PRIDE AND PREJUDICE Comes To Segerstrom Stage

Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy have a date with destiny-and South Coast Repertory-in the season-opening production of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, running Sept. 9 through Oct. 9 on the Segerstrom Stage.

This fast-moving adaptation by Joseph Hanreddy and J. R. Sullivan incorporates two turntables and stunning video projections as it takes audiences to the splendid mansions and gorgeous gardens of 1800s England. Because Pride and Prejudice is so often first encountered in high school, Director Kyle Donnelly has come up with a unique framing devIce That will allow audiences to see the story through the eyes of a 15-year-old girl reading the novel for the first time.

But the production's heart remains the love story that has charmed readers for nearly 200 years: "As I was thinking about this production, I asked myself, ‘What is it about this story that endures?'" Donnelly said. "It's this notion of finding someone who loves you for who you really are."

Dana Green (SCR's A Midsummer Night's Dream) stars as lively, headstrong Elizabeth, who reluctantly realizes she's falling for the gruff, handsome Mr. Darcy, played by Corey Brill (Cabaret: national tour).

Jane Carr (Broadway's Mary Poppins) plays Elizabeth's discombobulated mother, and Randy Oglesby (SCR's Ridiculous Fraud) is her long-suffering father. SCR regular Kandis Chappell (Collected Stories) stars as Mr. Darcy's formidable aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Rounding out the 21-person cast are Eva Barnes (Lady Lucas/Mrs. Gardiner), Cate Scott Campbell (Charlotte), Scott Drummond (Mr. Collins), Amy Ellenberger (Miss Caroline Bingley), Amalia Fite (Lydia Bennet), Joel J. Gelman (Fitzwilliam/MR. Denny), Brian Hostenske (Mr. Bingley), Claire Kaplan (The Girl), Rebecca Lawrence (Jane Bennet), James Newcomb (Sir William Lucas/Mr. Gardiner), Michael A. Newcomber (Mr. Wickham), Elizabeth Nolan (Catherine Bennet), Kalie Quiñones (Miss Anne de Bourgh/Georgiana Darcy), Justin Sorvillo (Captain Carter), Daniel Sugimoto (Soldier/Servant) and Katie Willert (Mary Bennet).

The artistic team is comprised of Kate Edmunds (set design), Paloma H. Young (costume design), Lap Chi Chu (lighting design), Michael Roth (original music/music direction), Sylvia C. Turner (choreography), Adam Flemming (assistant scenic design/projection coordination) and Jamie A. Tucker (stage manager).

Tom and Marilyn Sutton and Jean and Tim Weiss are the Honorary Producers. U.S. Bank is the Corporate Honorary Producer, and PBS SoCal and KPCC 89.3 are the media sponsors.

About the Director: Kyle Donnelly has been a director for 30 years, working in many of America's top regional theatres. She most recently directed Groundswell at The Old Globe, where she also helmed Opus, Orson's Shadow and A Midsummer Night's Dream. She is a former Associate Artistic Director of Arena Stage, where her list of credits included Well, She Loves Me, Born Yesterday, Dancing at Lughnasa, (winner of the Helen Hayes Award for Best Production) and The School for Wives. Off-Broadway, she directed the American premiere of Brian Friel's Give Me Your Answer, Do! for Roundabout Theatre Company. She is on the faculty at the University of California, San Diego.

SHOW TIMES: Shows start at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday nights, with matinees starting at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

IMPORTANT DATES: Opening night is Friday, Sept. 16, and press night is Saturday, Sept. 17.

TICKETS: Can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. $20-$68.

BOX OFFICE WINDOW HOURS: 10 a.m. to showtime Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to showtime Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays and non-performance days. American Express, VISA and MasterCard accepted.

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.

POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: Wednesday, Sept. 21, and Tuesday, Sept. 27. Discuss the play with members of the cast following the performance. Free.

"INSIDE THE SEASON:" Saturday, Sept. 24, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. A two-hour interactive session featuring set tours and Q&A's with creative personnel. Tickets: $12. (Tickets to the show are sold separately.)

COMING UP: How the World Began (Sept. 25 - Oct. 16), The Trip to Bountiful (Oct. 21 - Nov. 20).

ABOUT SCR: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theatres in the United States. SCR is committed to theatre that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but through its wide array of education and outreach programs. While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theatre, SCR is renowned for its extensive new-play development program, which includes the nation's largest commissioning program for emerging and established writers and composers. Each year, it showcases some of country's best new plays in the Pacific Playwrights Festival, which attracts theatre professionals from across the country. Of SCR's more than 450 productions, one-quarter have been world premieres, whose subsequent stagings achieved enormous success throughout America and around the world. Two SCR-developed works have won Pulitzer Prizes, and another eight were named Pulitzer finalists. In addition, SCR works have won several Obie Awards and scores of major new-play awards. Located in Costa Mesa, California, SCR's Folino Theater Center is home to the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio. Today, SCR produces 13 shows and eight public readings each season.

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