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PHOTO EDITORS: Photos of the The Gardens of Anuncia cast and creative team can be found here.
SAN DIEGO (August 5, 2021) — The Old Globe announced the full cast and creative team for The Gardens of Anuncia, featuring book, music, and lyrics by five-time Tony Award nominee Michael John LaChiusa (the Globe’s Rain, Broadway’s The Wild Party). The Globe-commissioned world premiere, which is inspired by the life story of American stage icon Graciela Daniele (2021 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre and original productions of Ragtime and Once on This Island), is directed and co-choregraphed by Daniele. Performances will run September 10, 2021 – October 17, 2021, with the official opening on Friday, September 17. The limited engagement plays on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Single tickets go on sale Friday, August 13, 2021.
“The Gardens of Anunciarepresents The Old Globe at its best,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “It’s a beautiful and personal story, and it brings to San Diego a collection of eminences of the American stage. Two are bona fide legends: director/choreographer Graciela Daniele and lighting designer Jules Fisher. Composer Michael John LaChiusa is also a towering figure whose innovations have shaped the American musical stage for decades. Like Rain, his last work at the Globe, Anuncia is simply ravishing, with a score that’s as moving as it is beautiful. The show’s simple story is inspired by Graciela Daniele’s life: her path from a simple girlhood in Argentina to Broadway success, and her love for the women who shaped her artistic and emotional lives. The company assembled, including the incomparable Eden Espinosa, is a gift to all of us who love theatre. It brings me immense joy to reopen our largest indoor venue with this very, very special show.”
In addition to LaChiusa and Daniele, the creative team for the world premiere musical The Gardens of Anuncia includes co-choreography by Alex Sanchez, scenic design by Mark Wendland, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer, sound design by Drew Levy, orchestrations by Michael Starobin, music direction by Deborah Abramson, casting by Tara Rubin, CSA and Xavier Rubiano, CSA, and production stage management by Anjee Nero.
The cast for The Gardens of Anuncia features Enrique Acevedo as That Man, Andréa Burns as Tía (Lucia), Eden Espinosa as Mamí (Carmen), John Herrera as Grandfather, Carmen Roman as Older Anuncia, Tally Sessions as The Deer, Mary Testa as Granmama (Magdalena), and Kalyn West as Younger Anuncia. Rehearsal stand-ins are Summer Broyhill and Joz Vammer.
A Globe-commissioned world premiere musical by five-time Tony Award nominee Michael John LaChiusa, The Gardens of Anuncia is inspired by the life story of an icon of the American stage who directs and choreographs the show at the Globe: Broadway legend Graciela Daniele. Anuncia tends the garden of her country house as she reflects on her life, looking back on her girlhood in Juan Perón’s Argentina and paying homage to the family of women whose sacrifices allowed her to become an artist. This funny, poignant, and beautiful musical features a beguilingly romantic and tango-infused score filled with the exuberant sounds of women reveling in the joys of being alive.
The Gardens of Anuncia will play on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in San Diego’s Balboa Park (1363 Old Globe Way). Performances for the six-week limited engagement run September 10, 2021 – October 17, 2021, with the official press opening Friday, September 17 at 8:00 p.m. The performance schedule is Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday – Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m. Schedule notes: There will be no performances on Saturday, September 11 at 2:00 p.m.; Sunday, September 12 at 2:00 p.m.; Saturday, September 25 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, October 12 at 7:00 p.m. There is an additional performance on Wednesday, October 13 at 2:00 p.m. Single tickets go on sale on Friday, August 13, 2021. Tickets will be available online at www.TheOldGlobe.org or by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE (234-5623). Regular tickets prices start at $37.00. For additional information about The Gardens of Anuncia, visit www.TheOldGlobe.org.
The Gardens of Anuncia is supported by principal underwriters Paula and Brian Powers and two anonymous supporters; lead underwriters Diane and John Berol, The Conrad Prebys Foundation, and The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund; and underwriters Terry Atkinson and Kathy Taylor, Pamela Farr and Buford Alexander, and Hal and Pam Fuson; with additional support from Peter Cooper and Erik Matwijkow and Sue and Edward “Duff” Sanderson, and production sponsors HM Electronics, Inc., a gift In Memory of Annette and Dick Ford, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Karen and Stuart Tanz, Gillian and Tony Thornley, and Univision; and Graciela Daniele is sponsored by Jeanette Stevens, and Michael John LaChiusa is sponsored by Jordine Von Wantoch in memoriam.
Financial support for The Old Globe is provided by The City of San Diego.
The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fund provides leadership support for The Old Globe’s year-round activities.
Bios and photos of all participants can be found at www.TheOldGlobe.org/Press-Room.
The Tony Award–winning The Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional not-for-profit regional theatres. Now in its 87th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community with theatre as a public good. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and the Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages, including its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Its nationally prominent Arts Engagement Department provides an array of participatory programs that make theatre matter to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. Humanities programs at the Globe and around the city broaden the community’s understanding of theatre art in all its forms. The Globe also boasts a range of new play development programs with professional and community-based writers, as well as the renowned The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Numerous world premieres—such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!—have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.
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