Steve Martin's METEOR SHOWER, Starring Jenna Fischer, Begins Tonight at The Old Globe

The Old Globe presents the world premiere of Steve Martin's new play Meteor Shower, an adult comedy, marking his welcome return to the Globe following the great success of Bright Star. It will be directed by Gordon Edelstein in a co-production with Long Wharf Theatre, where Edelstein serves as Artistic Director (and no, he is not related to Barry).

Due to popular demand, an additional week has been added; Meteor Shower will now play today, July 30, through September 11, 2016, with opening night on August 7, in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Single tickets begin at $29 and are on sale to the general public now. As part of Long Wharf Theatre's 2016-2017 Season, their performances are scheduled for September 21 - October 16, 2016 (dates subject to change).

Get ready for the unexpected when Norm and his wife Corky invite another couple to their Ojai backyard to watch a Meteor Shower in the night sky. As the stars come out and the conversation gets rolling, cocktails flow, tempers flare, and sparks fly-literally. Steve Martin's surprising new comedy takes an offbeat and absurdist look at the comic anxiety lurking just beneath the surface of modern marriage.

METEOR SHOWER features Jenna Fischer (Emmy Award nominee as Pam Beesly on "The Office," Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story with John C. Reilly, Reasons to Be Happy Off Broadway) as Corky, Greg Germann (SAG Award winner for "Ally McBeal," "Once Upon a Time," Broadway's Boeing-Boeing, original production of Assassins) as Norm, Alex Henrikson (Fish in the Dark and The Snow Geese on Broadway, Helen Hayes Award nominee for Ironbound, "Funny Or Die") as Laura, and Josh Stamberg (series regular on "The Affair," "Parenthood," and "Drop Dead Diva," Off Broadway's Distracted) as Gerald.

The creative team is comprised of Michael Yeargan (Scenic Design), Jess Goldstein (Costume Design), Donald Holder (Lighting Design), John Gromada (Original Music and Sound Design), Caparelliotis Casting (Casting), Kathy Snyder (Production Stage Manager), and Annette Elena Nixon (Stage Manager).

METEOR SHOWER continues Steve Martin's exciting and fruitful relationship with The Old Globe. Martin and Edie Brickell's musical Bright Star premiered at the Globe in summer 2015, played a limited engagement at The Kennedy Center, and received acclaim in its Broadway run at the Cort Theatre. In addition to five Tony Award nominations, Bright Star received Outstanding New Broadway Musical and Outstanding New Score at the Outer Critics Circle Awards. And in February, as part of the 2016-2017 Season, the Globe will mount a production of Martin's international hit comedy Picasso at the Lapin Agile, directed by the Globe's very own Barry Edelstein. Tickets for that show, which will run February 4 - March 12, 2017, are available now by subscription; single tickets will go on sale at a late date.

"Steve Martin's return to The Old Globe with this hugely funny and very insightful play is happy news," said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "That we will now be able to share Meteor Shower with many, many more San Diegans is an extra delight. I look forward to the sound of raucous laughter echoing off the walls of the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre this summer, and to an extended Balboa Park stay for Steve, my namesake Gordon, and a truly remarkable company of major actors."

Steve Martin (Playwright) began his career on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" (1967-1969), for which he earned his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety or Music in 1969. In the mid-1970s, MR. Martin shone as a stand-up on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and NBC's "Saturday Night Live." Martin's films are widely popular successes and are the kind of movies that are viewed again and again: The Jerk (1979), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), Roxanne (1987), Parenthood (1989), L.A. Story (1991), Father of the Bride (1991), and Bowfinger (1999). As an author, Martin's work includes the novel An Object of Beauty; the play Picasso at the Lapin Agile; a collection of comic pieces, Pure Drivel; a bestselling novella, Shopgirl; and his memoir, Born Standing Up. His writing has also appeared in The New Yorker. MR. Martin is an accomplished, Grammy Award-winning, boundary-pushing bluegrass banjoist and composer who has won three Grammys for performing and composing. He has earned numerous honors including an Academy Award, five Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, the Mark Twain Prize, and the Kennedy Center Honor. MR. Martin and Edie Brickell's musical Bright Star premiered at The Old Globe in summer 2015, played a limited engagement at The Kennedy Center, and received acclaim in its Broadway run at the Cort Theatre. In addition to five Tony Award nominations, Bright Star received Outstanding New Broadway Musical and Outstanding New Score at the Outer Critics Circle Awards.

