excited to participate in this event for the second year in a row. The partnership we have developed with the George L. Stevens Senior Center is incredibly rewarding and valuable to us,” shared Freedome Bradley-Ballentine, Director of Arts Engagement of The Old Globe. “We are honored to support and present this work about an important American who has made a significant contribution to our shared culture. Claudia Thompson has done a wonderful job of capturing who Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was, and Delicia Turner Sonnenberg has directed this production with considerable skill. I hope you can join us in what will be a wonderful celebration of people, history, and theatre”.
For the full press release, click here! To reserve your tickets for this event, click here!
Photo courtesy of The Old Globe.
SAN DIEGO (June 15, 2018)—The Old Globe will once again share some of its favorite Shakespearean cinema as a complement to its stage productions with the return of Free Monday Night Film Screenings, presented in conjunction with the 2018 Summer Shakespeare Festival. Curated by the Globe’s Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and introduced by KPBS’s “Cinema Junkie” Beth Accomando, the films include Fred Wilcox’s Forbidden Planet on July 9, Ralph Fiennes’s Coriolanus on July 16, Orson Welles’s Othello on July 30, and Ian McKellen’s Richard III on August 27. Admission is free. Seating for each film is first-come, first-served and by general admission. The line begins one hour before each screening.
Help us kick off the series with free popcorn and a beer tasting as we journey to a Forbidden Planet, on Monday, July 9 at 8:15 p.m. in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. From the mind of Fred Wilcox (Lassie Come Home, The Secret Garden) comes one of the greatest science fiction films of the 1950s. Based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, this interstellar space story is one of the first to depict humans traveling in a faster-than-light starship. A spaceship headed by commander John J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen) and his crew travel to the distant planet Altair IV to determine the fate of scientists sent to the planet 20 years earlier. The crew arrives to find scientist Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter Altaira (Anne Francis) still alive. Soon, Adams and his crew begin to uncover why Morbius and his daughter were the sole survivors.
Shakespeare’s famous Roman tragedy Coriolanus follows on Monday, July 16 at 7:00 p.m. indoors on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. This vivid 2011 British film remake of the bloody epic marks the directorial debut of Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter, The Grand Budapest Hotel). Caius Martius Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes) is a revered and feared Roman general at odds with the city of Rome and his fellow citizens. Pushed by his controlling, ambitious mother Volumnia (Vanessa Redgrave) to seek the exalted and powerful position of Consul, he is loath to ingratiate himself with the masses whose votes he needs to secure the office. When the public refuses to support him, Coriolanus’s anger prompts a riot that culminates in his expulsion from Rome. The banished hero then allies himself with his sworn enemy Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler) to take his revenge on the city.
The Orson Welles–directed (Citizen Kane, Broadway’s Julius Caesar) Othellowill showon Monday, July 30 at 7:00 p.m. in the Old Globe Theatre. When a secret marriage is planned between Othello (Orson Welles), a Moorish general, and Desdemona (Suzanne Cloutier), the daughter of Senator Brabantio (Hilton Edwards), her old suitor Roderigo (Robert Coote) takes it hard. He allies himself with Iago (Micheál MacLiammóir), who has his own grudge against Othello, and the two conspire to bring Othello down. When their first plan, to have him accused of witchcraft, fails, they plant evidence intended to make him believe Desdemona is unfaithful.
Late summer skies provide the perfect setting for political machination in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre on Monday, August 27 at 8:00 p.m. when Richard III is brought to life on screen, based on the stage production directed by Richard Eyre. A murderous lust for the British throne sends Richard III (Ian McKellen) descending into madness. Though the setting is transposed to the 1930s, England is torn by civil war, split between the rivaling houses of York and Lancaster. Richard aspires to a fascist dictatorship, but must first remove the obstacles to his ascension—among them his brother, his nephews, and his brother’s wife (Annette Bening). When the Duke of Buckingham (Jim Broadbent) deserts him, Richard’s plans are compromised.
