La Jolla Playhouse Season to Include World Premiere Directed by Christopher Ashley and More | Playbill

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News La Jolla Playhouse Season to Include World Premiere Directed by Christopher Ashley and More La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, CA, has announced the first four plays of its 2011-12 season.

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Christopher Ashley Photo by Aubrey Reuben

Productions include the Playhouse co-commissioned Milk Like Sugar, by Kirsten Greenidge, directed by Rebecca Taichman; the world premiere of A Dram of Drumchhicit, by Arthur Kopit and Anton Dudley, directed by Playhouse artistic director Christopher Ashley; Peer Gynt, by Henrik Ibsen, adapted and directed by David Schweizer; and American Night: The Ballad of Juan José by Richard Montoya for Culture Clash, directed by Jo Bonney.

The final two subscription shows of the season will be announced at a later time.

In a statement artistic director Ashley said, "We’re so proud of this season celebrating the arrival of several new artists and Playhouse veterans. I’m delighted to be staging a brand new piece co-written by renowned playwright Arthur Kopit in his Playhouse debut, as well as present a wildly imaginative Ibsen adaptation and a co-commissioned work by up-and-coming playwright Kirsten Greenidge. We also welcome back Culture Clash with their latest piece that yet again speaks to the current issues facing our region with humor and heart."

Greenidge's Milk Like Sugar, co-commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse and Theater Masters, is described as such: "Stuck in a dead-end town and ignored by her family, 16-year-old Annie decides to create her own future, entering into a pregnancy pact with two of her high school friends. With savage humor and gritty poetry, this new play explores the challenges of choosing between the safety of the life you know and the danger of the life you desire."

Kopit and Dudley’s A Dram of Drumchhicit, according to the Playhouse, concerns "an American entrepreneur [who] has found the perfect Scottish island on which to build his new golf course. But as secrets – and bodies – are unearthed, the true nature of the island wreaks comic havoc, in this new comic supernatural farce." The Playhouse's production of Peer Gynt, a co-production with Kansas City Repertory Theatre, will be performed by "just five performers playing 40 characters on a stage full of inventive surprises. Audiences will be taken on a wild and surreal adventure in this brilliant version in which the title character dreams, swindles and charms his way through life in an exhilarating quest for fame and fortune."

In Culture Clash’s American Night: The Ballad of Juan José, "as the title character feverishly studies for his U.S. Citizenship exam, he becomes ensnared in a tumultuous, whirlwind journey through pivotal moments of American history. Juan discovers America’s best in a handful of unsung citizens who made courageous choices in this provocative, irreverent comedy about our shared past – and future," according to production notes.

Subscriptions for the Playhouse’s 2011-12 season are currently on sale for 6-Play and Design-Your-Own packages by calling (858) 550-1010 or by visiting lajollaplayhouse.org. Prices range from $135 to $402.

 
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