A newly married couple finds their own relationship on the rocks after they set up their friends on a date from hell in Gina Gionfriddo's wicked comedy Becky Shaw, a West Coast premiere that will run Oct. 22 through Nov. 21 at South Coast Repertory.
In
Becky Shaw's sold-out Off-Broadway debut last year, the New York Times dubbed it "a corker of a new play...a tangled tale of love, sex and ethics [that] is as engrossing as it is ferociously funny."
Angela Goethals plays Becky, a needy, down-on-her-luck college dropout whose one date with mean-spirited Max (
Brian Avers) sets off shockwaves in the lives of her colleague Andrew (
Graham Michael Hamilton) and his bride, Suzanna (
Tessa Auberjonois). Further complicating matters is Suzanna's say-anything mother, Susan (
Barbara Tarbuck), who may be dating a con artist.
"This play really excites me in that it deals with a lot of taboos," said director
Pam MacKinnon. "It's a play you can talk about."
MacKinnon, who calls herself a Gionfriddo "repeat offender" because this is the fourth time she has directed one of her plays, says she saw the New York production of
Becky Shaw and was struck by the way it affected the people around her: "It was wonderful to be in a room where you could really feel the audience keep switching their allegiances."
The
Becky Shaw creative team includes
Daniel Ostling (set design), Sarah Ryung Clement (costume design),
Lap Chi Chu (lighting design), Michael K. Hooker (original music and sound design), Chrissy
Church(stage manager) and Jamie A. Tucker (assistant stage manager).
Haskell & White LLP is the Corporate Honorary Producer. The Segerstrom Stage season media partner is KOCE-TV and the media partners for
Becky Shaw are KCRW 89 and Coast Magazine.
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. Performances begin Oct. 22 and continue through Nov. 21. Ticket prices range from $20 to $66. Low-priced preview performances are available Oct. 22 - 28. Opening night is Friday, Oct. 29, and press night is Saturday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m.
TIMES: Previews are Friday and Saturday, Oct. 22 - 23, at 8 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 26 - 27, at 7:30 p.m., and Thursday, Oct. 28, at 8 p.m. Regular performances are Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, educators, seniors and groups of 10 or more. There will be an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, Nov. 20, at 2:30 p.m.
POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: Wednesday, Nov. 3, & Tuesday, Nov. 9: Discuss the play with members of the
Becky Shaw cast during free post-show discussions led by
South Coast Repertory's literary team.
INSIDE THE SEASON: Saturday, Nov. 6, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Inside the Season is a series of interactive seminars that provide a comprehensive inside look at the theatrical production process. Each two-hour session features a set tour and a question-and-answer period with creative personnel working on the production. Inside the Season is offered on select Saturday mornings from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 each and can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or at the Box Office. (Tickets to
Becky Shaw are sold separately.)
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.
COMING UP: Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Nov. 5 - 21), NewSCRipts Reading (Nov. 8), A Christmas Carol (Nov. 27 - Dec. 26).
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 445 productions, 117 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.
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