La Jolla Playhouse Announces SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES, 7/19-8/21

La Jolla Playhouse announces the sixth and final production in its 2011/12 season: a new adaptation of Sleeping Beauty Wakes, book by Rachel Sheinkin (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), with a score by composer Brendan Milburn and lyricist Valerie Vigoda, both of the acclaimed trio GrooveLily (Striking 12, Long Story Short), directed by Rebecca Taichman, who will also direct The Playhouse's 2011/12 world premiere of Milk Like Sugar. A co-production with Princeton's McCarter Theatre, Sleeping Beauty Wakes will run July 19 - August 21, 2011 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre.

"We are thrilled to partner with the McCarter Theatre on this exuberant musical," said Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. "We've been fans of Rachel Sheinkin and GrooveLily for years and Sleeping Beauty Wakes is a perfect fit for our season."

In Sleeping Beauty Wakes, a young beauty is brought to a sleep disorder clinic, and soon all the patients find themselves sharing a familiar dream. The show reunites two members of the acclaimed rock trio GrooveLily - Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda - with Tony Award-winning librettist Rachel Sheinkin, who last collaborated on the inventive holiday tale Striking 12. With beguiling characters, hypnotic lyrics, and a rocking score, Sleeping Beauty Wakes delves into the magical space between dreaming and waking in a delightful twist on a classic tale.

The complete 2011/12 Playhouse season includes: the world-premiere of A Dram of Drummhicit, by Arthur Kopit and Anton Dudley, directed by Christopher Ashley, running May 17 - June 12 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre; Peer Gynt, by Henrik Ibsen, adapted and directed by David Schweizer, running June 28 - July 24 in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre; Sleeping Beauty Wakes, book by Rachel Sheinkin, music by Brendan Milburn, lyrics by Valerie Vigoda, directed by Rebecca Taichman, running July 19 - August 21, 2011 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre; the world premiere of Milk Like Sugar, a co-commission with Theater Masters, by Kirsten Greenidge, directed by Rebecca Taichman, running August 30 - September 25 in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre; the world-premiere musical Finding Neverland, book by Allan Knee, music by Scott Frankel, lyrics by Michael Korie, directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford, running November 8 - December 11 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre; and American Night: The Ballad of Juan José, written by Richard Montoya for Culture Clash, developed by Culture Clash and Jo Bonney, directed by Jo Bonney, running January 27 - February 26, 2012 in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.
Tickets to Sleeping Beauty Wakes and the rest of Playhouse's 2011/12 season are currently available through subscription by calling (858) 550-1010 or by visiting lajollaplayhouse.org. Sleeping Beauty Wakes is sponsored by U.S. Bank. The Playhouse's 2011/12 season is supported by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and Qualcomm Incorporated.

The nationally acclaimed, Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse is known for its tradition of creating the most exciting and adventurous new work in regional theatre. Founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, The Playhouse is considered one of the most well-respected not-for-profit theatres in the country. Numerous Playhouse productions have moved to Broadway, including Big River, The Who's Tommy, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Walk in the Woods, Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays, the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, Jersey Boys, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Farnsworth Invention, 33 Variations and the 2010 Tony Award-winning musical Memphis. Located on the UC San Diego campus, La Jolla Playhouse is made up of three primary performance spaces: the Mandell Weiss Theatre, the Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre, and the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for La Jolla Playhouse, a state-of-the-Art Theatre complex which features the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre. La Jolla Playhouse is led by Artistic Director Christopher Ashley and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg.