Argyros Stage Presents the World Premiere of COMPLETENESS, 4/17-5/8

Megabytes and microbes collide in Itamar Moses' Completeness, a romantic comedy about the budding relationship between a pair of science geeks that will have its world premiere on the Argyros Stage April 17 through May 8.

The couple at the heart of Completeness are grad students. Elliott (Karl Miller) is a computer scientist searching for an answer to the elusive Traveling Salesman Problem; Molly (Mandy Siegfried) is a microbiologist studying protein interactions. A chance meeting in the library leads to a scientific collaboration that turns romantic. But they soon realize that love is more complex than any scientific problem they've ever encountered.

"These are smart, smart people. Very analytical," said director Pam MacKinnon. "There's something in their DNA that has them always looking for answers. But love isn't something that can be solved, and that makes for delicious comedy."

MacKinnon directed SCR's production of Becky Shaw earlier this season, as well as Our Mother's Brief Affair in 2009. She recently directed Death of a Salesman at The Old Globe and is a frequent interpreter of the plays of Edward Albee, having directed premieres of Peter and Jerry (now called At Home at the Zoo, Hartford Stage Co. and Second Stage Theatre) and Occupant (Signature Theatre) as well as The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, The Play About the Baby, A Delicate Balance and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Siegfried, who appeared in the Broadway production of Noises Off, originated the role of Molly in last year's Pacific Playwrights Festival reading of the play. Miller is new to SCR, but has appeared in numerous theatrical productions, including Forum Theatre's Angels in America, for which he won the 2010 Helen Hayes Award. Playing the various ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends who complicate Molly and Elliott's relationship are Brooke Bloom (SCR's Hamlet and A Feminine Ending) and Johnathan McClain (TV's "Retired at 35," Lincoln Center's Spinning into Butter).

This is Moses' second play at SCR. His first was 2006's Bach at Leipzig. His other full-length plays include Outrage, Celebrity Row, The Four of Us, Yellowjackets, Back Back Back and The Den, as well as a musical adaptation of Jonathan Lethem's The Fortress of Solitude (with Michael Friedman). He writes for television's "Boardwalk Empire" and "Men of a Certain Age."

The creative team consists of Christopher Barreca (set), Sara Ryung Clement (costumes), Russell H. Champa (lighting), Bray Poor (sound), Kelly L. Miller (dramaturg), Jackie Hill (production manager) and Jennifer Ellen Butler (stage manager).

Bette and Wylie Aitken are the Honorary Producers of Completeness. The media partners are Orange Coast Magazine and KCRW 89.9. This play is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays award.

TICKETS for Completeness are $20 to $66 and can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.

LOCATION: South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Folino Theatre Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available off Anton Blvd. on Park Center Drive.

COMING UP: Silent Sky (April 1 - May 1), Three Days of Rain (May 13 - June 12), The Emperor's New Clothes (May 20 - June 5).

 

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