Costa Mesa Playhouse Kicks Off 2010-11 Season with THE ODD COUPLE, 8/6

The Costa Mesa Playhouse is pleased to present its 2010-2011 season-a season filled with classic and contemporary comedies, award-winning musicals, and a humor-laced drama.

The season beings August 6 with one of the 20th century's most famous comedies: Neil Simon's THE ODD COUPLE. The season continues in October with the Tony Award-winning musical THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, followed in January with THE BOOK OF LIZ by sibling scribes David and Amy Sedaris. Up next is the wildly popular 1950s-style musical FOREVER PLAID. The season concludes next June with the warm comedy-drama STEEL MAGNOLIAS.

As a special bonus show, The Costa Mesa Playhouse kicks off its 2010-2011 season June 25 - 27 with a musical revue fundraiser entitled "Broadway: The Best of Times" featuring a cast of 20 extraordinary singers performing songs from such classics as West Side Story and Guys and Dolls to contemporary musicals such as Hairspray and Spring Awakening. The fundraiser is dedicated to the memory of former Costa Mesa Playhouse board president Melanie McBride, who passed away June 4.

Michael Serna's production of THE ODD COUPLE will run from August 6th to the 29th. Neil Simon's masterpiece about the comic mayhem that ensues when neurotic neat-freak Felix Unger is kicked out by his wife and moves in with poker-buddy and world-class slob Oscar Madison.

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE runs from October 15th to November 15th. It's directed by David Anthony Blair. This delightful, charming, Tony Award-winning musical celebrates the triumph of doing the best you can, as six nerdy teenagers, in the midst of adolescent angst, discover themselves while struggling to win the spelling championship of a lifetime.

From February 4, 2011 to the 27th, David & Amy Sedaris' THE BOOK OF LIZ will run at The Playhouse. Director Michael Dale Brown brings the wacky tale of Sister Elizabeth Donderstock, cheese ball maker for her cloistered religious community, the Squeamish, who leaves the compound for the very first time to discover the lunacy of the outside world.

FOREVER PLAID, directed by Stephn Hulsey, runs from April 8th to May 8th. After the all-male quartet The Plaids are killed in a car crash on the way to their first big concert, they return from the afterlife for one night only to perform the show they never got to do, to prove for all time that they really were as good as they imagined, singing some of the great pop hits of the 1950s in four-part harmony.

Robert Harling's heart-warming play, STEEL MAGNOLIAS, runs next summer from June 10th to July 3rd. With an all female cast, this lovingly evoked picture of eccentricity in a small, southern town, centers on a group quirky and complex ladies who gather every Saturday at Truvy's Beauty Parlour to shampoo, socialize, gossip... and occasionally grieve.

Performances consist of evening performances at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays with an matinee performance at 2 pm on Sundays. These are subjected to change. Season subscriptions range between $72 to $104. Single ticket prices are $18 for adults ad $16 for students and seniors. Preview tickets are $16 and gala opening night tickets are $23.

The Costa Mesa Playhouse (661 Hamilton Street) is a 73-seat, not-for-profit theatre that has been serving the Orange County community for more than 40 years. The Playhouse is dedicated to presenting affordable, quality, live theater in a comfortable and intimate setting, and to offering actors, singers, dancers, and stage craftspeople a welcoming environment in which to practice their craft. The Playhouse offers a diverse five-play season that runs from August through June and includes notable musicals, comedies and dramas. Located on the campus of Rea School, the Costa Mesa Playhouse receives no monetary support from the city or school district. All revenues come from ticket sales, subscriptions, and the generous donations of patrons, and are directed back into the productions at The Playhouse and toward general operating costs. For more information, call the box office at (949) 650-5269, or visit CostaMesaPlayhouse.com.

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