Opening the season will be The Last Goodbye, a new musical that fuses the classic story of Romeo and Juliet with a rock score by singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley. Conceived and adapted by Michael Kimmel, the production will be directed by two-time Tony Award nominee Alex Timbers (Peter and the Starcatcher), with choreography by So You Think You Can Dance regular Sonya Tayeh. The musical is set to run from September 20-November 3 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage.
Obie Award-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale) will present the world premiere of his new comedy, The Few, at the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, with a run from September 28-October 27. Set in a small Idaho town, The Few follows a struggling newspaper that runs personal ads placed by lonely long-haul truckers. Davis McCallum (Back Back Back) returns to the Old Globe to direct the production.
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas will then enjoy its 16th consecutive year with the company with a holiday run from November 16-December 28. The production, originally conceived and directed by Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien, features a book and lyrics by Timothy Mason and music by Mel Marvin. James Vásquez lends his direction to this production.
Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale will be next on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, with a San Diego directorial debut by the Old Globe‘s new artistic director, Barry Edelstein. The production is set to run from February 8-March 16, 2014.
Meanwhile at the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Lucille Lortel Award nominee Laura Marks will present the west coast premiere of Bethany, running from January 25-February 23, 2014. The dark comedy follows a financially desperate single mother, Crystal, who learns how far she will go to reclaim what she has lost. Gaye Taylor Upchurch, who directed Bethany‘s premiere starring American Ferrera at the Women’s Project Theater, will repeat his work for the west coast premiere.
J.B. Priestly’s 1937 play Time and the Conways will then come to the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage from March 29-May 4, 2014. The play explores J.W. Dunne’s “Theory of Time” through the experiences of a well to do family over a 19-year period. Rebecca Taichman (Milk Like Sugar) will make her directorial debut at the Globe with this family drama.
Quiara Algería Hudes’ 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Water by the Spoonful, will then make its California premiere at the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, running from April 12-May 11. The play follows four individuals who connect online via a chat room for recovering drug addicts, with the parallel storyline of an Iraq war veteran who struggles to adjust to civilian life. Edward Torres will direct the production.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a play by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize nominee Christopher Durang (currently on Broadway), will come to the Old Globe‘s Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage from May 17-June 22, 2014. A takeoff on Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, and the other classic plays of Anton Chekhov, the plot follows Vanya and his adopted sister, Sonia, as they endure a visit from their movie-star sister and her new boy toy. Old Globe associate artist Nicholas Martin (Pygmalion) will direct.
Tony Award nominee Rick Elice (Peter and the Starcatcher) will close the Old Globe season with his new musical, Dog and Pony. With a book by Elice and a score by Michael Patrick Walker (Altar Boyz), the show follows Mags and Andy, a successful screenwriting team, whose professional relationship soon develops into something more. Tony Award winner Roger Rees (The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby) will lend direction to this world premiere musical.
“I am proud, excited, and just plain tickled to announce the 2013-14 Season at the Old Globe, my
first as Artistic Director,” said Edelstein. “With two sensational new musicals, three award-winning
plays about contemporary life by thrilling young American voices, a tour de force by an American
comedic master, and a poetic classic by a 20th century giant, this remarkable and wide-ranging
lineup of productions stays true to the Globe’s storied reputation even as it edges the company forward in some new directions.”
