SAN DIEGO, CALIF.: The Old Globe has announced their 2019-20 season, featuring three world premieres, a holiday favorite, and a 19th-century literary adaptation.
“I could not be more excited to bring another season of brilliant theatre to the Old Globe’s audiences, and I am especially proud of the lineup we’re offering for our 2019–20 Season,” said Erna Finci Viterbi artistic director Barry Edelstein in a statement.
The season will kick off with the world premiere of Almost Famous, (Sept. 13-Oct. 20), with book and lyrics by Cameron Crowe, and music and lyrics by Tom Kitt. It follows a 15-year-old aspiring music journalist who is hired by Rolling Stone to follow a rock band on tour. Lorin Latarro will choreograph and Jeremy Herrin will direct.
After that will be the West Coast premiere of Heather Raffo’s Noura (Sept. 20-Oct. 20). Noura and her husband, both Chaldean refugees from Iraq, contemplate their actions as they celebrate their first Christmas in America.
The Old Globe welcomes the holiday season with its annual production of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Nov. 3-Dec. 29), with book and lyrics by Timothy Mason and music by Mel Marvin. James Vásquez will direct.
The winter season continues with Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show (Nov. 23-Dec. 24), by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen. This West Coast premiere, inspired by Charles Dickens’A Christmas Carol, will be directed by Gordon Greenberg.
Up next will be August Wilson’s Jitney (Jan. 18-Feb. 23, 2020), a remounting of the Manhattan Theatre Club production. The play is about unlicensed taxi drivers fighting to survive in 1970s Pittsburgh. Ruben Santiago-Hudson will direct.
The West Coast premiere of Madeleine George’s Hurricane Diane (Feb. 8-March 8, 2020) will follow. The Greek god Dionysus returns to the modern world in the body of a gardener named Diane in New Jersey.
Following will be Little Women (March 14-April 19, 2020), adapted by Kate Hamill for the novel by Louisa May Alcott. The play, presented in association with Dallas Theater Center, is about the plights of Jo March and her three sisters. Sarah Rasmussen will direct.
The West Coast premiere of Selina Fillinger’s Faceless (March 28-April 26, 2020) will be be presented as part of the company’s Powers New Voices Festival. Susie Glen, an American teenager, is faced with a trial after fleeing the country to join ISIS. Gaye Taylor Upchurch will direct.
Next up will be The Gardens of Anuncia (May 8-June 14, 2020), with book, music, and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa. This musical, commissioned by the Old Globe, is inspired by the life events of Broadway legend Graciela Daniele, who will direct.
The season will close with the world premiere of What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank (May 28-June 28, 2020), by Nathan Englander, about a pair of friends discovering whether their friendship withstands the test of time. Edelstein will direct.
The Old Globe will also present Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale (Oct. 29-Nov. 17) as part of the company’s Globe for All Tour: Bringing Shakespeare to the San Diego Community program. Daniel Jáquez will direct.
Also part of the programming, the Old Globe and the University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program will present Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (Nov. 2-10). Jesse Perez will direct.
The Old Globe, built in 1935, works to produce a broad range of theatre in collaboration with the nation’s premier artists.
