Frances Fisher And Gregory Harrison To Star In THE LION IN WINTER At Laguna Playhouse

Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham and Executive Director Ellen Richard are thrilled to announce that acclaimed film, TV and theatre veterans Frances Fisher ("Titanic," Native Gardens, Barbeque), will star as "Queen Eleanor" and Gregory Harrison ("Trapper John, M.D.," Broadway's Chicago, Steel Pier), will star as "King Henry II" in its upcoming production of THE LION IN WINTER, written by James Goldman and directed by Sheldon Epps.

THE LION IN WINTER begins previews on Wednesday, November 6; will open on Sunday, November 10 at 7:00pm and runs through Sunday, November 24, 2019 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach. Additional casting will be announced shortly.

Before Game of Thrones, there was THE LION IN WINTER. It's Christmas 1183, and King Henry II is planning to announce his successor to the throne. The jockeying for the crown, though, is complex. Henry has three sons and wants his boy, Prince John, to take over. Henry's wife, Queen Eleanor, has other ideas. She believes their son Prince Richard should be king. As the family and various schemers gather for the holiday, each tries to make the indecisive king choose their option. The Lion in Winter has all the makings of this modern-day classic - sibling rivalry, adultery, and dungeons. Comedic in tone, dramatic in action - the play tells the story of the Plantagenet family, who are locked in a free-for-all of competing ambitions to inherit a kingdom.

Frances Fisher (Queen Eleanor) has starred in over 30 theatrical productions (experimental, touring, Regional, off-off and off-Broadway,) including Elia Kazan's The Chain, Hay Fever, Cat on A Hot Tin Roof, Summer And Smoke, Orpheus Descending, 1984, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Fool For Love, Arthur Miller's last play Finishing The Picture, Three More Sleepless Nights (Drama League Award); The Taper's The Cherry Orchard, and Barbecue at The Geffen Playhouse, which won three NAACP 2018 Theatre Awards, including Best Ensemble. Recently Ms. Fisher had a ball being funny in Native Gardens at The Pasadena Playhouse. On film, she is perhaps best known for her performance as Kate Winslet's mother in "Titanic," which garnered Fisher a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Ensemble Cast. The film went on to receive eleven Academy Awards. Her numerous film credits include the Oscar-winning "Unforgiven," "In The Valley of Elah," "True Crime," "The Big Tease," "Tough Guys Don't Dance," "Laws of Attraction," "Awake," among many others. Television: Ms. Fisher played Lucille Ball in "Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter" and has guest-starred on "The Shield," "Eureka," "Masters of Sex," "Law & Order." "Roseanne," "The Mentalist," "Two and a Half Men," "Sons of Anarchy," "ER," "Grey's Anatomy," "Criminal Minds," "Fargo," among many others. She starred in ABC's critically acclaimed series, "Resurrection," and Damon Lindelof's "Watchmen" premieres on HBO on October 20th.

Gregory Harrison (King Henry II) His four-decade career spans television, film, and theater. He has filmed nearly 50 TV movies, two dozen mini-series, and guest-starred on dozens of television series, beginning with "M*A*S*H" in 1975. Harrison has since starred in numerous series, including "Logan's Run," "Safe Harbor," "Falcon Crest," "Trapper John, M.D.," "One Tree Hill," "Judging Amy," "Strong Medicine," "Joey" and "Reckless." Harrison recurs regularly in Hallmark Channel's "Chesapeake Shores" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" series, and has starred in the Hallmark Original Movies "Cloudy with a Chance of Love," "Undercover Bridesmaid," "The Nine Lives of Christmas," "After All These Years," and the upcoming "Love, Fall, and Order." On the big screen, Harrison has appeared in several feature films, including "It's My Party," "North Shore," "Razorback," "Running Wild," "Air Bud II: Golden Receiver," "Love 'N Dancing," "Give 'Em Hell, Malone," "The M Word," and the upcoming "Hour Of Lead." Harrison made his Broadway debut in 1997 with Kander and Ebb's Steel Pier and took the Broadway stage again in the 2001 Broadway revival of the critically acclaimed Stephen Sondheim musical Follies, co-starring Blythe Danner, Judith Ivey, and Treat Williams. Additionally, he played slick lawyer Billy Flynn in another Kander and Ebb musical, Chicago, both on Broadway and the national tour. Other dramatic theater roles include 2016 world-premiere of The Snake Can (Odyssey Theater), Surf Report (La Jolla Playhouse), Child's Play, Jules Feiffer's Carnal Knowledge, and the US and China tour of Top Secret: The Battle for The Pentagon Papers. Harrison also starred in productions of The Hasty Heart and Picnic (Ahmanson Theater), both taped for Showtime on Broadway. Harrison's regional musical credits include Pump Boys and Dinettes, Of Thee I Sing, Paper Moon: The Musical, Festival, Guys and Dolls andThe Music Man.

 

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