Despite a 1964 Variety Award for Best Play, Joe Orton's first play, Entertaining Mr. Sloane hasn't seen the kind of revivals Loot or What the Butler Saw has. After visiting the latter two plays in the 1990's, South Coast Repertory Theatre will revive this early Orton comedy Sept. 19-Oct. 22 on the company's Second Stage. South Coast Rep artistic director Martin Benson directs.
In Mr. Sloane, the title character finds a place to live with Kath, an anxious landlady who promises to extend more than common curtesies to her new boarder. Her father, however, thinks the handsome lad recently murdered a neighbor and her wealthy brother wants the good-looking boy for himself. Entertaining Mr. Sloane last made a hit for SCR in the 1967-68 season.
J. Todd Adams (Garland winner for Gross Indecencey) stars as Sloan with Jane Carr (She Stoops to Folly, The Cider House Rules) as Kath, Hal Landon, Jr. (True West, The Hollow Lands) as her father and Mark Ryan (West End's Dean, Evita) as her brother. Landon, Jr. is a SCR founding artist, where he has appeared for 20 seasons as Ebenezer Scrooge in the theatre's A Christmas Carol.
Designing Mr. Sloane are Myung Hee Cho (sets), Joyce Kim Lee (costumes) and Geoff Korf (lighting). Andy Tighe is the production stage manager.
Tickets are $47-$18. South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. For reservations, call (714) 708-5555. South Coast Repertory is on the web at http://www.scr.org. -- By Christine Ehren
