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SAN DIEGO (June 4, 2019)—The Old Globe today announced its latest cast and creative team as the award-winning PigPen Theatre Co., which delighted Globe audiences in 2017 with The Old Man and The Old Moon, returns with a world premiere musical: The Tale of Despereaux. Based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo and the Universal Pictures animated film, with book, music, and lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co., this inspiring family-friendly adventure will be directed by Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) and PigPen Theatre Co. It will run July 6 – August 11, 2019 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, opening on Saturday, July 13 at 8:00 p.m. Single tickets start at $30.00 for children and $40.00 for adults, and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or at the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.
The acclaimed PigPen Theatre Co. brings their one-of-a-kind theatrical and musical inventiveness to Kate DiCamillo’s beloved, Newbery Medal–winning modern fable. Despereaux is a courageous mouse who dreams of becoming a knight. He sets off on a noble quest that will take him down into dungeons and up to the heights of a castle tower to rescue a beautiful human princess—but the dark-hearted rat Roscuro has other ideas. The Boston Herald proclaims, “PigPen Theatre Co. is already a phenomenon,” while The New Yorker says, “It’s like watching child geniuses at play!” Full of gorgeous music, stunning stage effects, witty performances, and a message of optimism and community, The Tale of Despereaux is an inspiring and beguiling story for all ages.
The cast includes Alex Falberg as Lester (Globe’s The Old Man and The Old Moon; Pericles directed by Trevor Nunn), Ben Ferguson as Furlough (Globe’s The Old Man…), Curtis Gillen as Louise and Most High Head Mouse (The Old Man…; Pericles, HairBrained), Taylor Iman Jones as Princess Pea and Merlot (Broadway’s Head Over Heels, Groundhog Day, The Who’s Tommy at The Kennedy Center, American Idiot tour), Ryan Melia as Librarian and Prisoner (Globe’s The Old Man…; Pericles), Betsy Morgan as Miggery Sow and Antoinette (Globe’s Rain; First Daughter Suite, Sweeney Todd), Bianca Norwood as Despereaux, Matt Nuernberger as Botticelli (Globe’s The Old Man…; Pericles), Eric Petersen as Roscuro (Broadway’s School of Rock, Escape to Margaritaville, Shrek The Musical, Peter and the Starcatcher), San Diego native Arya Shahi as King Philip (Globe’s The Old Man…; Pericles), and Dan Weschler as Stained-Glass Knight (Globe’s The Old Man…; Pericles); with swings Michael Cusimano, Natasha Harris, and Devon Hunt.
The award-winning creative team includes Jason Sherwood (Scenic Design; Globe’s Ken Ludwig’s The Gods of Comedy, Red Velvet; Rent: Live), Anita Yavich (Costume Design; Broadway’s Fool for Love, Venus in Fur, Chinglish, Anna in the Tropics), Isabella Byrd (Lighting Design; Obie Award winner for Light Shining in Buckinghamshire; “Daddy”, Continuity), Nevin Steinberg (Sound Design; Globe’s Bright Star; Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Hadestown, The Cher Show), Lydia Fine and Nick Lehane (Puppetry Design), Jennifer Jancuska (Choreography), Christopher Jahnke (Music Director), Tara Rubin Casting/Merri Sugarman, CSA (Casting), and Libby Unsworth (Production Stage Manager).
“I’m completely thrilled to welcome the brilliant PigPen Theatre Co. back to the Globe,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “These exciting theatre makers are endlessly inventive, hugely talented, and committed to the idea that the stage is a place for magical fun, captivating music, and stories that touch and move us. The Tale of Despereaux is a perfect match for their gifts, because it, too, is about the power of stories to bewitch and transform us. It’s a special delight that PigPen is working on this world premiere with the gifted director Marc Bruni, whose track record for spectacular staging precedes him, and with four accomplished musical theatre actors who join their merry band to create a work of theatre art that will enchant audiences of all ages.”
For the full press release on The Tale of Despereaux, click here! For the The Tale of Despereaux press page, click here! To buy tickets to The Tale of Despereaux, click here!
Artwork courtesy of The Old Globe.
SAN DIEGO (May 23, 2019)—As the 2019 Summer Shakespeare Festival kicks off, The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team with As You Like It, the Bard’s fabulously charming romantic comedy, whose heroine is one of his most remarkable creations. Director Jessica Stone’s recent body of work—including Barefoot in the Park, Ken Ludwig’s Robin Hood!, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and Arms and the Man—has had Globe audiences rolling in the aisles. Her Shakespearean directing debut will run June 16 – July 21, 2019 outdoors under the stars in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Tickets start at $30.00 and are on sale to the general public now. Previews run June 16–21 with opening night on Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
The magical forest of Arden is the play’s famous setting, where a gallery of eccentric characters comes together to find love, fortune, redemption...and themselves. Banished from the court by her deceitful and treacherous uncle, Rosalind disguises herself as a boy, not knowing that the man she loves, also on the run, is behind the next tree. Bucolic Balboa Park is the ideal spot for Shakespeare’s enticing tale of mistaken identity, heartfelt romance, and the endearing fumbles and foibles of love.
“As You Like It is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, one of the Bard’s masterpieces, and one of the works that really expresses what’s so magical about Shakespeare onstage,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “It’s got everything: brilliant poetry, amazing characters, love and romance, music, and the perfect balance between a bit of thematic darkness and a joyous happy ending. I could watch the play a million times and never fall out of love with it. The Globe’s good friend, the immensely talented director Jessica Stone, brings her great sense of comic brio and her warm and kind heart to this play, and makes a production that’s a charmer. Shakespeare in Balboa Park is always a bucolic experience, but this summer and this show are going to be memorable. I can’t wait to share a special evening’s entertainment with San Diego.”
The cast includes Mark H. Dold (Globe’s Opus; Freud’s Last Session) as Jaques, Meredith Garretson (Ken Ludwig’s Robin Hood! at the Globe; Fosse/Verdon, Dancing at Lughnasa) as Rosalind, Joseph Kamal (A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Band’s Visit) as Adam, Leonard Kelly-Young (Globe’s Titus Andronicus; The Heart of Robin Hood) as Corin and Hymen, Nikki Massoud (New York Theatre Workshop’s Othello; A Doll’s House, Part 2) as Celia, Jon Orsini (Globe’s Hamlet, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Othello; The Nance) as Orlando, Vincent Randazzo (American Conservatory Theater’s Vanity Fair, A Walk on the Moon) as Touchstone, and Cornell Womack (Globe’s Hamlet, The Winter’s Tale; L.A. Philharmonic’s The Tempest; On Golden Pond) as Duke Senior and Duke Frederick. The cast includes students in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program: Carlos Angel-Barajas as Jaques de Boys, Summer Broyhill as Amiens, Ramon Burris as Charles, Mason Conrad as Silvius, Yadira Correa as Audrey, Aubrey Deeker Hernandez as Oliver, Eric Hagen as Dennis, Bibi Mama as Duke Senior’s Lord 1, Hallie Peterson as Le Beau, Jersten Seraile as Sir Oliver Martex and Duke Senior‘s Lord 2, Morgan Taylor as Phoebe, Wenona Truong as Duke Frederick’s Lady, Jared Van Heel as William, and Marco Antonio Vega as Duke Frederick’s Lord.
The creative team includes Globe and Broadway favorites Tobin Ost (Scenic Design), David Israel Reynoso (Costume Design), Stephen Strawbridge (Lighting Design), Sten Severson (Sound Design), Obadiah Eaves (Original Music), Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum (Fight Director), David Huber (Voice and Text Coach), Alaine Alldaffer, CSA (Casting), and Jess Slocum (Production Stage Manager).
For the full press release on As You Like It, click here! For the As You Like It press page, click here! To buy tickets to As You Like It, click here!
Artwork courtesy of The Old Globe.
SAN DIEGO (May 10, 2019)—The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team for the world premiere of What You Are, a Globe-commissioned new play by JC Lee and the second show in the 2018–2019 Season developed in the Powers New Voices Festival. Directed by Patricia McGregor, What You Are will run May 30 – June 30, 2019 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run May 30 – June 5. Opening night is Thursday, June 6 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets start at $30.00 and are on sale now. Tickets 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.
What You Are is a riveting, of-the-moment exploration of the personal struggles that accompany sweeping social change. Don scrapes together a living and struggles to support his family through hard work and good intentions. But everything around him, from his younger co-workers, to the technology in his office job, to even his own opinionated daughter, seems alien to the certainties and stabilities he once knew. When a simple misunderstanding at work escalates into an all-out confrontation, Don hatches a plan to set right all the things he feels have gone wrong. Can the people who love him manage to hold him together? Contains strong language.
The cast includes Adrian Anchondo (After the Revolution, The First Grade, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “How to Get Away with Murder,” “NCIS: Los Angeles”) as Hector, Jasmin Savoy Brown (Shonda Rhimes’s “For the People,” HBO’s “The Leftovers,” Netflix’s “Love,” TNT’s “Will”) as Katie, Omozé Idehenre (The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Good Grief, The Comedy of Errors, Richard III at Oregon Shakespeare Festival) as Sigourney, Mike Sears (Off Broadway’s When Words Fail, Globe for All Tour of Twelfth Night, Kiss Me, Kate at The Old Globe) as Randy, and Jonathan Walker (Broadway’s Rocky, Twentieth Century, Off Broadway’s The Divine Sister, Fran’s Bed, Dinner with Friends, The Old Globe’sHamlet, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing) as Don.
