Jon Marans, author of Pulitzer Prize finalist Old Wicked Songs, premieres his latest work, Jumping for Joy, at Laguna Playhouse Sept. 3-Oct. 6. Richard Stein (West Coast premiere of The Shape of Things) directs.

Jumping for Joy revolves around the games of childhood and the agendas of adulthood. When a man returns home to sister and father, they each have their own plans for the future that come into conflict, no matter how much they love each other. Aside from Old Wicked Songs, Marans wrote the play Child Child and the books to Legacy of the Dragonslayers and Searching 4 Y.

Teacher and actor Allan Miller stars. Miller's credits include Willy Loman in South Coast Repertory's 1997 Death of a Salesman, Substance of Fire at Seattle Repertory Theatre and Broadway's Romulus. His acting pupils have included Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Strep. Daniel Nathan Spector ("Ally McBeal") and Deborah Van Valkenburgh ("Too Close for Comfort") are also featured.

Designing Jumping for Joy are Don Gruber (sets), Julie Keen (costumes), Tom Ruzika (lighting) and David Edwards (sound).

Tickets are $27-$49. Laguna Playhouse is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach. For reservations, call (949) 497-ARTS. Laguna Playhouse is on the web at http://www.lagunaplayhouse.com. – By Christine Ehren