At its annual "Light the Night" Gala, South Coast Repertory will officially dedicate their new Folino Theatre Center Oct. 5. The new facility, fifty percent larger than the company's former space, includes a renovated main stage, a newly built second stage and a renovated studio space.

The Julianne Argyros Stage, designed in the Broadway theatre style by Cesar Pelli, will seat 336 versus the old Second Stage's 161-seat capacity. Equipped with ample wing, trap and fly space, the Argyros is a proscenium theatre with balcony and box seating. The Second Stage has been modified into the 99-seat Nicholas Studio.

The Violet Hour, the sixth Greenberg play to premiere on SCR's stages, will be the first on the Argyros Stage, playing Nov. 5-24. The comedy-drama takes place in the small New York City office of John Seaverings Pace, a writer who, having made it through World War I, is ready to get on with the future. Unfortunately, he can't find his theatre tickets, and his decisions during the day will impact the lives of four others: his employee, two budding writers and his friend's fiancée.

The former SCR mainstage, now called the Segerstrom Stage, remains a 507-seat house, but has undergone renovations including a new color scheme, new carpeting and new seat upholstery. The stage apron is also now flexible, capable of reconfiguration as a rounded thrust, squared thrust or proscenium theatre. Major Barbara opens on the Segerstrom Oct. 18.

Construction on the stages cost some $50 million raised through the "SCR: The Next Stage" program. The Folino Theatre Center originally opened in Costa Mesa in 1978. For further information on South Coast Repertory, visit http://www.scr.org. — By Christine Ehren