The MainStreet Theatre Company ends its 6th season with an adaptation of Madeleine L'Engles' Newberry Award winning classic A Wrinkle in Time. The book is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and The MainStreet Theatre Company was awarded a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts to help support the production. Performances run from tonight, May 5th through May 20th at Rancho Cucamonga's Lewis Family Playhouse in the Victoria Gardens Cultural Center. The adaptation is by John Glore, and it will be directed by Robert Castro.
The Newberry award winning novel has been a favorite with children and adults since it was first published in 1962. The MainStreet Theatre Company will make full use of its large space and the artistry of its creative team to bring this beloved work to audiences. The adaptation by John Glore (Associate Artistic Director at South Coast Repertory Theatre) uses only 6 actors to tell the story of the Murry children's journey to rescue their father from the dark forces on another planet.
Director
Robert Castro, familiar to MainStreet audiences from his productions of Dreams of
Anne Frank, Ferdinand the Bull and Treasure Island, is known for his use of visual images and imaginative theatrical storytelling. The creative team, which includes Scenic Designer
Victoria Petrovich, Lighting Designer
Brian Gale, Costume Designer Raquel Barreto and Sound Designer
John Zalewski, will transform the Lewis Family Playhouse stage as the story leaps from Earth to the various worlds on other planets depicted in the book. The design, using both high tech and low tech elements, will serve as a landscape to make the complex themes of the story accessible to a broad audience, and the production will highlight the characters' emotional journeys as they discover their inner strength and the power of love.
Frequent MainStreet audience members will recognize Tracy Thomas (Cinderella) as Meg Murry, the young girl whose love for her brother proves stronger than the forces of evil. Ms Thomas, in addition to acting, is also a songwriter and has been seen around Los Angeles with her band performing in venues such as The House of Blues and the Troubadour. Jeremy Lelliott (Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island), is back as Charles Wallace – the intuitive younger brother. Jeremy is the Artistic Director of the Ovation Award winning Coeurage Theatre Company in Hollywood. Royce Johnson, who was a cast member in the critically acclaimed What's Wrong with Angry at the Celebration Theatre, will play Calvin O'Keefe. Matt Foyer (Honus and Me), Amanda Pajer (Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and Anne of Green Gables) and Ted Barton will portray an array of characters the three children meet on their adventure, including the eccentric Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, the Murry children's parents, the many tentacled Aunt Beast, and the disembodied brain "IT".
MainStreet will be doing some special events in conjunction with the performances, including a special Opening Night Celebration on May 5th to celebrate the NEA grant. On Saturday, May 12th, the 4:00 PM performance will be followed by a post show discussion. Special guest Al Canguahuala (manager for Mission Design and Navigation at NASA'S Jet Propulsion Laboratory) will lead audience members and the cast in a conversation about the difference between Madeleine L'Engles' imagination and the realities of space travel today.
A Wrinkle in Time, appropriate for ages eight years and up, runs Saturdays at 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm and Sundays at 1:00 pm (no performance on May 6th). The matinee on May 13 will be interpreted in American Sign Language.
The Playhouse also runs special weekday matinees for school children, and study guides for teachers and parents are accessible on the Lewis Family Playhouse website. Tickets are priced at $16.00 for General admission, $14.00 for Seniors over 65 and Youth up to age 12. Special prices are available for groups over 15 people by calling the Box Office. Thanks to a generous donation from the Rancho Cucamonga Community and Arts Foundation, all tickets to performances on Saturday, May 5th are only $9.50. Special "Opening Night Party" packages for the 4:00 performance on May 5th are $20, which include a ticket to the show and admission to the post-show celebration.
An intimate, 536-seat venue, the Lewis Family Playhouse is the crown jewel of the three-acre, 89,000-square foot Victoria Gardens Cultural Center. The complex is conveniently located off the I-15 at Foothill Boulevard, as a major anchor of Victoria Gardens. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday from noon to 6:00 pm and Saturdays from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, with free parking available.
For More Information – For additional information or to purchase tickets on-line, please visit
www.lewisfamilyplayhouse.com or call the Lewis Family Playhouse Box Office at (909) 477-2752 or (877) 858-8422.
"Like" MainStreet on Facebook for more up to the minute details about the production and the additional special events at
www.facebook.com/MainStreetTheatreCompany.
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