David Hare's SKYLIGHT Begins April 19 at Chance Theater

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, presents David Hare's celebrated drama, Skylight. Written by David Hare and directed by Chance Theater's Artistic Director, Oanh Nguyen, Skylight will preview from April 19th through April 26th; with regular performances beginning April 27th and continuing through May 19th on the Cripe Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

On a bitterly cold London evening, schoolteacher Kyra Hollis receives an unexpected visit from her former lover, Tom Sergeant, a successful and charismatic restaurateur whose wife has recently died. As the evening progresses, the two attempt to rekindle their once passionate relationship only to find themselves locked in a dangerous battle of opposing ideologies and mutual desires. Can they find their way back to each other, or has the time for their tumultuous romance reached its end?

Skylight premiered in May 1995 at the Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre, directed by Richard Eyre and starring Michael Gambon and Lia Williams. This is the production that won the Olivier for Best Play. In 2015, there was a highly lauded Broadway revival with Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan that won the Tony Award for Best Revival.

This production will star Jessica Erin Martin (as Kyra Hollis), Steve Marvel (as Tom Sergeant), and Sam Bullington (as Edward Sergeant). Jessica has appeared onstage at ACT Theatre and San Jose Rep, as well as television in shows such as CBS' Criminal Minds and NBC's Grimm. She won the Indie Series Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for the web series, Wrecked. Steve has appeared at theaters throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, such as Aurora Theatre (San Francisco, CA) and the renowned Reduced Shakespeare Company. Sam is a film and theater actor from Texas, who has worked most recently with Granbury Theatre Company in Fort Worth. All three cast members are making their Chance debuts with this production.

Founding Artistic Director, Oanh Nguyen, is excited to be taking to the director's chair for such a rich drama from one of the world's greatest living playwrights. Although recent credits have been mainly musicals (last season's Big Fish, as well as A Chorus Line and In The Heights), Oanh is no stranger to dramas. At the Chance alone, he has directed the So Cal premieres of Amy Herzog's After The Revolution, Zayd Dohrn's Reborning, and Julie Marie Myatt's Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter. Oanh has received directing nominations from LA Stage Alliance's Ovation Awards and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, and has directed at South Coast Repertory, East West Players, among others.

Oanh wanted Skylight to be his first non-musical at the Chance since 2015 because of the timelessness of the story, and also the timeliness of the story. "This is a story of true love that is fighting to overcome grief, shame, regret and the need to be forgiven," Nguyen said. "I am so excited to direct this play. David Hare has drawn each of his characters so fully that we are taken away on this journey that is deeply intimate, emotional, and funny, while also being a study of politics, economics, and society. The audience never loses touch with what's personally at stake for these characters even as they are debating the world's problems. And although the play takes place in London in the early 1990's, it has proven to have a universal resonance."

Joining Nguyen on the production team for Skylight is scenic designer Bruce Goodrich (Middletown), lighting designer Matthew Schleicher (Hairspray), sound designer Ryan Brodkin (Lizzie, The Musical), costume designer Adriana Lambarri (Elevada), prop designer Megan Hill (James and The Giant Peach), stage manager Bebe Herrera (The Other Place), dialect coach Glenda Morgan Brown (Big Fish), and dramaturg Jocelyn L. Buckner (Elevada).

Proud to be one of the leading ensemble-driven theatre companies in Southern California, CHANCE THEATER has received the National Theatre Company grant from American Theatre Wing for "nurturing a community of artists in ways that strengthen and demonstrate the quality, diversity, and dynamism of American theatre." The Chance has won six Ovation Awards, including two for Best Production of a Musical - Intimate Theater for its West Coast premiere of Triassic Parq - The Musical and Southern California premiere of Jerry Springer - The Opera, as well as four LADCC Awards, including the Polly Warfield Award for Outstanding Season. The Anaheim City Council named Chance Theater "the Official Resident Theater Company of Anaheim" in 2014, and Arts Orange County has twice named the Chance as "Outstanding Arts Organization." Known for using bold and personal storytelling to promote dialogue and connection within the Southern California theatrical landscape, the Chance is committed to contributing to a more compassionate, connected and creative community. As a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Orange County Theatre Guild, and LA Stage Alliance, Chance Theater continues to bring national attention to the Southern California and Orange County theater scenes.

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