The Old Globe

Season to Celebrate Old and New Premieres

The Old Globe in San Diego has scheduled some notable old works for its 2012-2013 season along with a few brand-new works, including two world premiers, attracting stars and a Star Trekker. The lone Shakespeare will be represented by The Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure in November.

“Our 2012-2013 season is a celebration of the best of the Old Globe, looking ahead to the future while honoring our past,” Managing Director Michael G. Murphy said in a press release. “The new season features two treasured classics of the world stage, as well as two world premiere musicals and a selection of acclaimed contemporary plays.  We are delighted to welcome back directors Stafford Arima, Kirsten Brandt, Nicholas Martin, Paul Mullins, Darko Tresnjak, and James Vasquez—six gifted artists with longstanding relationships with the Globe. Also returning to direct is longtime artistic associate Richard Seer, who is also the head of our graduate theater program. Rick has directed many extraordinary Globe productions over nearly 20 years and has helped plan our new season in his current role as Interim Artistic Advisor.”

The Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program will present Measure for Measure, Nov. 10–18, 2012, in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre.  The professional-actor training program is an intensive two-year course of graduate study in classical theater.  Ray Chambers directs.

Two new musicals will get their world premieres: Allegiance—A New American Musical by Jay Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak. The season also includes George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion in celebration of the classic play's 100th anniversary and the World Premiere of a new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey and Kirsten Brandt. Two recent Broadway hits will make their San Diego debuts at the Globe: David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People and Jon Robin Baitz's Other Desert Cities. Rounding out the season are the West Coast Premiere of Bekah Brunstetter's Be a Good Little Widow and the Southern California Premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, along with the 15th anniversary production of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Allegiance—A New American Musical is an epic story of family, love, and patriotism set during the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans. Directed by Stafford Arima, it will star Tony Award-winning actress Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon, Les Misérables), television and film icon George Takei (Star Trek, Heroes), and Broadway favorite Telly Leung (Godspell, Rent). With music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and book by Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, Allegiance takes audiences on a journey through a watershed event in U.S. history as seen through the eyes of one American family.

Good People by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole, Shrek the Musical)  is set in South Boston, where Margie Walsh loses her job at the local dollar store and reaches out to an old flame, only to discover that not everyone wants to remember their humble beginnings. Director Paul Mullins returns to the Globe where he previously directed the Shakespeare Festival productions of Macbeth, Measure for Measure, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Twelfth Night. 

The Old Globe will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Shaw's Pygmalion with a lavish production directed by Nicholas Martin. Returning after a 15-year absence, Martin previously directed the Globe productions of Later Life, Full Gallop, Overtime, Macbeth, and The Mask of Moriarty.  His Broadway credits include Present Laughter with Victor Garber and Butley with Nathan Lane.

Infused with music and the rhythms of the South, The Brothers Size by Tarell Alvin McCraney, blends West African mythology with a modern-day story of two brothers reuniting on the Louisiana bayou. Director Tea Alagi, who directed the original production of The Brothers Size, reunites with McCraney for this Southern California Premiere.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, based on the novel Israel Rank by Roy Horniman. gets its world premiere in March. Former Co-Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak returns to the Globe to direct this musical of merriment and murder, with book by Robert L. Freedman, music by Steven Lutvak, and lyrics by Freedman and Lutvak. When Monty Navarro finds out he is eighth in line to inherit a dukedom, he decides to eliminate the other seven heirs standing in his way—all played by one agile actor! A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is a witty music hall comedy that explores how low we'll go to make it to the top. This is a co-production with Hartford Stage.

The Globe has commissioned Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey and Kirsten Brandt to do a new adaptation of Ibsen's A Doll's House expressly for its popular Classics Up Close series, which features dramatic masterworks performed in the Globe's intimate theatre-in-the-round. Director Kirsten Brandt (Hold Please, Lobby Hero, Christmas on Mars, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow) returns to the Old Globe.

In Other Desert Cities , playwright Jon Robin Baitz (The Substance of Fire, Brothers & Sisters) portrays long-buried secrets that threaten to put a once picture-perfect Palm Springs clan back on the tabloid pages. Currently a Broadway sensation, Other Desert Cities was recently named a 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist. Globe favorite Richard Seer (Life of Riley, The Last Romance) directs this viciously comedic look at the truth behind the wounds of a public fall from grace.

Be a Good Little Widow by Bekah Brunstetter (MTV's Underemployed), making its West Coast premier, is a bittersweet comedy that takes a look at the messy parts of life. When her husband's business trip ends in tragedy, a young wife must re-evaluate her life—with the help of her mother-in-law who just happens to be a professional widow. 

Season subscriptions 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. Subscriptions to the Globe's 2012-2013 Winter Season range from $99 to $598. Eight-play packages range from $188 to $598. Four-play packages range from $99 to $372. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and younger, seniors, and groups of 10 or more.

For play dates, go to Bard on the Boards.

May 10, 2012

If you have Shakespearean news to share, e-mail [email protected]