Gordon Edelstein (Director) is entering his 15th season as Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, where his recent productions include Disgraced, The Second Mrs. Wilson, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Our Town, The Last Five Years, The Underpants, and Ride the Tiger. His New York credits include the award-winning Satchmo at the Waldorf (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance) and My Name Is Asher Lev (Outer Critic Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play). Mr. Edelstein's acclaimed Long Wharf Theatre production of The Glass Menagerie played Roundabout Theatre Company and Mark Taper Forum and was the recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival. He has a continued artistic association with Athol Fugard, directing the world premieres of his plays The Shadow of the Hummingbird (also starring Mr. Fugard), Have You Seen Us?, and Coming Home; the East Coast premiere of The Train Driver; and the Broadway production of The Road to Mecca. Last summer, Mr. Edelstein directed six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald in A Moon for the Misbegotten at Williamstown Theatre Festival. He has directed regionally, from Washington, DC's Arena Stage to Alaska's Perseverance Theatre, including such plays as Uncle Vanya (also adapted), Death of a Salesman, Mourning Becomes Electra, The Crucible, Betrayal, BFE, The Day the Bronx Died, A Doll's House (also adapted), A New War, Anna Christie, and The Front Page. Before Long Wharf, Mr. Edelstein served for five years as Artistic Director of A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle.

Long Wharf Theatre (Co-Producer) was founded in 1965 by Jon Jory and Harlan Kleiman and is currently led by Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein and Managing Director Joshua Borenstein. Long Wharf Theatre is an organization of international renown and has been a leader in American theatre, producing fresh and imaginative revivals of classic and modern plays, rediscoveries of neglected works, and a variety of world and American premieres. Under the artistic leadership of Arvin Brown for over 30 years, Long Wharf Theatre established itself as an important force in the regional theatre movement. Following Brown's leadership, Doug Hughes served as Artistic Director for four seasons. Throughout its history, Long Wharf Theatre has created a unique home in New Haven for theatre artists from around the world, resulting in the transfer of over 30 productions to Broadway or Off Broadway, including Satchmo at the Waldorf, My Name is Asher Lev, The Glass Menagerie, Durango, BFE, Sixteen Wounded, Wit (Pulitzer Prize), Hughie, American Buffalo, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Quartermaine's Terms (Obie Award for Best Play), The Gin Game (Pulitzer Prize), The Shadow Box (Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play), The Changing Room, The Contractor (New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play), and Streamers, among many others now in the American theatre canon. In 1978, Long Wharf Theatre was honored with a Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Currently in its 51st season, Long Wharf Theatre produces an annual season of six plays on its two stages, along with children's programming, new play workshops, and a variety of special events.

Tickets to Meteor Shower begin at $29 and are on sale now to the general public. 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. Performances begin on July 30 and continue through September 11. Performance times: Previews: Saturday, July 30 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, July 31 at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 2 at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 3 at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, August 4 at 8:00 p.m., Friday, August 5 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, August 6 at 8:00 p.m., opening night is Sunday, August 7 at 7:00 p.m. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m., and Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors, military members, and groups of 10 or more.

Additional events taking place during the run of Meteor Shower include:

INSIGHTS SEMINAR: Tuesday, August 2 at 5:30 p.m.

The seminar series features a panel selected from the artistic company of the current show. Reception at 5:00 p.m. FREE

POST-SHOW FORUMS: Tuesdays, August 9 and August 16, and Wednesday, August 10

Discuss the play with members of the cast and crew following the performance. FREE

The complete Old Globe 2016 Summer Season features new and familiar works directed by four major American stalwarts. The Summer Shakespeare Festival includes Macbeth, directed by Brian Kulick, Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company, and Love's Labor's Lost, directed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall. In addition to Meteor Shower, the season also features the West Coast premiere of Paul Gordon's musical Sense and Sensibility, presented in association with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where it had its world premiere in February 2015, directed by CST Artistic Director Barbara Gaines.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for over 80 years. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Michael G. Murphy, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdooR Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre's education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, Allegiance, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

ABOUT THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM:

Jenna Fischer (Corky) won rave reviews from fans and critics for eight seasons for her role as Pam Beesley on NBC's hit comedy "The Office" alongside Steve Carrell, John Krasinski, and Rainn Wilson. In 2007, the role earned Ms. Fischer her first Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. After completing "The Office," she starred in the Off Broadway production of Neil LaBute's play reasons to be happy with Josh Hamilton, Leslie Bibb, and Fred Weller. Earlier this year, she starred in NBC's comedic drama "You, Me and the Apocalypse" opposite Megan Mullally, Rob Lowe, and Mathew Baynton. Ms. Fischer's film credits include Lee Kirk's The Giant Mechanical Man, which she also produced, also starring Topher Grace; Michael Weithorn's A Little Help alongside Chris O'Donnell and Rob Benedict; the Farrelly brothers' Hall Pass with Christina Applegate, Owen Wilson, and Jason Sudeikis; Brian Koppelman's Solitary Man alongside Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, and Mary Louise Parker; Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story with John C. Reilly; and the Dreamworks figure skating comedy Blades of Glory opposite Jon Heder, Will Ferrell, and Amy Poehler.

