Press Release: Meteor Shower Sets Box Office Records

METEOR SHOWER BREAKS GLOBE BOX OFFICE RECORDS

The World Premiere of Steve Martin’s Comedy
Shatters Ticket Sales and Attendance Records
in the Globe’s In-the-Round Theatre

SAN DIEGO (September 19, 2016)—The Old Globe world premiere of Steve Martin’s new play Meteor Shower, which finished its highly acclaimed run on Sunday, has broken multiple Globe box office records and has become one of the most successful shows in Globe history. The adult comedy now ranks as the highest-grossing show in the theatre’s in-the-round space (which includes both the original Cassius Carter Centre Stage and the current Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center). Ittook in $862,236.50 in ticket sales, besting the previous record holder, 2015’s Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. Meteor Shower,which extended before first preview not once but twice due to popular demand, also broke Baskerville’s record for ticket sales in the White Theatre, selling 12,889 tickets throughout its celebrated run. Meteor Shower now ranks second all-time in tickets sold for the in-the-round space, behind only a 1996 production of A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia, whose run included a considerably greater number of performances.

Meteor Shower, directed by Gordon Edelstein, ran at The Old Globe July 30 – September 18, 2016. It will next play Long Wharf Theatre, with whom the Globe co-produced the show’s world premiere and where Edelstein serves as Artistic Director. It will play there September 21 – October 16, 2016.

”The Globe’s continuing relationship with Steve Martin is something we cherish,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Now we can boast that not only is his work contributing to the artistic vibrancy of our theatre, but it’s contributing to our business health, as well. Most of all, Steve’s work is entertaining and delighting a huge number of San Diegans, and that’s what we’re here to do. I congratulate him on this smash hit, and I look forward to its run in New Haven, and its life beyond.”

The Old Globe’s production of Meteor Shower featured Jenna Fischer (Emmy Award nominee as Pam Beesly on “The Office”), Greg Germann (SAG Award winner for “Ally McBeal”), Alexandra Henrikson (Fish in the Dark and The Snow Geese on Broadway), and Josh Stamberg (series regular on “The Affair,” “Parenthood,” and “Drop Dead Diva”).

The creative team was comprised of Michael Yeargan (Scenic Design), Jess Goldstein (Costume Design), Donald Holder (Lighting Design), John Gromada (Original Music and Sound Design), Caparelliotis Casting (Casting), Kathy Snyder (Production Stage Manager), and Annette Elena Nixon (Stage Manager).

Get ready for the unexpected when Norm and his wife Corky invite another couple to their Ojai backyard to watch a meteor shower in the night sky. As the stars come out and the conversation gets rolling, cocktails flow, tempers flare, and sparks fly—literally. Steve Martin’s surprising new comedy takes an offbeat and absurdist look at the comic anxiety lurking just beneath the surface of modern marriage.

Meteor Shower was supported in part through gifts from Terry Atkinson, California Bank & Trust, Nina and Robert Doede, Elaine Lipinsky Family Foundation, and Pamela J. Wagner and Hans Tegebo.

2016-2017 SEASON CALENDAR: October Sky (9/10-10/23), The Lion (9/29-10/30), Globe for All Measure for Measure (11/1-13), Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (11/5-12/26), M.F.A. The Two Gentlemen of Verona (11/12-20), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (2/4-3/12/2017), The Blameless (2/23-3/26), Red Velvet (3/25-4/30), Skeleton Crew (4/8-5/7), The Old Man and The Old Moon (5/13-6/18), The Imaginary Invalid (5/27-6/25), Guys and Dolls (7/2-8/13)

PHOTO EDITORS: Digital images of The Old Globe’s productions are available at www.theoldglobe.org/press-room.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego’s flagship arts institution for over 80 years. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Michael G. Murphy, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre’s education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, Allegiance, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

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