“Once again this year the Globe will bring cinema’s best Shakespeare to the San Diego summer. As we work to make theatre matter to more people, we take delight in sharing, for free, four absolutely wonderful movies with our city,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “As our nationally renowned Summer Shakespeare Festival boasts gorgeous new productions of The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing, we will present free screenings of entertaining and accessible movies that reimagine Shakespeare in many forms. I love all four of them. Forbidden Planet, a sci-fi riff on The Tempest, kicks us off in high ’50s style. Ralph Fiennes’s thrilling take on the rarely produced Coriolanus brings a modern, media-conscious perspective to the play. The genius of Orson Welles, both as actor and director, is on brilliant display in his Othello. And Ian McKellen’s energetic Richard III sets this great story against the chilling contours of early 20th century Fascism. I look forward to sharing this bounty of great Shakespeare with San Diego, and to joining our audience for some free popcorn and beer when we kick the series off!”
Admission is free for the Monday night Shakespeare film screenings. Seating for each film is first-come, first-served and by general admission. Line begins one hour before each screening. Summer Season subscriptions offer substantial savings on this exciting lineup of shows, and range from $138–$373. Single tickets for all four showsare on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE [234-5623], or by visiting the box office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and younger, seniors, and groups of 10 or more.
For the full press release on the 2018 Summer Shakespeare Festival Film Screenings, click here! For more details on the Summer Shakespeare Festival, click here!
Artwork courtesy of The Old Globe.
SAN DIEGO (June 12, 2018)—The Old Globe, together with Children’s Theatre Company (CTC), and in partnership with The Old Vic, today updated information for Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax in its U.S. premiere. The production, based on the book The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, is adapted for the stage by David Greig (Artistic Director of Royal Lyceum Theatre Company; recent work: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Cover My Tracks) with music and lyrics written by Charlie Fink (front man/songwriter for the hit musical group Noah and the Whale, 2007–2015).
Globe performances will run July 2 – August 12, part of the Globe’s 2018 Summer Season, on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Opening night is Friday, July 6 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for the general public are on sale now. Single tickets start at $40 for adults and $30 for children ages three and above, and may be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. CTC performances ran April 17 – June 10, 2018.
Direct from London’s West End comes the critically acclaimed and Olivier Award–nominated musical event of the summer. Silky soft Truffula trees provide the perfect ingredient for a nifty new garment. But when demand skyrockets, who will speak for all the trees in the Truffula forest? Enter The Lorax. Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax has been enchanting adults and children alike for generations, and this summer his irresistible, big-hearted, mustachioed hero will be brought to inventive life in what critics call a “mad, uproarious delight” (The Independent). Audiences of all ages will be thrilled by the brilliant, eye-popping colors, infectious music, and beloved story that the Financial Times called “joyous and all-too-timely.”
H. Adam Harris, along with Meghan Kreidler and Rick Miller puppeteering, will play The Lorax. Joining them is Steven Epp as The Once-ler, as well as Ansa Akyea (Once-ler Dad, Mayor, Inspector), Christopher Becknell (Musician, Storyteller), Stephanie Bertumen (Once-ler Family, McGee, Inspector), Brian Bose (Once-ler Family, Bear), Ryan Colbert (Small Ed, Storyteller), Lynnea Doublette (McGann, Storyteller), Johannah “Joh” Easley (Child, Once-ler Family), Rajané Katurah (Granny Once-ler, Von Goo), Ryan Lear (Musician, Storyteller), Ryan Dean Maltz (Storyteller), Emily Michaels King (Swan, Once-ler Family), and Autumn Ness (Mommy Once-ler, Samelore Bews).
Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, originally produced at The Old Vic in London, is directed by Max Webster (Associate Director, The Old Vic), with choreography by Drew McOnie (Olivier Award, Best Theatre Choreographer, In the Heights), scenic and costume design by Rob Howell (Broadway’s Groundhog Day, Matilda the Musical, Ghost the Musical, Private Lives), lighting design by Jon Clark (Associate Artist, Royal Shakespeare Company), and sound design by Tom Gibbons (Oliver Award, Best Sound Design, People, Places and Things). Puppet direction is by Finn Caldwell (Broadway’s War Horse and Angels in America), puppetry design by Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes (West End’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins), and musical supervision and arrangements by Phil Bateman (original music director, West End Billy Elliot the Musical; vocal arranger for the film Kinky Boots). The Globe creative team includes associate director James Vásquez (the Globe’s American Mariachi and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!), music direction by Elan McMahon (the Globe’s Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!), and production stage manager Stacy McIntosh.
