Photo Flash: SCR's BEN AND THE MAGIC PAINTBRUSH

A pair of plucky orphans fall into the clutches of a greedy couple in the final installment of SCR's 2009-2010 Theatre for Young Audiences season. Ben and the Magic Paintbrush, adapted by Bathsheba Doran from a Chinese folk tale, has its world premiere May 21 through June 6 on the Julianne Argyros stage.
 
Paintbrush opens with siblings Megan and Ben eking out a living on the streets. Megan poses as a human statue, and Ben paints portraits. When the evil Mrs. Crawly spots Ben's talent, she lures him to her home to see if he can unlock the magic of her father's paintbrush, which in the right hands brings paintings to life. After the cat Ben paints sashays off the wall, Mrs. Crawly makes Ben her prisoner. But Meg stages a daring rescue, and soon the pair head off on a magical adventure to Bohemia.
 
Doran, whose adult plays include Kin, Living Room in Africa and Nest, says one of her goals was to write a play that audiences of all ages could enjoy:  "I want children to fall in love with going to the theatre, the way that I did when I was a child. So I've tried to write something that they will like, and something that their parents will like, so that they can enjoy the experience all together, without the barriers that usually exist between children and grown-ups."
 
Stefan Novinski, whose SCR credits include An Italian Straw Hat: A Vaudeville, A Little Night Music, Bunnicula and The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, will direct.
 
Gloria Garayua (La Posada Magica, TV's "Grey's Anatomy") will play Megan and Stewart Calhoun (A Wrinkle in Time) will play Ben. Shannon Holt (Dead Man's Cell Phone) will play the evil Cynthia Crawly; SCR Founding Artist Richard Doyle will play her dim-bulb husband, Harold. Rounding out the cast are Veralyn Jones (My Wandering Boy), who will play the Queen of Bohemia and Bill Brochtrup (Noises Off, TV's "NYPD Blue"), who will play flamboyant artist Pierre Robelinksy.
 
The production's creative ensemble consists of Keith Mitchell (Set Designer), Tom Ruzika (Lighting Designer), Sara Ryung Clement (Costume Designer), Dennis McCarthy (Original Music), Kimberly Egan (Sound Designer), Kelly L. Miller (Dramaturg) and Jennifer Ellen Butler (Stage Manager).
OC Family is SCR's Theatre for Young Audiences Media Partner. Pacific Life Foundation is the Corporate Honorary Producer for this show.
 
SCR's Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) presents three professional productions each season designed especially for children and their families.  In addition to the public performances, TYA hosts more than 10,000 students from elementary schools annually in an effort to introduce the next generation to the magic of live theater. 
 
TICKETS to Ben and the Magic Paintbrush 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.  Performances begin on May 21 and continue through June 6. Ticket prices range from $17 to $29.  Low-priced previews are available from May 21-28.
 
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 Theater Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available off Anton Blvd. on Park Center Drive.
 
ABOUT SCR:  Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, under the artistic direction of David Emmes and Martin Benson, is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theaters in the United States.  Founded in 1964, SCR is committed to theater that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but through its education and outreach programs.  While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theater, SCR is renowned for its extensive new play development program, including the Pacific Playwrights Festival.  Of SCR's more than 440 productions, 114 have been world premieres with subsequent stagings achieving enormous success across America and around the world.  SCR-developed works have garnered eight Pulitzer Prize nominations with Margaret Edson's Wit winning the prize in 1999 and David Lindsay-Abaire's Rabbit Hole in 2007.  Located in Costa Mesa, California, in 2002 SCR opened the Folino Theater Center, an expanded three-theater complex that includes the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio.

Photo Credit: Henry DiRocco/SCR