The creative team includes Rachel Myers (Scenic Design; 2019 Ovation Award for Best Scenic Design for Skeleton Crew at Geffen Playhouse, Disney’s Kim Possible,the award-winning Short Term 12), Elisa Benzoni (Costume Design; Constellations at The Old Globe as well as five shows with The Old Globe/USD Shiley M.F.A. Program including Romeo and Juliet,also Sex with Strangers, The Who & The What), Sherrice Mojgani (Lighting Design; Skeleton Crew at The Old Globe, The Heiress, Two Trains Running, Ain’t Misbehavin’), Luqman Brown (Sound Design; The Corpse Washer, How to Defend Yourself, We’ve Come to Believe, original music for Everybody Black), Henry Russell Bergstein, CSA/Joseph Gery (Casting; Broadway’s The Lyons, Off Broadway’s Good Grief, Harry Clarke, television’s “Black Mirror,” Amazon’s “Mozart in the Jungle”), and Chandra R.M. Anthenill (Production Stage Manager;Tiny Beautiful Things, A Midsummer Night’s Dream,and Twelfth Night (Globe for All), Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax at The Old Globe).
“What You Are is not only a powerful and insightful new play, but it’s also an exemplar of the Globe’s expanding commitment to the development of new work for the American stage,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “An Old Globe commission, the play was developed in our Powers New Voices Festival, where it proved so compelling that it practically demanded to be programmed in our season. JC Lee is a writer of uncommon gifts, a questing intellect, and a passion for theatre as a vehicle for deeper understanding of our world, but he is also a maker of great stories and compelling characters. What You Are asks trenchant questions about the political upheavals that are roiling American life, but it asks them through the personal experiences of individuals we really come to care about. The play generates huge empathy and understanding, and in Patricia McGregor’s energetic production, it makes for an edge-of-your-seat night in the theatre. The play is an important one, destined for a rich life in our national repertoire, and I’m proud to have it here.”
For the full press release on What You Are, click here! For the What You Are press page, click here! To buy tickets to What You Are, click here!
Artwork courtesy of The Old Globe.
SAN DIEGO (April 30, 2019)—Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein today announced the appointment of Travis LeMont Ballenger as Associate Artistic Director. The Globe will have two people in this key position, as Ballenger joins Associate Artistic Director Justin Waldman, who has been at the Globe since 2011. Ballenger and Waldman will report jointly to Edelstein. Ballenger will assume his artistic duties at The Old Globe on May 1.
“The Old Globe is one of this country’s largest regional theatres, and the volume of work we make is enormous, including 16 annual theatre productions, our robust arts engagement programming in San Diego neighborhoods, the development of new plays and musicals, artist training, and humanities programming,” said Edelstein. “Shepherding this work to the Globe’s customary level of excellence is a formidable task, and I am fortunate to have two very gifted associates to help me do it. Both are skilled, talented, and wise. The contributions Justin Waldman makes to the Globe are spectacular; he is one of the most distinguished artistic leaders in the national field. Now joining him is Travis LeMont Ballenger, who brings considerable artistic vision, strategic acumen, and great warmth to his work. Our national search for this position yielded many wonderful candidates, but Travis distinguished himself immediately as an uncommonly dynamic and exciting figure, and one who will inject significant energy into our theatre and our city. I’m delighted to welcome him and thrilled to see the amazing work he and Justin will do together.
For the full press release on Travis LeMont Ballenger, click here!
SAN DIEGO (April 26, 2019)—The Old Globe’s 2019–2020 Season encompasses a broad range of thrilling theatre created by major talents, including three world premieres (two musicals and a comedy), five West Coast premieres, and a Tony Award–winning production of an American masterwork. The season includes many genres, a Globe-commissioned musical, and four works by women, including one seen earlier this year in the Globe’s Powers New Voices Festival. Multiple productions of Shakespeare will once again delight audiences, whether at the Globe or in our Globe for All production touring locations around the county. In addition to the return of the holiday classic The Grinch, the Globe will add a second holiday show with a hilarious family-friendly Scrooge parody set in San Diego.