“Dr. Seuss Enterprises is thrilled to see this fantastic show, which premiered at The Old Vic in London, make its way across the ocean to two theatres with whom we have longstanding relationships—Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis and The Old Globe in San Diego,” said Susan Brandt, President of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. “With continued headlines focused on environmental concerns such as deforestation, pollution, and melting ice caps, The Lorax’s message is one that remains relevant and poignant almost 50 years after it was written. It is gratifying to see three of the world’s best theatres bring Ted Geisel’s important message about taking care of our planet and each other to the next generation of Seuss fans and naturalists.”
“Having Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax at The Old Globe is exciting in a slew of ways, but two stand out,” said The Old Globe’s Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “First, the story itself is charming, fun, and timely, and this theatrical adaptation of it is just a thrill to watch. It’s a sophisticated, grown-up telling of a masterful tale for young people, a charming and winning piece of theatre that truly offers something for everyone. The second wonderful thing about The Lorax in our season is that it continues our relationship with San Diego’s own Dr. Seuss. This relationship spans two decades in which The Grinch has brought his unique wit and heart to our audiences. Now the Lorax joins him as a member of the Globe family. I can’t wait.”
“We are thrilled to bring our audiences the U.S. premiere of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, a powerful, witty, and important story for all generations,” said Children’s Theatre Company Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius. “We welcomed the London production’s creative team to Minneapolis and are delighted that our fabulous cast will travel to The Old Globe in San Diego. Our partnership with The Old Globe and The Old Vic further advances our mission of reaching multigenerational audiences both in our state and across this country with extraordinary theatrical productions.”
Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax at the Globe is supported in part through gifts from Production Sponsors Peter Cooper, Elaine and Dave Darwin, and Hal and Pam Fuson, as well as Artist Sponsor Jo Ann Kilty (for H. Adam Harris, The Lorax). Financial support is provided by The City of San Diego.
For the full press release, click here! For more information on Dr. Seuss's The Lorax and to see the new production photos, click here!
Photo: (from left) Steven Epp as The Once-ler, Meghan Kreidler, Rick Miller, and H. Adam Harris as The Lorax in Dr. Seuss's The Lorax, running July 2 – August 12, 2018 at The Old Globe. Photo by Dan Norman.
SAN DIEGO (June 8, 2018)—The Globe is happy to announce that the Globe for All Tour will continue to bring shows to the community in 2018, with support provided by Theatre Forward’s Advancing Strong Theatre grant program. Following the Globe engagement of Karen Zacarías’s hilarious comedy directed by Edward Torres, Native Gardens will travel June 28 through July 1 to four of our community partner venues for free performances in South Bay, Lemon Grove, Otay Mesa, and Oceanside. Developed in the 2017 Powers New Voices Festival, it runs through June 24 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and then hits the road!
Young power couple Pablo and Tania get their piece of the American dream when they purchase an upscale house in a historic neighborhood. But a disagreement with their next-door neighbors Virginia and Frank over the property line that separates their backyards soon spirals into an all-out war of taste, class, and gardening. The hedgerow becomes the site of a culture clash and friendly neighbors turn into flower-flinging enemies in this West Coast premiere.
The cast includes Kimberli Flores (Marvel/Netflix’s “Daredevil,” Pulse at Guthrie Theater) as Tania Del Valle, Eddie Martinez (member of Chicago’s Teatro Vista, Fade Off Broadway) as Pablo Del Valle, Mark Pinter (Globe’s Red Velvet, Macbeth, Othello, and more) as Frank Butley, and Shana Wride (Much Ado About Nothing, Faded Glory, 2.5 Minute Ride) as Virginia Butley, as well as local San Diego actors Jose Balistrieri (Gardener) and Alexander Guzman (Gardener).
The creative team includes Collette Pollard (Scenic Design), Jennifer Brawn Gittings (Costume Design), Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Design), Caparelliotis Casting (Casting), and Marie Jahelka (Production Stage Manager).
