Julia Duffy Stars in SEX AND EDUCATION, Starting Tonight at Laguna Playhouse

Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham is thrilled to announce the fifth show in the Laguna Playhouse 2015-2016 season, Julia Duffy starring in SEX AND EDUCATION, written by Lissa Levin and directed by Andrew Barnicle.

"This hilariously smart lesson in the English language taught by "Designing Women" and "Newhart" star Julia Duffy is going to have our audiences doubled over with laughter. Mature language has never been funnier," says Wareham.

SEX AND EDUCATION will open tonight, April 30 and will run through Sunday, May 22, 2016 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

Meet Joe Marks, a basketball star whose college scholarship is suddenly in jeopardy when his poorly written, sexually-charged note to his girlfriend is intercepted during a final exam. Meet Miss Edwards, his high school English teacher on her last day of teaching. In this hilarious homage to educators everywhere, Miss Edwards uses the note to teach Joe a lesson - on life, love, and the power of words.

WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE; EXCESSIVE HILARITY.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST:

JULIA DUFFY is known for a number of classic comedic TV roles such as Allison Sugarbaker on "Designing Women" and the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated role of Stephanie on "Newhart". More recent TV appearances include the recurring role of Mrs. Lishman on "Shameless," Patrick's mother on HBO's "Looking," "Key and Peele," and "Scream Queens". Theatre work includes Once in a Lifetime on Broadway and much regional theatre, most recently Guess Who's Coming to Dinner at Boston's Huntington theatre, The Heiress [Lavinia] and The Little Foxes [Birdie], at the Pasadena Playhouse.

ANDREW BARNICLE (Director) served as artistic director of Laguna Playhouse from 1991 through 2010. In that time he produced over 100 Playhouse shows and directed over 40 of them, including many World, U.S., West Coast and Southern California premieres. Recent directing projects at Laguna include Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine, Noel Coward'sPrivate Lives, Ron Hutchinson's Moonlight and Magnolias, which also played the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts as a co-production with McCoy/Rigby Entertainment, and Burbank's Colony Theatre. In the past few years, he directed Blame It On Beckett and Stephanie Zimbalist in Sex and Education and at the Colony Theatre, The Odd Couple, The Lion In Winter, Gunmetal Blues, and Aaron Posner's adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Who Am I This Time? at North Coast Rep in San Diego, Shirley Valentine at the Falcon Theatre, The Irish Curse at the Odyssey Theatre, Private Lives at the Rubicon theatre in Ventura, Present Laughter at Chapman University, and Venus In Fur at the Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara. He has also directed at San Diego's Theatre at Old Town, Michigan's Meadow Brook Theatre, Gunmetal Blues, Rounding Third, Charles Evered's Celadine at the Colony Theatre, and The Foreigner at the San Jose Repertory Theatre.

The Cast of SEX AND EDUCATION will also feature: Nick Tag and Alexandra Johnston.

SEX AND EDUCATION has assembled the following design team. Set Design is by Trefoni Michael Rizzi. Lighting Design is by Don Guy. Sound Design is by Juan Sanson. Costume Design is by Jim Prodger. The Stage Manager is Vernon Willett.

SEX AND EDUCATION will begin previews on Wednesday, April 27; will open on Saturday, April 30 and will run through Sunday, May 22, 2016 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach. Performances will be Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 2pm; Sundays at 1pm. There will be additional performances on Thursday, April 28; Thursday, April 5 & Thursday, April 19 at 2:00pm & Sunday May 1 & Sunday, May 15 at 5:30.

Tickets range from $48 - $61 and can be purchased online at www.lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling (949) 497-ARTS (2787). Group discounts are available by calling 949-497-2787 ext. 229. The box office is open Mondays - Saturdays: 12p.m. to 5 p.m. (open until showtime on performance days); Sundays: 11a.m. - 4p.m. For more information on all shows and programming, go online. LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

Laguna Playhouse is your "go to" for a great night out - be it plays, musicals, concerts, dance, stand-up comedy, author panels, family entertainment and more. No matter what your entertainment taste, with over 300 performances a year, we're what's going on! Founded in 1920, the Laguna Playhouse is one of the oldest continuously-operating not-for-profit theatres on the West Coast and is noted for its artistic excellence, wide-ranging performing arts programming, award-winning youth education offerings and community partnerships. A member of the League of Resident Theatres, the Laguna Playhouse is also home to the annual Laguna Dance Festival, the Laguna Beach Music Festival and the Laguna Beach Concert Band. The Laguna Playhouse has been recognized for excellence by the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce, LA Drama Critics Circle, OC Weekly and more. Because of its longstanding commitment to the arts, The Laguna Playhouse has been recognized for excellence by the LA Drama Critics Circle, NAACP, Backstage, ArtsOC, OC Weekly, Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce and more. Laguna Playhouse's educational programming, which includes classes, productions by and for children and teens (Youth Theatre) and a school tour, has been honored by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, Arts Orange County and the Orange County Department of Education.

Serving more than 80,000 patrons each season, the Laguna Playhouse has featured many talented performers on stage, including Leslie Caron, Val Kilmer, Ed Asner, Hershey Felder, Linda Purl, Davis Gaines, Donna McKechnie, Rita Rudner, violinist Joshua Bell, Lee Rocker, ballerina Misty Copeland, Harrison Ford, and Bette Davis.

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