Richard Greenberg has been good to South Coast Repertory Theatre. Six of his plays premiered at the Southern California theatre before transferring to New York, where Three Days of Rain became a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
SCR is hoping his work will bring them a blessing as they say goodbye to the Second Stage, replacing it with the brand-new Julianne Argyros Stage. The final production on the Second Stage will be Greenberg's The Dazzle (the only one of his plays to not premiere at SCR) March 26-April 28, while the world premiere The Violet Hour will christen the new space Nov. 5-24.
The Violet Hour takes place in the small New York City office of John Seaverings Pace, a writer who, having made it through World War I, is ready to get on with the future. Unfortunately, he can't find his theatre tickets, and his decisions during the day will impact the lives of four others: his employee, two budding writers and his friend's fiance. Evan Yionoulis will direct.
The Julianne Argyros Stage, designed in the Broadway theatre style by Cesar Pelli, will seat 336 versus the Second Stage's 161 seat capacity. Equipped with ample wing, trap and fly space, the Argyros will be a proscenium theatre with balcony and box seating. The Second Stage will be modified into the 99-seat Nicholas Studio.
Multiple additions will be made to the exterior and interiors of the South Coast Repertory complex. A new green room, staff lounge, dressing rooms, prop shops and offices for the Folino Family Education Center will be added. A grand lobby will now connect the three spaces (including the 506-seat Segerstrom Stage, formerly the Mainstage, which will receive $1 million in technical and cosmetic upgrades) and the amount of restrooms will be doubled. A new 70 foot high light up sign will announce the South Coast Rep complex to passersby. The official dedication of the new building will be Oct. 25 at the South Coast Repertory Gala Ball Oct. 5. The new Segerstrom Stage officially opens Oct. 18.
South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. South Coast Repertory is on the web at http://www.scr.org.