The Globe for All touring program, the Globe’s cornerstone arts engagement initiative, was launched in 2014 by Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and has since brought free professional theatre twice a year to over 7,300 diverse, multigenerational people in communities throughout San Diego, offering workshops, community meals, and talkbacks. The Native Gardens Globe for All Tour performances will take place at Hilltop Middle School/South Bay Community Center on Thursday, June 28; at Lemon Grove Academy/Lemon Grove Branch Library/Lemon Grove Historical Society on Friday, June 29; at the Otay Mesa-Nestor Branch Library on Saturday, June 30; and at the Oceanside Public Library in their Civic Center Community Rooms on Sunday, July 1. Tour performances are by invitation only from the community partner organizations.
The Globe for All Tour of Native Gardens recently received Theatre Forward’s Advancing Strong Theatre grant through a program initiative focused on funding and promoting greater access and opportunity in the American theatre. Theatre Forward is an association of institutional not-for-profit theatres located in 19 cities across the country devoted to advancing the American theatre and its communities. Advancing Strong Theatreseeks to accelerate change in the areas of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) by providing the resources for recipients to explore, initiate, or deepen collaborative relationships with those from a group currently underrepresented in the activities of the theatre as audience members or participants in other programs. With this support, the Globe is working with community partners in four neighborhoods with significant Latinx populations to provide free Globe for All Tours and additional arts engagement programs.
Through a highly competitive independent grant-making process, Theatre Forward awarded Dallas Theater Center, Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, The Old Globe, and Seattle Repertory Theatre grants of $50,000 each for artistic projects that advance each theatre’s holistic plans for achieving equity, diversity, and inclusion. Recipients were chosen from among the 19 eligible Theatre Forward member theatres. Advancing Strong Theatre aims to launch or strengthen new models and practices to address critical EDI issues.
The Globe’s EDI/Latinx initiative will expand its reach and deepen connections throughout San Diego County. Currently, 33 percent of County residents are Latinx, but this population generally comprises only 7 percent of the Globe’s audiences. This outreach begins with Native Gardens, followed by tours of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in November 2018 and a fall 2019 Shakespeare tour. A rich array of free arts engagement programs will also be offered, including Behind the Curtain (workshops that provide a hands-on introduction to the technical side of theatre); Community Voices (beginners’ playwriting workshops), coLAB (community-based theatre projects created by residents and artists), Breaking Bread (community dinners), and other activities.
“It’s a special pleasure for the Globe to bring this funny and smart play to San Diego audiences,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Native Gardens is being produced in theatres nationwide, and the reasons are clear. It’s a play that’s about the special character of American cities, where people from many backgrounds live cheek-by-jowl and come together to make urban cultures that are rich, diverse, and highly energetic. Karen Zacarías finds hilarity in, of all things, a property dispute, and she shows us in warm and witty terms how good neighbors can overcome just about any difference. Eddie Torres and his ace cast are going to deliver a memorable night of theatre to Balboa Park as well as to our neighbors around the county.”
Native Gardens at the Globeis supported in part through a gift from Production Sponsor Elaine Lipinsky Family Foundation. Financial support is provided by The City of San Diego.
The Native Gardens Globe for All Tour is supported by The City of Chula Vista Performing and Visual Arts Grant, The Ann Davies Fund for Teaching Artists, and Theatre Forward.
For the full press release on the Globe for All tour of Native Gardens, click here! For more details and tickets to Native Gardens, click here!
Artwork courtesy of The Old Globe.
SAN DIEGO (June 6, 2018) — The Old Globe continues to make theatre matter to more people by mixing up our FREEsummer schedule of AXIS events to include all the wonderful San Diegans and Balboa Park visitors who come to Free Tuesdays in Balboa Park! We invite families, dance and music lovers to join us on the Globe’s Copley Plaza for this FREE special AXIS Summer Dance Series on Tuesdays, June 12, July 10 and August 21. We will also join in on the worldwide celebration of Make Music Day on Thursday, June 21.
The fun-filled activities highlight outstanding professional and community partner organizations and personalities who will teach, choreograph and inspire lots of community participation at all levels.
The events include:
Dance to EvOLvE is a unique and mobile dance company that teaches all of its classes in third party venues around San Diego County. Specializing in teaching children ages 1.5 - 12 years. Their mission is to evolve students through dance education while creating heart-warming smiles!
