The festival in Costa Mesa, CA, will feature readings of four new works: Vesuvius by Lucinda Coxon, The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl, Singing Forest by Craig Lucas and Safe as Houses by Richard Greenberg. The event runs while SCR presents the world premieres of Amy Freed's Safe in Hell (on its Segerstrom Stage) and Noah Haidle's Mr. Marmalade (Julianne Argyros Stage).
David Emmes directs Coxon's Vesuvius, May 7 at 1 PM (Argyros Stage). Simon Billig, David Paul Francis, Anna Gunn, Jennifer Hinds, Kevin Sifuentes read the work set at a Neapolitan resort in the shadow of the title geological formation. The work — set to make its debut at SCR in the coming season — follows two strangers arrive for a quiet holiday alone to discover they are sharing a villa.
The reading of Ruhl's Susan Smith Blackburn Award-winning The Clean House — which also is set to debut at SCR next season — is directed by Bill Rauch. The cast includes Ivonne Coll, Francois Giroday, Joan MacIntosh, Zilah Mendoza (Living Out) and Mary Lou Rosato. The work centering on a Brazilian cleaning woman who hates her job, but longs to be a stand-up comedian will play May 7 at 3:30 PM (Segerstrom Stage).
Bartlett Sher (The Light in the Piazza) directs Lucas' The Singing Forest, May 8 at 10:30 AM (Segerstrom Stage). Stephen Spinella is among the cast that features Robin Bartlett, George Coe, Fionnula Flanagan, Kristen Flanders, Nathanael Johnson, Matt Letscher, Lorenzo Pisoni and John Vickery. The work — slated to make its world premiere at Seattle's Intiman Theatre — is an epic play, which interweaves the tales of three generations of one family, from New York in 2000 to Vienna in the 1930s.
Greenberg's Safe as Houses will be directed by Ethan McSweeny, May 9 at 11 AM (Segerstrom Stage). Blair Brown joins Nathan Baesel, Robert Foxworth, Mary Joy, Valerie Mahaffey and Adam Scott in the cast. The revised work finds a man visiting the home of his college friend, where he discovers what is behind the facade of the privileged family. Tickets to the Pacific Playwrights Fest at South Coast Rep, 655 Town Center Drive, in Costa Mesa, CA, can be purchased by calling (714) 708-5555. For more information, visit www.scr.org.
