ONCE to be Presented at Laguna Playhouse in March

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE will present the fourth show of its season, the Tony Award-winning musical ONCE, book by Edna Walsh, music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, musical direction by Julia Hoffmann, choreography by Paula Hammons Sloan and directed by Steve Steiner. ONCE begins previews on Wednesday, March 8; will open on Sunday, March 12 at 5:30pm (press opening) and perform through Sunday, March 26 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Dr. in Laguna Beach.

"Guy meets Girl" in this tender love story about a struggling Irish musician on the verge of giving up, and a piano-playing Czech immigrant who reminds him how to dream. Featuring an outstanding ensemble of performers playing their instruments live on stage, this emotionally captivating musical is the only show to have music that won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Olivier Award and a Tony Award. With all of the magical songs from the critically acclaimed film, including the Oscar-winning "Falling Slowly," this achingly beautiful, joyously uplifting show strikes an unforgettable chord in audiences and speaks to the power of music to connect us all!

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

Steve Steiner (Director) has had a long career in the performing arts for over fifty years. He has been fortunate to work almost nonstop in the theatre, including three Broadway shows (Buddy: The Buddy Holly Musical, Anything Goes (1987 revival) and State Fair), three Off-Broadway (Annie Warbucks, Return to the Forbidden Planet ("Dr Prospero" and five musical instruments) Honky Tonk Highway (Musical Director, orchestrations, vocal arrangements and actor), four national tours and dozens of regional productions. Steve has directed four National Tours, eight major Casino Productions and more than fifty regional productions in seventeen states, including Ring Of Fire, All Shook Up and Buddy...The Buddy Holly Story & The Spitfire Grill for Laguna Playhouse. Buddy just played nationally again this Fall, playing over forty cities across America. He served ten years on the Council (Board) of Actors Equity Association as the Chair of Developing Theatre and Guest Artist. Steve is the proud recipient of The Cultural Access Task Force's Innovator Award for his forward thinking and hiring practices for Artists with Disabilities.

PAULA HAMMONS SLOAN

(Choreography) For Laguna Playhouse, she most recently directed and choreographed Xanadu and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, provided musical staging for The Spitfire Grill, and has also directed and choreographed Footloose, All Shook Up, Hairspray and choreographed Ring of Fireand Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. Ms. Sloan has directed or choreographed numerous National tours including: 42nd Street, Singin' in the Rain, Music Man, Cabaret, Bye Bye Birdie, Little Women, Urban Cowboy, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Copacabana, Funny Girl, George M, Titanic, My One and Only, Crazy for You and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Ms. Sloan has mounted several productions at the Tropicana Resort and Casino, Resorts in Atlantic City and El Dorado Casino. She directed and choreographed Miracle on 34th Street (Jersey Shore Entertainment) on the West Coast, at the Tropicana Resort and Casino and on tour. Ms. Sloan has directed and choreographed regionally including Kansas City Starlight (The Producers, Anything Goes), Casa Manana (Oklahoma), West Virginia Public Theatre, Surflight Theatre (On Your Toes, Sisters of Swing, Lady Be Good, Ragtime, Mamma Mia, Holiday Inn, Cabaret, Joseph, Will Rogers, White Christmas, Ebenezer), Gateway Playhouse,

Plan B Productions (The Producers, Footloose), Theatre Under the Stars (Houston) (110 in the Shade, Wonderful Life, Disney's When You Wish), the Houston Symphony, the Houston Thanksgiving Day Parade and opening ceremonies of the 100th Anniversary Convention of Girl Scouts. She was Resident Choreographer for Galveston Summer Musicals for over 45 productions and her former tap company, Texas Tap Ensemble, toured Nationally and internationally for several years.

JULIA HOFFMANN

(Musical Director/Réza) was last seen on the Laguna Playhouse stage as Percy Talbott in TheSpitfire Grill. Julia holds her BFA in Acting from Shenandoah Conservatory and is a proud Moscow Art Theater and NTI alumna. National tours: Once the Musical, Rockin' Road to Dublin, Cirque Musica, Christmas in Killarney. Regional: Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Once the Musical, Hello, Dolly!, Annie, Almost Heaven, Buddy, Smoke on the Mountain.

The Cast of ONCE also features (in alphabetical order): Grace Belt as "Girl," Grant Brown as "Andrej," Mary Ann Carlisle DiPietro as "Baruska," Keaton Eckhoff as "Guy," Morgan Hollingsworth as "Eamon," Will Huse as "Billy," Becca Last as "Ivonka," Chris McGraw as "Svec," James Michael McHale as "Bank Manager," Michael Naishtut as "Da," Caitlin Ort as "Emcee," and Lauren Witman as "Ex-Girlfriend."

The Design Team for ONCE is: Scenic Design by Matthew Herman; Lighting Design by William Gibbons-Brown; Sound Design by Ian Wehrle; Costumes by P&G Costumes Co. The Production Stage Manager is Kyle M. Dill. The Production Supervisor is Gail Anderson.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

ONCE will preview on Wednesday, March 8 at 7:30pm; Thursday, March 9 at 2pm & 7:30pm; Friday, March 10 at 7:30pm & Saturday, March 11 at 2pm & 7:30pm; will open on Sunday, March 12 at 5:30pm (press opening) and perform through Sunday, March 26 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Dr. in Laguna Beach.

Performances will be Wednesdays through Fridays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 2pm & 7:30pm; Sundays at 1:00pm & 5:30pm. There will be added performances on Thursday, March 16 at 2:00pm and Tuesday, March 21 at 7:30pm. There will be no performance on Sunday, March 26 at 5:30pm.

Tickets range from $66 - $91 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. Prices subject to change.

The box office is open Tuesdays - Sundays: 12pm to 4pm; Mondays open 2 hours prior to show time and until 15 minutes after curtain. Open until showtime on all performance days.

For more information on all shows and programming visit www.lagunaplayhouse.com. LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

About Laguna Playhouse

Founded in 1920, the historic Laguna Playhouse is one of the oldest continuously-operating not-for-profit theatres on the West Coast and is proud to be an active participant in the celebrated Laguna Beach arts community. From classic plays and musical comedies to the current off-Broadway smash, cutting edge and traditional music exhibitions, dance festivals and stand-up comedy performances, Laguna Playhouse brings the magical experience of the performing arts direct to over 80,000 patrons each season.

Laguna Playhouse educational programming includes year-round classes, productions by and for children and teens (Youth Theatre) and is one of the few companies in the region that offer a curriculum-based professional theatre-touring program, TheatreReach, which aligns with the California State Standards for literature, history and performing arts curriculum.

Laguna Playhouse has been recognized in for the past five years as one of Orange County Register's "Best of OC" in the category of Live Theatre. The Laguna Playhouse has featured many talented performers on stage, including Ed Asner, Leslie Caron, Hershey Felder, Harrison Ford, Melanie Griffith, Val Kilmer, Gregory Harrison, Dan Lauria, Hal Linden, Wendie Malick, Rita Rudner, Charles Shaughnessy, French Stewart, Loretta Swit, and Bette Davis.

Learn What's Going On at www.lagunaplayhouse.com.

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