Make Music San Diego AXIS through its partnership with You Are Musical Project (Y.A.M.P.), joins the free celebration of music held around the world on June 21. Make Music Day, was launched in 1982 in France as the Fête de la Musique; it has expanded to more than 800 cities in 120 countries. Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music Day is open to anyone who wants to take part. Every kind of musician — young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion — pours onto streets, parks, plazas, and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors, and strangers. You Are Musical Project (Y.A.M.P.) is a free participatory community music making initiative that brings together ancient and modern musical tools to engage everyday people in making music together in public spaces. No previous musical experience is required, just step right up to any of the digital instrument stations, live microphones or percussion instruments and start making music right away with everyone.
Elvina Adams has been dancing since the age of three, with extensive local training. She has taught at Culture Shock Dance Studio, master classes at Grossmont College, and workshops at USD’s Summer Bridge program; and created award winning hip hop competition sets for Ramona Julian Academy of Dance, Arwen Daniels Dance Academy, and Heart 2 Art. For the past two years, she choreographed/staged dance and musical theater segments for the Globe’s Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio. Her wide range of training blends into the unique style presented here.
About George Stevens Resource Center: Since 2002, the Fourth District Seniors Resource Center (FDSRC) has worked to enhance and embrace the quality of life for our “seasoned ambassadors” by providing a wholesome and safe environment for them to thrive, while assisting them to live more independently and proactively. We provide quality services to our district’s lower-to-moderate-income seniors and their families through a variety of resources. FDSRC does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, and political opinion or affiliation.
AXIS is supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation. Financial support is provided by The City of San Diego.
For the full press release, click here! For more information on other upcoming AXIS events, click here!
Photo courtesy of Dance to Evolve.
SAN DIEGO (May 14, 2018)—The Old Globe today announced its next cast and creative team—including numerous Globe favorites and new faces—as the 2018 Summer Shakespeare Festival once again presents the finest of the Bard’s work outdoors under the stars in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Summer will officially arrive with The Tempest, directed by Joe Dowling (formerly the Artistic Director for Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and Abbey Theatre in Ireland), with star of stage and screen Kate Burton as Prospera, running June 17 – July 22, 2018. Tickets start at $30.00, on sale to the general public now. Previews run June 17 – 22. Opening night is Saturday, June 23 at 8:00 p.m.
Prospera, the Duchess of Milan, lives in exile on a desert island after being thrown out of power by her wicked brother. For company, she has only her daughter Miranda, the spirits who are native to the island, and her beloved books. The books are the source of her dark magic, which she uses to lure her enemies to the island so she can exact revenge. But her plot could destroy Miranda’s happiness, so Prospera must choose between her own anger and her daughter’s future. This enchanting fantasy, brimming with magic and romance, kicks off the 2018 Shakespeare Festival with spectacle under the stars.
“The Tempest, Shakespeare’s masterpiece about redemption and the rediscovery of kindness, couldn’t be more of a balm for our turbulent moment,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. ”Its gorgeous poetry, breathtaking spectacle, and unforgettable characters remind us that virtue and forgiveness are supreme human values. It’s one of my favorite plays, and I am thrilled that this summer it is in the hands of two masters: the eminent director Joe Dowling, and the surpassingly gifted classical actress Kate Burton. Together with an ace company of actors and first-rate designers, they will make a thrilling and memorable evening of Shakespeare under the warm San Diego sky, and I can’t wait to share it with our audience.”
