La Jolla Playhouse Announces Casts/Creative Teams for THE ORPHAN OF ZHAO and ETHER DOME

La Jolla Playhouse announces the casts and creative teams for its upcoming productions of The Orphan of Zhao and Ether Dome. Tickets for both productions are available by calling Playhouse Patron Services at (858) 550-1010 or at LaJollaPlayhouse.org.

Adapted by James Fenton, directed by Carey Perloff, The Orphan of Zhao is a co-production with American Conservatory Theatre, running July 8 - August 3 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre (press opening Friday, July 11 at 8:00pm). Ether Dome, by Elizabeth Egloff, directed by Michael Wilson, is a co-production with the Alley Theatre, Hartford Stage and Huntington Theatre Company and will run July 13 - August 10 in Mandell Weiss Forum (press opening: Friday, July 18 at 8:00pm).

"As different as these two shows are in subject, style and tone, they both boast creative teams and casts marked by tremendous talent and energy, featuring many of our local favorites, UC San Diego M.F.A. students and alumni, as well as a slew of Broadway veterans, including our dear friend BD Wong" said Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. "We look forward to the electrifying environment these two companies will create in the theatre district as two provocative productions run side by side this summer."

The cast for The Orphan of Zhao features Marie-France Arcilla as "The Princess," Stan Egi as "Tu'an Gu," Philip Estrera as "Chu Ni/Ghost of Cheng Ying's Son," Nick Gabriel as "Zhao Dun," Cindy Im as "Princess's Maid," Orville Mendoza (Playhouse's The Wiz) as "Wei Jiang," Paolo Montalban as "The Ballad Singer/The Emperor," Brian Rivera as "Demon Mastiff/ General Han Jue," Sab Shimono (Playhouse's Wonderland) as "Gongsun Chujiu," Julyana Soelistyo as "Cheng Ying's Wife," Daisuke Tsuji (Playhouse's American Night) as "Ti Miming/ Cheng Bo" and Tony Award winner BD Wong (Playhouse's Herringbone) as "Cheng Ying."

The creative team for The Orphan of Zhao includes Daniel Ostling, Scenic Designer; Linda Cho (Playhouse's Chaplin), Costume Designer; Lap Chi Chu (Playhouse's Ruined), Lighting Designer; Jake Rodriguez, Sound Designer; Byron Au Yong, Original Music; Stephen Buescher, Movement Director; Jonathan Rider, Fight Director and Michael Paller, Dramaturg.

The cast for Ether Dome features: Michael Bakkensen (Playhouse's Light up the Sky) as "Horace Wells," Greg Balla as "Bigelow," Sam Breen as "Paul/Medical Student," Ken Cheeseman as "Dr. Gould," Benjamin Cole as "Medical Student," Kevin Hafso-Koppman as "Medical Student," Walker Hare (WoW Festival's Cornerstone) as "Medical Student," Richmond Hoxie (Playhouse's Light up the Sky) as "Dr. Warren," Bill Kux as "Dr. Hayward," acclaimed local actress Linda Libby as "Mrs. Wadsworth," Tom Patterson (Playhouse's Sideways) as "William Morton," Amelia Pedlow as "Elizabeth Wells," Lee Sellars as "Dr. Colton," Hannah Tamminen (WoW Festival's Cornerstone) as "Girl in White," Liba Vaynberg as "Lizzie Morton" and William Youmans (Playhouse's Hands on a Hardbody, Chaplin) as "Dr. Jackson."

The creative team includes: Jim Youmans, Scenic Designer; David C. Woolard, Costume Designer; David Lander, Lighting Designer; John Gromada, Sound Designer/Composer, Alex Neumann, Sound Designer; Shirley Fishman, Dramaturg.

About Orphan of Zhao

The Orphan of Zhao is a classic Chinese legend that has its roots in the fourth century BCE. It's an epic story of self?sacrifice and revenge. In the aftermath of a political coup, a country doctor is forced to sacrifice his own son in order to save the last heir of a noble and massacred clan. Often described as the Chinese Hamlet, this enduring tale was the first Chinese play to be translated in the West nearly 300 years ago and has inspired countless operas, plays, and movies.

About Ether Dome

When a new treatment promises to eradicate pain, a doctor and his student play out an epic battle between altruism and ambition. Based on the true story of the discovery of ether as an anesthetic in 1846, Ether Dome is a fascinating new play that explores the pain that afflicts humankind, our attempts to find relief and the beginning of healthcare as big business.

The nationally-acclaimed, Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse is known for its tradition of creating some of the most exciting and adventurous new work in regional theatre. The Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, and is considered one of the most well-respected not-for-profit theatres in the country. Twenty-five Playhouse productions have moved to Broadway, earning 35 Tony Awards, including the currently-running hit Jersey Boys, as well as Big River, The Who's Tommy, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Walk in the Woods, Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays, the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Farnsworth Invention, 33 Variations, Memphis, Bonnie & Clyde, Chaplin, Peter and the Starcatcher and Hands on a Hardbody. Located on the UC San Diego campus, La Jolla Playhouse is made up of three primary performance spaces: the Mandell Weiss Theatre, the Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre and the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for La Jolla Playhouse, a state-of-the-art theatre complex which features the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre. La Jolla Playhouse is led by Artistic Director Christopher Ashley and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg.

TICKETS: LaJollaPlayhouse.org or (858) 550-1010; Tickets start at $15.

Photo Credit: Kevin Berne

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