COSTA MESA, CALIF.: South Coast Repertory (SCR) has announced the lineup for the 2017 Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF), which will run April 21-23. This year’s festival will feature three full productions and four staged readings.
“South Coast Repertory continues to lead in the commissioning and development of new plays,” said artistic director Marc Masterson in a statement. “The Pacific Playwrights Festival is our primary showcase for works that we have commissioned and for works we have been developing. These plays have vitality and a range of expression that reflect the best of new American theatre today.”
The season will start with the world premiere of Michael Mitnick’s The Siegel (March 24-April 23), a comedy about a man who plans to ask his love’s parents for permission to marry her—the only problem is that she is in a serious relationship with someone else. Casey Stangl will direct.
Next up will be the world premiere of Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House, Part 2 (April 9-30), an SCR commission, which is a continuation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House picking up where Nora left off. Kimberly Coburn will be the production dramaturg, and Shelley Butler will direct.
Following will be the world premiere of Dipika Guha’s Yoga Play (April 19-30), an SCR commission, which is a comedy that explores what it means to find enlightenment. John Glore will serve as dramaturg, and Crispin Whittell will direct.
The reading series will include SHREW! (April 21), by Amy Freed, a comedy that takes a spin on Shakespeare’s unlikely romance of Kate and Petruchio. Mead Hunter will be the dramaturg, and Sharon Ott will direct.
Following will be the reading of Anacostia Street Lions (April 21), by Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm, about the neutralization of the feral cat population in Washington, D.C., in 2049. Colburn will serve as dramaturg, and John Michael Garcés will direct.
The next reading will be Long Lost (April 22), by Donald Margulies, about a man whose world is turned upside down when his long-lost brother unexpectedly walks back into his life. Jerry Patch will serve as dramaturg, and Daniel Sullivan will direct.
The reading series will conclude with the SCR commission of Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band (April 23), about a man who escaped the murderous Khmer Rogue regime in Cambodia in 1978, and returns thirty years later to find his wayward daughter. The reading will feature music by Dengue Fever. Andy Knight will serve as dramaturg, and May Adrales will direct.
In addition, a free panel discussion with the playwrights will be included in the festival lineup (April 23).
Established in 1988, the Pacific Playwrights Festival generates future world premieres and subsequent productions for numerous playwrights. PPF receives support from the Shubert Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pacific Playwrights Festival Honorary Producers.
