Robin and the 7 Hoods Will Premiere at Old Globe; Shakespeare, DiPietro, Bennett Also Booked

By Kenneth Jones
01 Nov 2009

Casey Nicholaw
Casey Nicholaw
photo by Aubrey Reuben

The new Broadway-aimed musical comedy Robin and the 7 Hoods, directed by Casey Nicholaw and based on the film of the same name, will get its world premiere in July 2010 at The Old Globe in San Diego. The company announced its programming for summer 2010 on Nov. 1.

The coming summer season (on three Old Globe stages) will also include two Shakespeare plays, the West Coast premiere of a play by Joe DiPietro and a revival of Alan Bennett's The Madness of King George III.

Executive producer Lou Spisto announced the titles in the summer season, "which begins the theatre's year-long celebration of its 75th Anniversary in June."

Shakespeare was first produced at the Globe in 1935 as part of the California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park and has been central to the Globe's mission since that time. Acclaimed director Adrian Noble, former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, is the artistic director of the 2010 Old Globe Shakespeare Festival and will direct Shakespeare's King Lear and Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III. Presented in repertory, the Shakespeare Festival will also include The Taming of the Shrew (director to be announced).

The summer season also features the Broadway-bound musical, Robin and the 7 Hoods, directed by Casey Nicholaw with book by Rupert Holmes, lyrics by Sammy Cahn, music by Jimmy Van Heusen.

Also planned is the West Coast premiere of The Last Romance, a new romantic comedy by Joe DiPietro starring television star Marion Ross ("Happy Days").

Ross first appeared at the Old Globe when she was 18 years old and has delighted Globe audiences for over 60 years. Nicholaw was raised in San Diego and was 16 years old when he debuted at the Globe in The Robber Bridegroom.

Tickets to the Globe's 2010 summer season are currently available by subscription only and prices range from $75 to $365. Subscription packages may be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the box office.

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Here's The Old Globe's 2010 summer season at a glance:

Shakespeare Festival/Lowell Davies Festival Theatre (in repertory June 12–Sept. 26, 2010)

King Lear by William Shakespeare (June 12–Sept. 23).
Adrian Noble directs Shakespeare's masterpiece, "at once an intimate story of family and mortality and a tragedy of grand scope. King Lear has riveted audiences for centuries, and Noble's imaginative production is sure to be a major theatrical event."

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (June 16–Sept. 26).
"One of Shakespeare's most enduring — and bawdiest — comedies, The Taming of the Shrewis the quintessential battle-of-the-sexes."

The Madness of George III by Alan Bennett (June 19-Sept. 24). "A tour de force of royal intrigue by renowned playwright Alan Bennett (The History Boys), The Madness of George III is the true account of the stately British monarch's slide into insanity, set five years after losing the American colonies in the Revolutionary War. An international stage phenomenon and award-winning film, Bennett's thrilling play will be directed by Adrian Noble."

Old Globe Theatre

Robin and the 7 Hoods, book by Rupert Holmes, lyrics by Sammy Cahn and music by Jimmy Van Heusen (July 14-Aug. 22). "This world premiere musical comedy, featuring classic tunes by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen with a book by Tony Award winner Rupert Holmes, turns the Robin Hood tale on its head. When Nicky Robino, a suave, fast rising entrepreneur in Chicago's swingin' '60s nightclub scene, tries to reorganize organized crime, he finds himself falling for a maiden named Marion." It's based on the original screenplay by David R. Schwartz and produced with the permission of Warner Brothers Theatrical Ventures. The Broadway-bound show features the classic Cahn and Van Heusen songs "My Kind of Town," "Call Me Irresponsible" and "All the Way." Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone, Spamalot).

Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre

The Last Romance by Joe DiPietro (July 30-Sept. 5). Old Globe associate artist and television icon Marion Ross ("Happy Days," "The Drew Carey Show," "Brothers and Sisters") stars with her life partner, Paul Michael, in this heart-warming romantic comedy by Joe DiPietro (Memphis; I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change). "On an ordinary day in a routine life, an 80-year-old widower decides to take a different path on his daily walk that leads him to an unexpected second chance at love." Richard Seer directs.

The Old Globe is located in San Diego's Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way.