The cast features Kate Burton as Prospera (starred on Broadway in Present Laughter and Spring Awakening, Tony Award–nominated for The Constant Wife, The Elephant Man, and Hedda Gabler, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “This Is Us”), with Philippe Bowgen as Ariel (the eponymous Picasso at the Lapin Agile; Off Broadway’sHomos, Or Everyone in America and The Changeling), Robert Dorfman as Stephano (The Twenty-seventh Man, Broadway’s The Lion King, Social Security; A Dybbuk, and The Normal Heart), Manoel Felciano as Caliban (Ken Ludwig’s Robin Hood! and Twelfth Night, Tony nomination for Broadway’s Sweeney Todd, Amélie), Globe Associate Artist Robert Foxworth as Alonso (Quartet, Other Desert Cities, Inherit the Wind, Richard III, August: Osage County, and many more), Lizan Mitchell as Gonzala (Drama Desk Award for Trojan Women, Broadway’s So Long on Lonely Street, films The Preacher’s Wife and The Human Stain, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), René Thornton Jr. as Antonio (seen in every play in Shakespeare’s Folio at American Shakespeare Center in Virginia), and Andrew Weems as Trinculo (Craig Noel Awardwinner for Don Juan; Born Yesterday, Inherit the Wind, and The Green Bird on Broadway). The cast also includes students in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program: Sam Avishay as Ferdinand (The Importance of Being Earnest, King Richard II, and Hamlet) and Nora Carroll as Miranda (Hamlet and King Richard II); and ensemble members Carlos Angel-Barajas, Yadira Correa (Francisca), Daniel Ian Joeck (Sebastian), Jose Martinez, Renardo Charles Pringle Jr. (Boatswain), Larica Schnell (Ceres), Jersten Seraile, Samantha Sutliff (Juno), Morgan Taylor, Wenona Truong (Iris), Jared Van Heel (Adrian), and Eric Weiman (Shipmaster).
The creative team includes Alexander Dodge (Scenic Design; Craig Noel Awards for The Comedy of Errors and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder; Kiss Me, Kate), David Israel Reynoso (Costume Design; The Wanderers, Red Velvet, The Blameless, and more), Philip S. Rosenberg (Lighting Design; Broadway’s Pretty Woman: The Musical, The Elephant Man, and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Jonathan Deans (Sound Design), Keith Thomas (Original Music), David Huber (Voice and Dialect Coach), Tara Rubin Casting (Casting), and Anjee Nero (Production Stage Manager).
For the full press release on The Tempest, click here! For more details and tickets to The Tempest, click here!
Artwork courtesy of The Old Globe.
SAN DIEGO (May 8, 2018)—Because our work at The Old Globe each day is to make theatre matter to more people, join us for a free AXIS event and collaborative creative workshop.
By the Community, For the Community combines a public play-devising workshop, a reading presentation, and a performance showcasing the work originated through coLAB workshops.
We invite everyone to participate in developing short, original, curated performance pieces dealing with the theme of “What does community mean to you?” This workshop presentation will include a world-premiere preview reading drawn from works to be presented at the upcoming coLAB events Juneteenth and Stand Down. All ages are encouraged! Come have some fun, be creative, and coLAB with us!
For the third year in a row, two of the Globe’s signature arts engagement programs—coLAB (free writing workshops in the community) and AXIS (free Globe event series)—unite in the spirit of creative community collaboration to share the artistry created there. By the Community, For the Community will feature Globe artists Katherine Harroff, Tara Ricasa, Gill Sotu, Soroya Rowley, and Brandon Cerquedo. The writing workshop will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. with live music by Cerquedo. Globe artists will provide handouts (suitable for adults and or kids) with creative prompts inspired by our community. AXIS attendees will be encouraged to express themselves creatively through prose, poetry, or visual art in order to contribute to a collaborative performance presentation that will take place later in the day with the Globe artists. At 12:20 p.m. a second coLAB presentation will take place, featuring original works created through coLAB workshops for Juneteenth, Stand Down, and City Heights’s 2017 Día de los Muertos.
Arts Engagement Program Associate Katherine Harroff will provide background information on coLAB and the individual presentations to further connect AXIS participants to the project. The presentation/demonstration of original works created on-site will take place from 12:50 p.m. to 1:20 p.m., and will feature the collaborative presentations of the original works created earlier in the day by AXIS participants working with Globe artists to present their original work on the fly. The creative event will finish with a special preview of the new and upcoming coLAB presentations Juneteenth and Stand Down from 1:25 p.m. to1:55 p.m.
For the full press release on By the Community, For the Community, click here! For more information on other upcoming AXIS events, click here!
Photo by Rich Soublet II.
SAN DIEGO (May 4, 2018)—The Old Globe today announced its 2018–2019 Season, a marvelous array of world, American, and West Coast premieres that features hilarious, heartwarming, and provocative works that span eras and continents, genres and cultures, personal experiences and big national themes…and Shakespeare, of course!