“I could not be more excited to bring another season of brilliant theatre to The Old Globe’s audiences, and I am especially proud of the lineup we’re offering for our 2019–2020 Season,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Each one of these shows fulfills our institution’s mandate to create and present theatre art at the highest standard of excellence, and grouped together they demonstrate all the ways that theatre can enrich our lives. As always, theatre at the Globe spans a huge spectrum of styles, and the coming season contains two glorious musicals with completely different sounds; the work of an American master; an adaptation of a beloved classic; stirring new plays on contemporary themes; two lovely holiday entertainments; and a rich balance of comedy and drama. And these productions showcase the gifts of the finest practitioners of theatre art at work in our country today. This work also demonstrates the Globe’s commitment to theatre art as a public good, edifying and enlightening audiences here in Balboa Park even as it engages San Diegans in their own neighborhoods countywide. Once again this bounty of theatre production will be surrounded by the Globe’s rich work in arts engagement, humanities programs, artist training, and new play development. This season demonstrates everything that makes the Globe a national leader and a local treasure: superb stories told by great artists, and a passionate belief that the theatre matters. I can’t wait to share this season of absolutely top-notch productions.”
For the full press release on the 2019-2020 Season Announcement, click here! For more details on the 2019-2020 Season, click here!
Photo: Artwork courtesy of The Old Globe.
“An unabashed, full-bodied, proudly lowbrow romp! Hijinks ensue, gags abound, and everybody lives happily ever after.“ —The Star-Ledger
“Rapturous laughter...a bright production and terrific performances.” —BWW
“A fun, two-hour romp in the theatre.” —Philly Gay Calendar
PHOTO EDITORS: Production photos from the McCarter production are available by clicking here.
SAN DIEGO (April 3, 2019)—The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team as comic playwright Ken Ludwig, who delighted Globe audiences with Robin Hood! and Baskerville, returns with a hilarious world premiere: Ken Ludwig’s The Gods of Comedy, directed by Amanda Dehnert (West Side Story at Carnegie Hall, world premieres of Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice and Ludwig’s Baskerville). Presented in association with McCarter Theatre Center, 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. Single tickets start at $30.00 and go on sale Friday, March 29 at 12:00 noon. Tickets 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. Performances at McCarter Theatre Center run March 12 – 31, 2019.
Daphne and Ralph are young classics professors who have just made a discovery that’s sure to turn them into academic superstars. But:when something goes disastrously wrong, and Daphne cries out in a panic, “Save me, gods of ancient Greece!”…and the gods actually appear! College will never be the same as a pair of screwball deities encounters the carnal complexity of college coeds, campus capers, and conspicuous consumption. Two-time Olivier Award–winning comic playwright Ludwig brings us a world premiere with laughs that are simply divine.
The cast includes Jessie Cannizzaro as Thalia (Puffs at New World Stages); Steffanie Leigh as Zoe/Brooklyn (the title role in Broadway’s Mary Poppins, War Paint, Gigi); Jevon McFerrin as Ralph (Hamilton on Broadway, Smokey Robinson in Motown on Broadway); Keira Naughton as Dean Trickett (Broadway’s The Rivals, Three Sisters); Brad Oscar as Dionysus (The First Wives Clubat the Globe, The Squirrels at La Jolla Playhouse, Tony Award nominations for Something Rotten! and The Producers); George Psomas as Aristide/Aleksi/Ares (Broadway’s South Pacific and Fiddler on the Roof); and Shay Vawn as Daphne (soot and spit at The New Ohio Theatre).
The creative team includes Drama Desk and Lortel Award nominated scenic designer Jason Sherwood (recently: Rent the musical, Live on Fox!); costume designer Linda Roethke (Richard III at The Public); lighting designer Brian Gale (Disgraced at San Diego Rep, 24 years with The Walt Disney Company); sound designer Darron L West (Tony and Obie Award-winner, McCarter’s Murder on the Orient Express); wig designer Carissa Thorlakson (Grand Hotel and Little Rock off Broadway); illusion designer Jim Steinmeyer (Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast on Broadway), choreographer Ellenore Scott (King Kong: The Musical on Broadway), and Alison Cote (Production Stage Manager)
“The Old Globe’s audience loves to laugh, and our good friend Ken Ludwig, one of the towering comic playwrights at work today, always delivers for them,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “In recent seasons he’s given us hilarity in places ranging from Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest to Sherlock Holmes’s London, and now, in The Gods of Comedy, he takes us to ancient Greece and the contemporary university. Ludwig’s wild imagination gives us a classic fish-out-of-water tale: two Greek gods magically descend from Mt. Olympus and show up on a college campus. From there it’s mayhem, mistaken identity, pratfalls, and slamming doors, along with some surprising insights on how the wit and wisdom of the classical world guide us today. Ludwig and the talented director Amanda Dehnert, making her Globe debut, have created a giddy confection that will entertain and beguile San Diego audiences, and I’m thrilled to have it on our stage.”
