LA JOLLA, CA -- Regina Taylor's new play with music, Oo-Bla- Dee, will kick off La Jolla Playhouse's 1999 season May 18. Taylor, best known for her leading roles in TV's "I'll Fly Away" and the motion picture "Courage Under Fire," captures the lives, passions and music of a group of female African-American jazz musicians after World War II. To quote the show's promotional tag: "As soldiers return to their homes and jobs, these women must redefine their roles in the music industry, in their personal lives, and in their country."

Co- directed by Taylor and Susan V. Booth, the show has a cast that includes Caroline Clay, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Ernest Perry, Jr. and Jacqueline Williams. The run is through June 20.

Oo-Bla- Dee is the first production in the Playhouse's six-play 1999 season, which will include Joe Orton's comedy Loot (June 8- July 11); the American premiere of the musical Jane Eyre, written and co-directed by John Caird (July 13-Aug. 29); Charlayne Woodard's NAACP award-winning celebration of her African-American family, Pretty Fire (July 23-Aug. 29); the world premiere of Chay Yew's Wonderland (Sept. 14-Oct. 17), directed by Lisa Peterson, about an Asian-American family's struggle to capture the American dream; and Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth, which will be Michael Greif's final directing assignment as artistic director of the Playhouse and the final production of the subscription season (Oct. 2-Nov. 14).

On Sunday, April 18 at noon, single tickets go on sale to the general public for the new season.

The La Jolla Playhouse is located at the corner of La Jolla Village Drive and Torrey Pines Rd. Call (619) 550-1010 or visit www.lajollaplayhouse.com.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent