Theatre News
San Diego REPertory Theatre
The sixth and final production of the company’s 36th season is the world premiere of “Tortilla Curtain.” San Diego REP Artistic Director Sam Woodhouse will direct the piece adapted by Matthew Spangler from the best-selling novel by T.C. Boyle. Part satire and part parable, “Tortilla Curtain” is a humorous and heart-breaking play that speaks passionately to the future of California and the challenges of forming “a more perfect union” in our changing America.
“The story is relevant and immediate as today’s headlines and is a provocative reflection on American values told through a frank and very intimate personal story,” says Woodhouse. “Here we are, living in a land that used to be called Mexico, continuing to debate issues of privilege and opportunity, and continue to ask who has the right to call themselves an American.”
Previews begin Sat., March 17, 2012 on the Lyceum Stage. Opening night is Fri., March 23, 2012 and runs through Sun., April 8, 2012. The San Diego REP is located at 79 Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego. For tickets and information, call (619) 544-1000,
or visit www.sdrep.org.
Community Actors Theatre
“Big Daddy” returns by popular demand on Sunday, March 4, 2012 with a matinee performance at 3:00 p.m. at San Diego Woman’s Club, 2557 Third Avenue in Hillcrest.
Community Actors Theatre wants to take you back to the beginning of the blues. This musical revue, to commemorate Black History Month, is on the blues, jazz, and pop scene. The performance begins with the blues, which was said to be born out of heartaches and disappointments, includes steaming hot music, from the 1930s to present. Honor and celebration will be given to some important artists such as, Muddy Waters, (Big Daddy), Nat King Cole, Sammie Davis, Jr., Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Carmen McRae, Etta James, Billy Holiday and Nina Simone.
This production is written and directed by Jennie Hamilton and choreographed by Patty Faye. Cost is: $20. For reservations, call Karen at: (619) 286-3979.
Pacific Children’s Theatre
Pacific Children’s Theatre presents Roald Dahl’s “Willy Wonka” at Mission Hills United Church of Christ, located at 4070 Jackdaw Street. The play runs from March 23 through 25, 30 and 31, Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays and Sunday at 2 p.m.
“Willy Wonka Jr!,” Roald Dahl’s timeless story of the world famous candy man and his quest to find an heir comes to life in this stage adaptation of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, which features the songs from the classic family film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The memorable score features “The Candy Man,” “Pure Imagination,” “Oompa Loompa” and ”I Want it Now.”
For tickets and information, call the box office at (858)272-6236.
Cygnet Theatre
Previews begin March 8at Cygnet Theatre for “Parade,” with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and book by Alfred Uhry. Artistic Director Sean Murray, Musical Director Billy Thompson and Choreographer David Brannen are tackling each artistic angle of the profoundly-moving true story of the trial of Leo Frank.
“Parade” explores the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager, accused and convicted in 1913 of murdering thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta, Georgia. Sensational journalism fanned the regional flames of bigotry and anti-Semitism, obscuring Leo’s innocence. After his death sentence was commuted, Leo Frank was taken by vigilantes and lynched – a pivotal cultural event that sparked both the development of the Anti-Defamation League and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. The heart of the story, however, involves the ever-evolving relationship between Leo and his wife Lucille. It is their relationship, shifting from cold to warm and deepening into true love in the midst of adversity, that is the core of the work.
Cygnet Theatre is located at 4040 Twiggs St. in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Tickets can be purchased by visiting Cygnet’s website at www.cygnettheatre.com, by calling the box office at 619-337-1525, or at the Theatre box office.
Old Globe
(from left) Kyle Harris stars as George Emerson, Ephie Aardema as Lucy Honeychurch and Will Reynolds as Cecil Vyse in the World Premiere of A Room with a View.
“A Room With a View” runs March 2 through April 8 at the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage. Based on the novel by E.M. Forster and directed by Scott Schwartz, amid the golden sunlight and violet-covered hills of Tuscany, sheltered English girl Lucy Honeychurch meets freethinking George Emerson. For the first time, she glimpses a world of longing and passion she had never imagined. Back in her corseted Edwardian life, Lucy must decide whether to yield to convention or give up everything she has ever known.
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.
PHOTO EDITORS: Digital images of The Old Globe’s productions are available at www.TheOldGlobe.org/pressroom.
Category: Entertainment
