For new season, Rep wants to get 'intimate' with you
San Diego Repertory Theatre is billing its 2008-09 season as “intimate, exotic and provocative,” and you can put a capital “I” on that first word.
For most of the 22 years that the Rep has occupied its present digs at Horton Plaza, its 530-seat Lyceum Stage has been the company's workhorse venue. But for the new season, which opens in September, four of the five shows will be presented in the adjoining, 250-seat Lyceum Space.
That choice, says Rep co-founder and artistic director Sam Woodhouse, came about because the four productions – which range from John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer-winning drama “Doubt” to Eve Ensler's body-image exploration “The Good Body” to Culture Clash's film noir-minded “Water and Power” – called out for a sense of closeness and immediacy.
The smaller space also will allow for seating arrangements tailored to each show.
The one exception on the season is a big one: the world-premiere musical “The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea,” which Woodhouse describes as the largest production in recent Rep history. With a cast of 16 and a six-member band, “this is a musical fairy tale that requires the spectacle of the larger venue,” he says.
Though some of these shows were announced previously, here is the final season lineup, with dates:
“The Good Body,” Sept. 6-28: Ensler interviewed women from 40 countries about their concepts of self-image for this drama, a follow-up of sorts to her groundbreaking “Vagina Monologues.” Delicia Turner Sonnenberg will direct.
“Water and Power,” Oct. 21 to Nov. 16: Culture Clash continues its long and illustrious Rep association with this drama about California power politics. The work, written by trio member Richard Montoya, had a well-received premiere in L.A. two years ago. Woodhouse directs.
“The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea,” Nov. 23 to Dec. 21: Karole Foreman, a longtime Rep acting favorite, adapted the book for this musical from the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, and wrote the lyrics with the show's composer, Andy Chukerman. Stafford Arima, who directed the off-Broadway hit “Altar Boyz” (as well as the new musical “Ace” last year at the Old Globe), directs this first full production of the work, which has had a series of workshops and concert versions around the country. It sets Andersen's story in two fictional African kingdoms. (Foreman also will appear in “The Good Body.”)
“Doubt: A Parable,” Jan. 10 to Feb. 8, 2009: Shanley's acclaimed play focuses on a stern Catholic school principal and her suspicions over the relationship between a priest and a student. Woodhouse says the audience will be seated on three sides “to echo the experience of a courtroom.” Todd Salovey, the Rep's associate artistic director, will direct.
“The Threepenny Opera,” Feb. 28 to March 29, 2009: Woodhouse again takes on directing duties in this “radical reimagining” of the classic Brecht musical. It's a show, says Woodhouse, that “demands to play almost in the laps of the audience members.” Which is probably close enough. (Watch that knife, Mack.)
– JAMES HEBERT