For the full press release on Ken Ludwig’s The Gods of Comedy, click here! For Ken Ludwig’s The Gods of Comedy press page, click here! To buy tickets to Ken Ludwig’s The Gods of Comedy, click here!
Photo: Brad Oscar as Dionysus and Jessie Cannizzaro as Thalia in Ken Ludwig's The Gods of Comedy, running May 11 – June 16, 2019 at The Old Globe. Photo by Tom Miller.
PHOTO EDITORS: Advance photos for They Promised Her the Moon are available by clicking here.
SAN DIEGO (March 4, 2019)—The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team for the West Coast premiere of Laurel Ollstein’s They Promised Her the Moon. The first of two shows in the 2018–2019 Globe Season developed in the Globe’s Powers New Voices Festival, it wowed Festival audiences with the story of the powerful forces that kept one woman 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, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run April 6–10. Opening night is Thursday, April 11 at 8:00 p.m. Single tickets start at $30.00 and are now on sale. Tickets 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. They Promised Her the Moon will also have a short Globe for All Spring tour to several of our Community Partner venues following performances at the Globe, details to be announced shortly.
In 1960 the famed “Mercury Seven” trained at NASA to become the first American astronauts. But they weren’t alone. Thirteen women also underwent the same rigorous psychological and physical testing. The first woman to be tested, Jerrie Cobb, even out-performed her male counterparts. But while Alan Shepard and John Glenn went on to become household names, Ms. Cobb never got that chance. In vividly theatrical terms, the West Coast premiere of They Promised Her the Moon tells the unknown true story of this exceptional and unjustly overlooked woman—skilled aviator, world-record-holding pilot, successful business executive—and the powerful forces that kept her from reaching orbit. Contains strong language.
The cast includes Matthew Boston as Dr. Randy Lovelace and Others (Off Broadway’s Education and The Edge of Our Bodies), Mary Beth Fisher as Jackie Cochran (Broadway’s The Night of the Iguana and Frank’s Home), Morgan Hallett as Jerrie Cobb (the Globe’s Time and the Conways, Broadway’s The Present, Translations, and Long Day’s Journey Into Night), Lanna Joffrey as Helena Cobb and Others (the Globe’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Profane and Measure for Measure Off Broadway, extensive U.K. credits), Michael Pemberton as Harvey Cobb and Others (Broadway’s The Farnsworth Invention, I’m Not Rappaport, Mamma Mia!, and Hedda Gabler), and Peter Rini as Jack Ford and Others (Broadway’s Proposals and A View From the Bridge, “Orange Is the New Black,” “The Blacklist”).
The creative team includes Jo Winiarski (Scenic Design; The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey at theGlobe and Off Broadway, Love, Loss, and What I Wore), Denitsa Bliznakova (Costume Design; 10th Globe show plus The Last Match and The Royale, Carmen at LA Opera, All Is Calm at San Diego Opera), Cat Tate Starmer (Lighting Design; The Winning Side Off Broadway), Jane Shaw (Sound Design; the Globe’s The Wanderers, Off Broadway’s Actually, I Was Most Alive with You, and Men on Boats), David Huber (Dialect and Vocal Coach; 34 Globe productions), Caparelliotis Casting (Casting), and Jess Slocum (Production Stage Manager).
“I was a NASA geek as a boy, and I remember plastic models of the Saturn V around my house, and posters of the Apollo missions on my walls, so it’s a real personal joy to revisit America’s space program through the wonderful play They Promised Her the Moon,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “But the space program we learn about in this exciting play is different from the one we know, which is all-male. Playwright Laurel Ollstein reminds us of another, fuller, story that demands to be told. There were many more astronauts-in-training than the “Mercury Seven” we all remember, and it’s both exhilarating and heartbreaking to know that it could have been a woman who took the first steps at Tranquility Base had the playing field been level and society more equitable. Audiences at last year’s Powers New Voices Festival thrilled to this revelatory work when they heard it, and I look forward to sharing the unjustly neglected story of Jerrie Cobb and her extraordinary life with all of San Diego. I’m also excited to tour the production to venues around the county after its Globe run, where I know that Cobb’s amazing tale will inspire audiences even as it moves and delights them.”
For the full press release on They Promised Her the Moon, click here! For more details on They Promised Her the Moon, click here! To buy tickets to They Promised Her the Moon, click here!
Photo: Matthew Boston as Dr. Randy Lovelace, Morgan Hallett as Jerrie Cobb, and Mary Beth Fisher as Jackie Cochran in They Promised Her the Moon, running April 6 – May 12, 2019 at The Old Globe. Photo by Jim Cox.