“The Old Globe’s 2018–2019 Season showcases the wonders and excitements of American theatre at its very best,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Our slate of shows once again demonstrates why this is one of our country’s preeminent theatres. The season includes powerful and engaging world premieres, musical theatre of the highest caliber, hilarious comedy, and deep feeling, all created by artists of national and international renown. This remarkable body of work continues to demonstrate the Globe’s commitment to programming a diverse lineup, in every sense of that word. There are works in many genres that tell stories through varied theatrical forms. And there are stories that range across history and the full spectrum of the human experience as they model on our stages the pluralistic America in which we live. This is theatre that matters: witty, engaging, fun, tuneful, thoughtful, and provocative. There’s something for every San Diegan in this season, and I am thrilled to bring the bounty of all of these works to our great, loyal, and growing audience.”
The 2018–2019 Season kicks off with the previously announced world premiere of the dynamic and hilarious new musical The Heart of Rock & Roll, an electrifying musical comedy inspired by the songs of one of pop music’s most beloved bands. After trading in his guitar for a stable job “Workin’ for a Livin’” in corporate America, will Bobby take a last shot at rock-and-roll glory with his old band, or risk it all for “The Power of Love”? Rediscover classic songs in this musical inspired by the music of Huey Lewis and the News, featuring a book by Jonathan Abrams and story by Tyler Mitchell and Jonathan Abrams. It will be directed by Gordon Greenberg with choreography by Lorin Latarro and music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Brian Usifer. Presented by special arrangement with Tyler Mitchell and Tamar Climan, The Heart of Rock & Roll will run September 6 – October 21, 2018 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, opening on September 14.
Expanding the Globe celebration of the holidays for 2018 is a world premiere American musical about family, loyalty, and the magic of Christmas. Looking for Christmas: The New Clint Black Christmas Musical is inspired by the country music legend’s 1995 chart-topping holiday album. As Staff Sergeant Mike Randolf returns home from Afghanistan, his young daughter’s search for the true meaning of Christmas helps him make peace with his past on the battlefield. With music and lyrics by Clint Black, book by James D. Sasser with Black, based on an idea by Sasser and Black, music supervision by Charles Vincent Burwell, and directed by Kent Nicholson, Looking for Christmas will run November 13 – December 16, 2018 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, opening on November 20.
2019 will begin with a funny, warmhearted look at tradition, marriage, and what it means to be an American family, Familiar by Tony Award nominee Danai Gurira (Broadway’s Eclipsed, Black Panther, “The Walking Dead”). The New York Times calls it “an engrossing, fiercely funny comedy–drama that probes with subtlety and smarts.” Familiar will run January 26 – March 3, 2019 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Old Globe Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, opening on January 31.
Making its West Coast premiere is Tiny Beautiful Things, based on the best-selling book by Cheryl Strayed, adapted for the stage by Academy Award nominee Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding). Tiny Beautiful Things follows the relationships between an anonymous advice columnist named Sugar and the many real-life readers who pour out their hearts to her, in an enrapturing and uplifting play that surges with emotion and is called by Variety “a theatrical hug in turbulent times.” Co-conceived by Marshall Heyman, Thomas Kail (Hamilton), and Vardalos and directed by Globe favorite James Vásquez (American Mariachi, The Grinch), Tiny Beautiful Things will run February 9 – March 10, 2019 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, opening onFebruary 14.
Crossing the border for its American premiere is Life After, a rapturously beautiful and stirring new musical withbook, music, and lyrics by Britta Johnson. The Globe’s own Barry Edelstein directs this bittersweet, witty, and life-affirming new musical that explores the mess and beauty of loss and love. The Toronto Star calls its composer “a startlingly talented emerging voice.” BroadwayWorld dubs Life After “musical theatre perfection…exquisite from start to finish.” Life After will run March 22 – April 28, 2019 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Old Globe Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, opening on March 29.
Our first of two world premieres in the season that were developed in the Globe’s Powers New Voices Festival, Laurel Ollstein’s They Promised Her the Moon, wowed 2018 Festival audiences. In vividly theatrical terms, They Promised Her the Moon tells the unknown true story of Jerrie Cobb, an exceptional and unjustly overlooked woman—skilled aviator, world-record-holding pilot, successful business executive—who underwent the same rigorous psychological and physical NASA testing in 1960 as the famed “Mercury Seven,” and the powerful forces that kept her from reaching orbit. Directed by Giovanna Sardelli, They Promised Her the Moon will run April 6 – May 5, 2019 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, opening onApril 11.