Greg Germann (Norm) has accumulated credits in such Off Broadway and Broadway plays as Steven Sondheim's musical Assassins, The Person I Was opposite Holly Hunter, and David Mamet's War Games. He also starred in the hit play Speed-the-Plow at Geffen Playhouse alongside Alicia Silverstone and Jon Tenney. Mr. Germann has established his acting versatility in television as well. He endeared viewers worldwide with his performance in "Ally McBeal" and opposite Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell on Showtime's "House of Lies." He recently was seen playing the role of Hades in the ABC series "Once Upon a Time." On the big screen, Mr. Germann was seen in the film Get Hard starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart; the comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby with Will Ferrell and Sacha BaRon Cohen; the Sundance hit Friends with Money alongside Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Keener, and Joan Cusack; the Farrelly brothers' Down to Earth opposite Chris Rock; the film Sweet November with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron; and the short film Culture, which earned a 1999 Academy Award nomination.

Alexandra Henrikson (Laura) was part of the recent Broadway companies of Fish in the Dark (Cort Theatre) and The Snow Geese (Samuel J. Friedman Theatre/Manhattan Theatre Club). Her other New York credits include We Play for the Gods (Women's Project Theater), Bones in the Basket (The Araca Group), Hell House (St. Ann's Warehouse), Commedia dell'Artichoke (Gene Frankel Theatre), The Maids (Impure Artists), and Much Ado About Nothing (Smith Street Stage). Her regional theatre credits include Ironbound (Round House Theatre, Helen Hayes Award nomination), The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls (ALLIANCE THEATRE, Suzi Bass Award), Tall Girls (The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center), Jeremy Lin: The Musical (Hollywood Fringe Festival), and Candida and The Taming of the Shrew (California Shakespeare Theater). Ms. Henrikson's film and web credits include Here We Are in the Present...Again, Love Like Gold, Towheads, and "Tall Drink Comedy" on Funny Or Die. She trained at New York University (B.F.A.), Yale School of Drama (M.F.A), and Upright Citizens Brigade.

Josh Stamberg (Gerald) is thrilled to be at The Old Globe. His recent theatre outings include The Power of Duff and Female of the Species (Geffen Playhouse) and Distracted opposite Cynthia Nixon (Roundabout Theatre Company). Mr. Stamberg also co-developed and starred in Tape (productions in New York, Los Angeles, and London). He regularly participates at the Ojai Playwrights Conference and has performed in many L.A. Theatre Works Productions, including the international tour of Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers, playing Ben Bradley. Mr. Stamberg appears on Showtime's Golden Globe Award-winning series "The Affair" as Max. Audiences also recognize him from roles on "Parenthood," "Drop Dead Diva," and "Six Feet Under," among others. Next season, Mr. Stamberg will appear on "Transparent." In features, He recently wrapped Etruscan Sky with Brian Cox. His other credits include Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, Jill Soloway's Afternoon Delight, Scott Stewart's Dark Skies and Legion, and Stephen Belber's Drifting Elegant. Mr. Stamberg lives in Los Angeles.

Michael Yeargan (Scenic Design) returns to The Old Globe where he previously designed Pentecost and Compleat Female Stage Beauty. His Broadway and Off Broadway credits include designs for The Ritz, Bad Habits, Seascape, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Happy Days, Dinah Was, the world premiere of Athol Fugard's A Lesson from Aloes, The Light in the Piazza (Tony and Drama Desk Awards), Awake and Sing! (Drama Desk Award), Joe Turner's Come and Gone, South Pacific (Tony and Drama Desk Awards), Blood and Gifts, Golden Boy, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Cymbeline, The Bridges of Madison County, The King and I, and the current revival of Fiddler on the Roof. Mr. Yeargan has designed extensively for America's regional theatres, and Meteor Shower is a continuation of his long collaboration with Gordon Edelstein and Long Wharf Theatre. Mr. Yeargan's opera credits are equally extensive; he has designed the world premieres of A Streetcar Named Desire and Dead Man Walking (San Francisco Opera), The Great Gatsby (The Metropolitan Opera), and Cold Sassy Tree (Houston Grand Opera), among others. He is a professor of stage design and co-chair of the Design Department at Yale School of Drama.

Jess Goldstein (Costume Design) designed last year's Globe production of In Your Arms as well as Compleat Female Stage Beauty (Craig Noel and Garland Awards). He has designed, among many others, On the Town, Jersey Boys, Newsies, The Rivals (2005 Tony Award), The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino (Tony Award nomination), Henry IV with Kevin Kline (Tony Award nomination), The Apple Tree with Kristin Chenoweth, Orphans with Alec Baldwin, Buried Child, Proof, Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, How I Learned to Drive, Dinner with Friends, The Mineola Twins (Lucille Lortel and Henry Hewes Design Awards), Il Trittico for Metropolitan Opera, and Tony Goldwyn's film A Walk on the Moon. Mr. Goldstein is a graduate of the Yale University School of Drama and has taught design there since 1990. He was the 2015 recipient of the Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award.