SAN DIEGO (February 21, 2019)—The Old Globe regards William Shakespeare as our premiere resident playwright, whose universal themes continue to resonate more than 400 years after his plays were written. 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! Part of The Old Globe’s ongoing commitment to serve the public good by hosting programs that make theatre matter to more people, Thinking Shakespeare Live! is consistently one of our most popular offerings, 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.
Thinking Shakespeare Live! will take place on Saturday, April 6 and Saturday, June 8, both at 11:00 a.m., on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Tickets go on sale to subscribers and donors this Friday, February 22 and to the general public on Friday, March 8, both at 12:00 noon. Tickets are $10.00 – $25.00 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.
This special program, based on 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, reveals a performer’s approach to Shakespearean language so audiences may easily understand the poetry of the Bard. An ideal introduction to Shakespeare for families and young audiences as well as an exciting new look at the playwright for Bardophiles, Edelstein has performed this across the country, including at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC. The book was re-released last summer in a revised edition by Theatre Communications Group. There will be volumes available for purchase, and Mr. Edelstein will sign copies following the event.
In preparation for The Old Globe’s 2019 Shakespeare Festival (which will include the romantic comedy As You Like It, directed by Jessica Stone, and the love-filled tragedy Romeo and Juliet, directed by Edelstein)—or just to get more enjoyment from his work—Thinking Shakespeare Live! is a fast-paced, funny, and altogether fascinating guide to the language of the Bard. 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.
“One of our country’s great Shakespeare theatres, the Globe celebrates the Bard on our Balboa Park stages and also, with our Globe for All Tours and arts engagement programs, in the community,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “We love to help our audiences learn more about this brilliant writer. This live program based on my book Thinking Shakespeare has proven enormously popular with a range of theatregoers, from those who love Shakespeare and have seen his plays many times, to those who are at the beginning of their relationship with him. Thinking Shakespeare Live! 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. This fast-paced program is fun for me to do, and I relish the opportunity to share my passion for Shakespeare with all of San Diego.”
For the full press release on Thinking Shakespeare Live!, click here! For the Thinking Shakespeare Live! 2019 press page, click here!
Photo: Old Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein leads Thinking Shakespeare Live! (2013). Photo by Doug Gates.
SAN DIEGO (February 13; updated February 20, 2019)—The Old Globe announced the cast and creative team for the American premiere of Life After, a rapturously beautiful and stirring new musical withbook, music, and lyrics by Britta Johnson. The Globe’s own Barry Edelstein directs, with choreography by Ann Yee and music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Lynne Shankel. Life After will run March 22 – April 28, 2019 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run March 22–28. Opening night is Friday, March 29 at 8:00 p.m. Life After is produced by special arrangement with Yonge Street Theatricals, Linda Barnett, and Natalie Bartello. Single tickets start at $32.00 and are now on sale. Tickets 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.
Grieving the recent loss of her famous father, 16-year-old Alice begins to question the events surrounding his death and sets out to uncover what really happened on the night that changed her family forever. Britta Johnson’s Life After is a bittersweet, witty, and life-affirming new musical that explores the mess and beauty of loss and love. Through the vivid imagination of a young woman looking for the facts, we find a more complicated truth instead. The Old Globe’s Barry Edelstein directs the American premiere of this rapturously beautiful and stirring new musical from a composer the Toronto Star calls “a startlingly talented emerging voice.” BroadwayWorld dubs Life After “musical theatre perfection…exquisite from start to finish.” Johnson and Life After received a total of six coveted Dora Mavor Moore Awards for the Toronto world premiere in September of 2017, including Outstanding New Musical and Outstanding Production in the 2017–2018 season.
The cast includes Bradley Dean (Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen, A Little Night Music, The Last Ship) as Frank Carter, Sophie Hearn (Nickel Mines, Facebook Me, Richard II) as Alice Carter, Charlotte Maltby (Starting Here, Starting Now; Have You Met Miss Jones) as Kate Carter, Livvy Marcus (Hair, Lizzie, The Theory of Relativity) as Hannah, Mamie Parris (Broadway’s Cats, School of Rock – The Musical, Wicked) as Beth Carter, and Dan’yelle Williamson (Broadway’s Memphis, Scandalous, Rocky) as Ms. Hopkins; Ensemble members Ximone Rose (Broadway’s Once on This Island, Beautiful national tour), Mackenzie Warren (Broadway’s Cats; Anything Goes, Pippin national tours), and Carmel Valley native Charlotte Mary Wen (the Globe’s Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, One Day the Musical Off Broadway); Lance Arthur Smith (the Globe’s October Sky) as Frank Carter Understudy; and Encinitas native Emma Stratton (Broadway’s Prince of Broadway; Bullets Over Broadway national tour) as Swing.