“Save me, gods of ancient Greece!” Comic playwright Ken Ludwig, who delighted Globe audiences with Robin Hood! and Baskerville, returns with a knockabout world premiere: Ken Ludwig’s The Gods of Comedy. Directed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall (the Globe’s Love’s Labor’s Lost) and presented in association with McCarter Theatre Center, Ken Ludwig’s The Gods of Comedy will run May 11 – June 16, 2019 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Old Globe Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, opening on May 16. The Ivy League will never be the same as a pair of screwball deities encounters the carnal complexity of college coeds, campus capers, and conspicuous consumption.
What You Are is the second of the world premieres developed in the Globe’s Powers New Voices Festival, this one in 2017. The Globe-commissioned new play by JC Lee is a riveting, of-the-moment exploration of the personal struggles that accompany sweeping social change. Feeling adrift in a changing America he no longer recognizes, Don scrapes together a living and struggles to support his family through hard work and good intentions. What You Are will run May 23 – June 23, 2019 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, opening on May 30.
Everyone’s favorite Green Meanie is back to celebrate the holidays as Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! returns to the Globe for its 21st incredible year, featuring the songs “Santa for a Day,” “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and “Welcome, Christmas (Fah Who Doraze),” the delightful carol from the popular animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! James Vásquez once again directs this wonderful, whimsical holiday musical, based upon the classic Dr. Seuss book, November 3 – December 29, 2018, opening November 8 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Old Globe Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! has a book and lyrics by Timothy Mason, music by Mel Marvin, original production conceived and directed by Jack O’Brien, and original choreography by John DeLuca. As in years past, The Grinch will be performed on Saturday, December 1 for children on the autism spectrum and their families, as well as families with special needs that appreciate the welcoming and supportive environment this performance provides.
“Lord, what fools these mortals be!” No Globe season would be complete without William Shakespeare! The fifth annual Globe for All Tour will bring a free professional production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Patricia McGregor (Globe for All’s Measure for Measure, Hamlet at The Public Theater),to diverse, multigenerational audiences who may not have regular access to the performing arts. Fall under the spell of Shakespeare’s most uproarious and popular comedy. Filled with magic, humor, music, and magnificent poetry, this dream unfolds in an enchanted forest where fairies play tricks on unsuspecting lovers, and bumbling actors are transformed beyond their wildest imaginings. Add to this a secret potion that grants love at first sight, and anything can—and does—happen! This year’s 20-stop tour, which will culminate in two low-cost performances at The Old Globe, will run October 30 – November 18, 2018.
Globe for All is the centerpiece of The Old Globe’s commitment to creating public value by making theatre matter to more people. The tour, along with workshops and talkbacks, reaches thousands of people across San Diego County twice a year. Over the past four years, the Globe for All Tour has performed in military bases, homeless shelters, centers for the elderly, correctional facilities, recreation centers, libraries, and other community-based venues for more than 4,800 audience members, many seeing theatre for the first time.
“Cowards die many times before their deaths / The valiant never taste of death but once.” The illustrious The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program will present Shakespeare’s classic Julius Caesar. The Globe’s intimate arena stage will give you an up-close seat for Shakespeare’s masterful tale of cunning diplomacy, fast-shifting alliances, and the unpredictable consequences of betrayal. The classical actors of tomorrow will expertly perform one of the world’s great plays. Julius Caesar will run October 20 – 28, 2018 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.
A joint venture of the Globe and USD, the Shiley Graduate Theatre Program nationally recruits seven students each year to participate in an intensive two-year course of graduate study in classical theatre. Private funding for the Master of Fine Arts in Theatre program has been contributed through a generous endowment established by Donald and Darlene Shiley. Additional support for the program is provided by the Dorothy Brown Endowment Fund and the Louis Yager Cantwell Foundation.
For the full press release on the 2018-19 Season, click here! For more details on each show in the 2018-19 Season, click here!
Photo: Huey Lewis and the News.
