Carmen, Cry-Baby, Etc. Part of '07/'08 La Jolla Season

The complete 2007 La Jolla Playhouse season has been announced, with The Deception, after the quake, The Adding Machine and the Broadway-bound musical Cry-Baby joining the previously announced Carmen and The Seven.

The Nightingale, a new musical by Spring Awakening's Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, was also previously announced, but will not be performed at the San Diego theatre this season.

The world premiere musical Carmen, with music by John Ewbank, lyrics by AnnMarie Milazzo and book by Sarah Miles, will run at the Mandell Weiss Theatre from June 5th through July 22nd.  Franco Dragone will direct.  "The gypsy enchantress of Prosper Mérimée's novella captured the imagination of the world now inspires daring and innovative Cirque du Soleil director Franco Dragone to bring Carmen to life for a new millennium.  In this new adaptation, dazzling imagery, original and Flamenco music and dance infuse this brutal tale of sensuality, passion and obsession."

The Deception, adapted by Steven Epp and Dominique Serrand  from La Fausse Suivante by Pierre Marivaux, directed by Dominique Serrand, will run June 17 - August 19 at the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre, as a co-production with  Theatre de la Jeune Lune.  "Lust, avarice and a healthy dose of cross-dressing are all on fine display when a young girl dresses as a man to learn more about her husband-to-be.  What she discovers bends everything from gender to our notions of love."

after the quake, a Steppenwolf Theatre Production adapted by Frank Galati  from after the quake by Haruki Murakami, also directed by Galati, will run from July 24 - August 26 at the Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre as a co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre.  The show "interweaves two short stories written by Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami in the aftermath of the 1995 earthquake that shook Kobe, Japan.  In an enchanting, moving and haunting play that follows the lives of those affected by the disaster, and Galati's elegant staging and poetic adaptation are a testament to healing and hope in an increasingly vulnerable world."

Elmer Rice's The Adding Machine, directed by Daniel Aukin, will run from September 11 - October 7, 2007 at the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.  "Meet Mr. Zero, a numbers cruncher of 25 years who, after being informed he will be replaced by a machine, murders his boss. The imaginative power and bold theatricality of Elmer Rice's darkly comic 1923 expressionistic classic resounds as a cautionary tale of technology's ever-advancing hold on our society and the meaning of life."

The Broadway-bound musical Cry-Baby, based upon the Universal Pictures film written and directed by John Waters, will run from October 30 - December 16 at the Mandell Weiss Theatre.  The musical features a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, lyrics and music by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger, and direction by Mark Brokaw. "Baltimore 1954. Everyone likes Ike, nobody likes communism and Wade 'Cry-Baby' Walker is the baddest boy in town. He's a rebel with a cause — truth, justice and the pursuit of rock 'n' roll — and when he falls for a good girl, this square little suburb is sure to rock around the clock."

The Seven, adapted from Aeschylus's Seven Against Thebes, with book and music by Will Power and choreography by Bill T. Jones, will be performed February 12 – March 16, 2008 at the Mandell Weiss Theatre.  Jo Bonney will direct.  "Greek tragedy meets hip-hop in writer/composer Will Power's modern adaptation of Aeschylus' story of a cursed family and a society unsure of how to free itself from war. Power's remix, with urban rhyming verse and diverse musical styles, shines with renewed relevance through the eyes of a new generation."

In addition, The Edge: Most Wanted will be presented as a Page To Stage Workshop Production.  With a book by Jessica Hagedorn, lyrics by Hagedorn and Mark Bennett, music by Bennett and direction by Michael Greif, the show will be presented October 2 – October 14, 2007  at the Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre. "Most Wanted uncovers America's obsession with the cult of wealth and celebrity through the lens of the media frenzy surrounding Andrew Cunanan, the spree killer whose insatiable appetite for fame resulted in the loss of one of the world's premiere fashion designers.  Provocative and compelling, this music theatre piece explodes issues of sexuality, class and race, and revealing the dark side of the limelight."

Subscriptions ranging from $96-$306 are now available by calling 858.550.1010 or buying online at  www.lajollaplayhouse.com.

Photo of Cry-Baby co-bookwriter Thomas Meehan by Graylock.com/Retna Ltd.