The multiple Tony Award–nominated creative team includes Ann Yee (Choreography; London’s Caroline, or Change; Oklahoma! at Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Lynne Shankel (Music Supervision, Arrangements, and Orchestrations; Cry-Baby, Altar Boyz), Neil Patel (Scenic Design; Broadway’s Time and the Conways; India Pale Ale, An Ordinary Muslim; The Lion national tour), Linda Cho (Costume Design; 15 Globe shows include A Thousand Splendid Suns, October Sky, The Comedy of Errors; Broadway’s Anastasia, Tony Award–winning A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Japhy Weideman (Lighting Design; the Globe’s October Sky, Bright Star, Bethany, August: Osage County; Broadway’s Lobby Hero, Dear Evan Hansen), Ken Travis (Sound Design; the Globe’s American Mariachi, Rain, The Last Goodbye; Broadway’s In Transit, Aladdin), internationally acclaimed Sven Ortel (Projection Design; Broadway’s The Little Mermaid, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Wonderland), Chris Kong (Music Director), Tara Rubin Casting/Merri Sugarman, CSA (Casting), and Anjee Nero (Production Stage Manager).
“From the first instant I heard the score of Life After, I was swept away,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Britta Johnson is a major new talent in the contemporary musical theatre, and she’s fashioned a story that is so many things: warm, humane, truthful, and about important things like family and loss and grief and healing. Its characters and their experiences are as moving and meaningful as its glorious, shimmering music. It gives me great joy to direct such a rich and winning work, and to work with a team of collaborators both onstage and off who are the absolute eminences in our field. And it is a distinct pleasure to bring Britta’s unique and thrilling voice to the United States for the first time, and to the Globe’s wonderful audience. This is a special show, and I cannot wait to share it with San Diego.”
For the full press release on Life After, click here! For more details on Life After, click here! To buy tickets to Life After, click here!
Photo: Artwork courtesy of The Old Globe.
SAN DIEGO (February 14, 2019)—As part of The Old Globe’s ongoing commitment to serve the public good by hosting programs that serve all of San Diego County, applications are now available online for the 2019 Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio for high school students. Applications will be accepted through Sunday, March 31. The four-week program is a unique opportunity for rising 9th – 12th graders and recent graduates not only to develop foundational skills for reading, interpreting, and performing Shakespeare’s plays, but also to cultivate their own artistic voice through storytelling and creating original material.
The Old Globe believes that theatre matters. In our effort to make theatre matter to more people, the Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio admits students without regard to their ability to pay, and significant financial aid is available for all students with demonstrated need. Tuition for the four weeks is $725; interviews and group sessions will be scheduled upon receipt of applications for Friday, April 12; Saturday, April 13; Friday, April 19; and Saturday, April 20.
Students will actively participate in an intensive curriculum of acting, movement, music, and writing classes, as well as receive training in voice and speech, stage combat, and text. There will also be regular master classes with Globe artists and staff, many of whom are among the leaders in their fields. Students will deepen their understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare’s writing, and use his work as a model for engaging with their own selves and enriching their knowledge of the Bard.
For more information on the program, photos from past performances, and application instructions, please visit www.theoldglobe.org/2019studio or email Studio@TheOldGlobe.org.
The Studio will run Monday through Friday, July 8 to August 5 and will culminate in the Studio Showcase performance on Monday, August 5 at 7:00 p.m. on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. This final presentation will combine Shakespearean scenes, soliloquies, and sonnets with original material generated by the students.
The Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio is generously supported by Pam Farr and Buford Alexander with additional support from Lead Sponsors Terry Atkinson and Theatre Forward’s Educating Through Theatre Grant. Additional support is provided by Ann Davies Fund for Teaching Artists, The James Irvine Foundation, Qualcomm, and ResMed Foundation. This activity is funded in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency. Financial support is provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
For the full press release on the 2019 Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio, click here! For the 2019 Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio press page, click here! For more details on the 2019 Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio, click here!
Photo: Students performing the 2018 Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio. Photo by Rich Soublet II.
SAN DIEGO (February 6, 2019)—The Old Globe’s Annual Meeting was held on Monday, February 4 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Old Globe Board Chair Nicole A. Clay welcomed the members of The Old Globe Board of Directors along with donors, subscribers, and guests, and announced the newly elected Directors serving three-year terms. Globe senior staff members presented highlights of the 2018 fiscal year, and Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Timothy J. Shields spoke about the future of the Globe and its place in the San Diego community. Both a welcome reception prior to the meeting and a celebratory gathering following were catered by The Prado at Balboa Park for the Board of Directors and all attendees.