Donald Holder (Lighting Design) previously designed the Globe's Sense and Sensibility, In Your Arms and The Times They Are A-Changin'. His Broadway credits include The Lion King and South Pacific (Tony Awards), The King and I, The Bridges of Madison County, Golden Boy, Ragtime, Movin' Out, Gem of the Ocean, A Streetcar Named Desire, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and Juan Darien (all Tony-nominated), Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me, The Father, On the Twentieth Century, You Can't Take It With You, Bullets Over Broadway, Cyrano De Bergerac, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and The Boy from Oz, among others. His regional credits include La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Denver Center Theatre Company, Center Stage, Hartford Stage, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Long Wharf Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Alley Theatre, and many others. He also designed the NBC television series "Smash."

John Gromada (Original Music and Sound Design) has composed scores and designed sound for more than 35 Broadway productions, including The Elephant Man with Bradley Cooper, The Trip to Bountiful (Tony Award nomination), Gore Vidal's The Best Man (Drama Desk Award), Clybourne Park, Seminar, The Columnist, Next Fall, A Bronx Tale, Prelude to a Kiss, Proof, Rabbit Hole, A Streetcar Named Desire, Twelve Angry Men, and A Few Good Men. His other New York credits include Dada Woof Papa Hot, Incident at Vichy, Ripcord, Old Hats, My Name Is Asher Lev, Measure for Measure at the Delacorte Theater, The Orphans' Home Cycle (Drama Desk and Henry Hewes Design Awards), Shipwrecked! An Entertainment (Lucille Lortel Award), Julius Caesar, The Skriker (Drama Desk Award), Machinal (Obie Award), and many more. His television and film credits include a score for the Emmy Award-nominated The Trip to Bountiful as well as Showing Roots.

Caparelliotis Casting (Casting) has cast the Globe productions of tokyo fish story, Constellations, The Last Match, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Rich Girl, Arms and the Man, Buyer & Cellar, The White Snake, The Twenty-seventh Man, The Royale, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Water by the Spoonful, Time and the Conways, Bethany, The Winter's Tale, The Few, Double Indemnity, The Rainmaker, Other Desert Cities, Be a Good Little Widow, A Doll's House, The Brothers Size, Pygmalion, and Good People. Their Broadway casting credits include The Father, Blackbird, An Act of God, Airline Highway, Fish in the Dark, It's Only a Play, Disgraced, The Country House, Holler If Ya Hear Me, Casa Valentina, The Snow Geese, Lyle Kessler's Orphans, The Trip to Bountiful, Grace, Dead Accounts, The Other Place, Seminar, The Columnist, Stick Fly, Good People, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The House of Blue Leaves, Fences, Lend Me a Tenor, and The Royal Family. They also cast for Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company, LCT3, Ars Nova, Goodman Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, Arena Stage, and three seasons with Williamstown Theatre Festival. Their recent film and television credits include HairBrained with Brendan Fraser, "American Odyssey" (NBC), "How to Get Away with Murder" (ABC pilot), "Ironside" (NBC), and Steel Magnolias (Sony for Lifetime).

Kathy Snyder (Production Stage Manager) is thrilled to be making her Globe debut with Meteor Shower. Her New York credits include Women Without Men, The New Morality, and A Picture of Autumn (Mint Theater Company), Wolfpit and The Lifeblood (Phoenix Theatre Ensemble), Belize and Delicious Rivers (Talking Band at La MaMa), and others. Her regional credits include 4000 Miles, brownsville song (b-side for tray), and Love Letters (Long Wharf Theatre). She has worked 11 seasons with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey on 23 productions, including The Alchemist, The Guardsman, No Man's Land, Hamlet, The Bald Soprano, and the world premiere of A Most Dangerous Woman. Ms. Snyder's other credits include the national tour of 'Art' and Romeo and Juliet, as well as Party Time at the Napoli Scena Internationale Festival in Naples, Italy.

Annette Elena Nixon (Stage Manager - August 30 to September 11) served as stage manager for The Old Globe productions of Macbeth, Constellations, Full Gallop, Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Arms and the Man, The Royale, Quartet, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Few, Pygmalion, God of Carnage, Anna Christie, Groundswell, and the 2010 production of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Her other Globe credits include A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2011-2014), Boeing-Boeing, The First Wives Club, Opus, Dancing in the Dark, Hay Fever, and the Summer Shakespeare Festivals 2008 and 2010-2013.