Martin's 'PICASSO,' Morisseau's SKELETON CREW & More Set for The Old Globe's 2016-17 Season; Plus Previously Announced OCTOBER SKY!

The Old Globe today shared its 2016-2017 Season, including world and West Coast premieres, second looks, comic favorites, plays with music, classics-and, of course, Shakespeare and the Mean Old Grinch return again too!

Following the Broadway and Kennedy Center successes of 2014's Globe-premiered Bright Star, Steve Martin returns with his clever and crowd-pleasing comedy hit, Picasso at the Lapine Agile. Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein, who previously staged Martin's The Underpants and WASP and Other Plays, will continue their creative relationship here at the Globe. The Lapin Agile, beloved watering hole to struggling artists and would-be geniuses, welcomes Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein, who spar with the regulars and each other about art, science, inspiration, love, and the promise of the 20th century. Brilliant and witty, it runs February 4 - March 12, 2017.

Fiasco Theater delighted Globe audiences in 2014 with their reinvented Into the Woods, and the Globe has now commissioned a world premiere from these acclaimed artists, whom The New York Times called "a force to reckon with in American theater." This adaptation takes on Molière and his outrageously funny masterpiece The Imaginary Invalid. Hypochondriac Argan wants his daughter to marry a doctor so he can save on his medical bills-but she's in love with someone else. The madcap scheme to save true love runs May 27 - June 25, 2017, and will have you in stitches.

A second Globe world premiere, this one developed in the 2016 New Voices Festival, Nick Gandiello's The Blameless is a compassionate and moving look at the power of familial bonds in the most extraordinary of circumstances. Director Gaye Taylor Upchurch (Bethany and The Last Match) returns to the Globe to helm this world premiere look at love, family, and hope, running February 25 - March 26, 2017.

The endlessly imaginative PigPen Theatre Co. spins a fantastical fable for all ages in the West Coast premiere of The Old Man and The Old Moon. Co-directed by Stuart Carden and PigPen Theatre Co., it combines their signature shadow puppetry, indie-folk music, exuberant energy, and array of ever-changing characters. The Old Man tends to The Old Moon, refilling the light that spills out every night. When his wife unexpectedly leaves home, he journeys across land, air, and sea to remind her-and us-of the unwavering power of love. New York magazine said PigPen shows us "how unapologetically and unpretentiously playful theater can be." It plays May 13 - June 18, 2017.

Lolita Chakrabarti's stirring drama Red Velvet transports audiences to the turbulent backstage world of London's Theatre Royal in the early 1800s, with the fascinating true story of a young black American actor whose groundbreaking performance in Othello upends stage tradition and changes the lives of everyone involved. Visionary director Rachel Chavkin (The Royale and Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) returns to the Globe with a stunningly theatrical production. The London Telegraph called this multi-award-winning play "informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking." The play runs March 25 - April 30, 2017.

Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morisseau is currently a Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist, and will be directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, 2015 Craig Noel Award winner for Director of the Year, making her Globe debut. Times are tough in 2008 Detroit, but there's still one working auto plant. Faye holds everyone together, but months away from retiring, she's torn between self-preservation and allegiance to her coworkers. Skeleton Crew, which The New York Times called "a deeply moral and deeply American play ... squarely in the tradition of Arthur Miller," is presented in association with MOXIE Theatre and runs April 8 - May 7, 2017.

Award-winning songwriter Benjamin Scheuer inspires and disarms with his raw wit and emotional depth in The Lion. Scheuer leads you on a rock 'n' roll journey from boyhood to manhood, through pain and healing, to discover the redemptive power of music. NY Daily News called The Lion "an irresistible winner!" Directed by Sean Daniels, it runs September 29 - October 30, 2016.

The Old Globe's 2016-2017 Season launches into orbit with the previously announced West Coast premiere of October Sky. The beloved film is now a triumphant new American musical that will send your heart soaring and inspire your whole family to reach for the stars. October Sky features a book by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Marsha Norman and Aaron Thielen, and music and lyrics by Joseph Jefferson Award winner Michael Mahler. It is directed and choreographed by Joseph Jefferson Award winner Rachel Rockwell and produced in association with Universal Stage Productions. This uplifting musical portrait of small-town Americana packed with youthful exuberance, and a sweeping, unforgettable new score runs September 10 - October 23, 2016.

Also returning November 1 - November 13, in its third year on the annual roster, is our Globe for All program, touring Shakespeare to the San Diego community. The searing comedy Measure for Measure is set in a decadent Vienna, where strict Angelo meets a young nun pleading for the life of her brother as justice, lust, hypocrisy, and redemption collide. Acclaimed director Patricia McGregor makes her Globe debut. Globe for All presents professional Shakespeare to diverse, multigenerational audiences in locations around San Diego County. Over the past two years, Globe for All has performed in military bases, homeless shelters, centers for the elderly, correctional facilities, and other community venues for nearly 2,200 audience members, many seeing theatre-and Shakespeare-for the first time. In addition to this year's 20-stop tour, Globe for All will play at The Old Globe for two low-cost performances.

Our annual The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program production is one of Shakespeare's most delightful comedies, The Two Gentlemen of Verona. This exuberant tale of friendship, young love, and secret identities features an unforgettable cast of characters. It is directed by Richard Seer and runs November 12 - 20, 2016. A joint venture of the Globe and USD, the Shiley Graduate Theatre Program trains seven select students in an intensive two-year course of graduate study in classical theatre. Private funding for the Master of Fine Arts in Theatre program has been contributed through a generous endowment established by Donald and Darlene Shiley. Additional support for the program is provided by the Dorothy Brown Endowment Fund and the Louis Yager Cantwell Foundation.

The 2016-2017 Season will also welcome everyone's favorite Green Meanie back at the Globe November 5 - December 26, 2016 (with an additional week once again), to delight San Diego families for its 19th joyous year! Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a wonderful, whimsical musical based upon the classic Dr. Seuss book. As in years past, The Grinch will be performed on Saturday, December 10, for children on the autism spectrum and their families, as well as other families with special needs that may appreciate the welcoming and supportive environment this performance provides.

"I'm very excited for The Old Globe's 2016-17 Season," said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "There's a huge range of material here: musicals and dramas, the comic and the serious, revivals and world premieres, ensemble-created work and a solo show, celebrations of theatre history and plays that relate directly to today's world. Our great city and our large and open-minded audience will find many extraordinary evenings of theatre on our stages and in the community, and I'm thrilled to share them. I'm also extremely proud to welcome the very best talent from around the country and right here in San Diego-artists at the top of their game in every theatrical discipline-to make work at the highest possible level of artistic achievement. I'm proud to note the increased diversity in those artistic ranks, as well as expanded opportunities for new and underserved audiences to engage with the Globe's work. All in all, this is a season that embodies the best of what The Old Globe can be, and one that will give audiences the widest sense of theatre art at its best."

SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS offer substantial savings with special subscriber benefits. Tickets to the Globe's 2016-2017 Season are currently available by subscription only. Subscription packages can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE [234-5623], or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Subscriptions to the Globe's 2016-2017 Season range from $107 to $674. Single tickets for most shows begin at $29. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors, military members, and groups of 10 or more.

There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Guests may also be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. The Balboa Park valet is also available during performances, located in front of the Japanese Friendship Garden. For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org. For directions and up-to-date information, please visit https://www.theoldglobe.org/plan-your-visit/directions--parking.

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