Clay continues in her second year as 2019 Chair of the Board of Directors. The 2019 Executive Committee will consist of Clay (Chair); Ann Davies (Vice Chair, Nominating Chair); George S. Davis (Audit Chair); Paula Powers (Secretary, Development Chair); Sue Sanderson (Finance Chair); Anthony S. Thornley (Treasurer); Terry Atkinson; Stephanie R. Bulger, Ph.D.; Donald L. Cohn (Past Chair, Ex Officio); Peter J. Cooper; Elaine Bennett Darwin (Past Chair, Ex Officio); Pamela A. Farr; Harold W. Fuson, Jr. (Past Chair, Ex Officio); Evelyn Olson Lamden; Jean Shekhter; Karen Tanz; Sheryl White (Past Chair, Ex Officio); Karin Winner; and Vicki L. Zeiger (Immediate Past Chair, Ex Officio).
Clay also announced that the following candidates identified by the Globe’s Nominating Committee were formally elected to serve a three-year term on the Board of Directors: Sean T. Anthony, Jules Arthur, Mark Delfino, Richard Esgate, Ruben Islas, Jacqueline Lewis, David Jay Ohanian, Scott W. Schmid, and Muffy Walker.
Directors returning for an additional three-year term beginning in 2019 include Mary Beth Adderley; Stephanie R. Bulger, Ph.D.; Donald L. Cohn; Peter J. Cooper; Ann Davies; Jo Ann Kilty; Thomas Melody; Dean H. Thompson; Rhona Thompson; Anthony S. Thornley; Jordine Von Wantoch; and Dr. Reneé Wailes.
Directors currently serving a three-year term during 2019 include Ellise Coit; Silvija Devine; Robert Foxworth (Associate Artist); Jack Galloway; Daphne H. Jameson; Sheila Lipinsky; Keven Lippert; Noelle Norton, Ph.D.; Sandra Redman; Karen L. Sedgwick; Michael Taylor; Evelyn Mack Truitt; Debra Turner; Pamela J. Wagner; and Lynne Wheeler. Kim Neapole is serving a second one-year term as Globe Guilders President.
Board members R. Morgan Busalacchi, Stephen P. Embry (Past Finance Chair), Patricia A. Hodgkin, Ann Steck (in memoriam), and Steven J. Stuckey (Past Audit Chair), whose terms of service concluded in 2018, were honored for their outstanding commitment to The Old Globe.
For the full press release on the 2019 Annual Meeting, click here!
THE OLD GLOBE Presents the 2019 FREE AXIS Performing Art Series! Join the Fun with Dance Parties, Lessons, and Performances
The Series Kicks Off on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 11:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M. on the GLOBE’S COPLEY PLAZA;
Bring the Family for I LOVE AFRICA Featuring PIWAI in Concertand a Drumming Workshop with NANA OBRAFO YAW ASIEDU
SAN DIEGO (February 5, 2019)—The Old Globe continues to make theatre matter to more people by welcoming everybody to enjoy a season of free performances, arts, crafts, and workshops on the Globe’s Copley Plaza in Balboa Park. Over 16,000 people attended our free AXIS events in 2018 that featured music, dance, original plays from the community, mariachi concerts, jazz for kids, and annual sonnet reading to celebrate the birthday of our resident playwright, William Shakespeare. The 2018 AXIS season also included our first-ever sensory-friendly AXIS event with music and workshops during Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
“San Diego is filled with diverse artistry and cultural traditions that make our curation dynamic and incredibly fun,” shared Director of Arts Engagement Freedome Bradley-Ballentine. “We have so many incredible options to choose from, like our annual Happy Birthday, Mr. Shakespeare!, as well as events featuring the traditions of many in our community and the funniest comics in town; making music together; and just having fun dancing with our neighbors. It brings people together. This is a vital way we make theatre matter all year round.”
The 2019 AXIS series will once again feature more free and fun-filled activities. Outstanding professional and community partner organizations and personalities will teach, speak, play, perform, choreograph, and inspire on the Globe’s Copley Plaza, with many opportunities for the public to participate at each of the events.
On Saturday, February 9 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (prior to the 2:00 p.m. matinee performance of Danai Gurira’s Familiar, directed by Edward Torres), the 2019 AXIS series kicks off with I Love Africa, featuring Zimbabwe-born musician and vocalist Piwai in concert. She will also teach an African-dance workshop, followed by a drumming workshop with Nana Obrafo Yaw Asiedu. This event is for the whole family and will feature artistic activities, games, face painting, and the opportunity to create your own traditional African mask with the support of a Globe Teaching Artist.
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 on the 2019 FREE AXIS Performing Art Series, click here! For the Arts Engagement AXIS press page, click here! For more details on the I Love Africa event this Saturday, February 9, click here!
