A list of the plays to be offered during the season, which is titled "The Heart of the Matter: Finding the essence of eternity in a changing world," follows:

Measure for Measure
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Michael Murray
Sept. 25 – Dec. 5
(Previews begin Sept. 18)

"In this stirring and oft-studied play, the Duke of Vienna, realizing that through his neglect society has become a rotted den of iniquity, transfers his authority to Angelo, by all accounts an unblemished, morally uncompromising servant of God. But Angelo's irresistible sexual attraction to Isabel, a novice nun seeking pardon for her condemned brother, transforms saint to beast in Shakespeare’s timeless case study in lethal hypocrisy. … The production is part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest"

Blithe Spirit
Directed by Dámaso Rodriguez
By Noel Coward
Oct. 9 – Dec. 17
(Previews begin Oct. 2)

"Dámaso Rodriguez directs this acclaimed comedy in which novelist Charles Condomine and his wife Ruth get more than they bargained for when during a 'just for the fun of it' after-dinner séance led by local spiritualist and resident eccentric Madame Arcati, an uninvited guest from the great beyond crashes the party. So begins a delightfully cosmic clash of personalities both worldly and otherwise in English wit-master Noel Coward’s glittering comedy of the soul." Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations
Adapted by Neil Bartlett
Directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott
Oct. 30 – Dec. 19
(Previews begin Oct. 23)

"Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott co-direct this production based on Dickens' masterful novel about Pip, orphaned as an infant and thrust into a childhood of cruel poverty, who clings to the hope of a brighter life. On a rain-swept winter’s eve great tidings arrive. An anonymous benefactor has anointed Pip heir to a tremendous fortune, setting into motion a life’s journey ripe with wonder, heartbreak and finally triumph."

Noises Off
By Michael Frayn
Directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott
Jan. 21 – Jan. 30, 2011

"Michael Frayn's hilarious Noises Off, directed by Rodriguez-Elliott and Elliott, is back by popular demand for a limited run of 10 performances" after a successful run last season. "Chaos reigns both onstage and off in Frayn’s joyfully out-of-control British farce. Under-rehearsed and over-worked, with a penchant for drama more personal than professional, a bumbling troupe of veteran thespians ready themselves for the world premiere of a new play with the auspicious title Nothing On. In the process they bring the house down, quite literally."

The Comedy of Errors
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Michael Michetti
March 5 – May 14, 2011
(Previews begin Feb. 26)

"One of the Bard’s most beloved comedies, this zany adventure is an upside/down, inside/out topsy-turvy world of identical twins, loony lovers, and joyfully inept near misses. The non-stop freewheeling delightful farce is proof positive that double the Errors is double the fun. … The production is part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest."

The Eccentricities of a Nightingale
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Michael Murray
March 19 – May 28, 2011
(Previews begin March 12)

"Trapped in the cultural suffocation of a backwater Mississippi hamlet, Alma Winemiller struggles to dim the unique glow of her soul. Blessed (or cursed) with a lyric sense of being, she bears a heavy cross of unrequited, unattainable love for the boy next door. Without a protector, her exquisite individuality is left vulnerable to the destructive forces of small-town intolerance in American master Tennessee Williams’ ode to fragile beauty."

The Chairs
By Eugene Ionesco
Directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott
April 9 – May 21, 2011
(Previews begin April 2)

"It's a compelling work by the 'father' of absurdist drama who was one of the 20th century’s leading theatrical innovators. His masterwork The Chairs, first staged in 1952, synthesizes the distorted perceptions that surround the acts of living and dying through a vision unique and dazzling in its profundity."

A Noise Within:
A Retrospective
June 3 –June 5, 20

"A Noise within caps its 2010-11 season and its final year in its Glendale before moving to its permanent home in Pasadena with a very special curtain call. A retrospective evening of theatrical magic for three nights only, June 3, 4 and 5, 2011, features a champagne reception and a trip down memory lane with the company's acclaimed resident artists featuring play selections from A Noise Within's 19 years of remarkable classical theatre in Glendale."

A Noise Within is located at 234 South Brand Boulevard in Glendale. For tickets call (818) 240-0910 ext. 1 or visit anoisewithin.org.