The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Elizabeth Doran Executive Director) announced their 2015-2016 Season today, which includes the award-winning Real Women Have Curves by Josefina López; the World Premiere of the new musical Breaking Through with a book by Kirsten Guenther and Music and Lyrics by Cliff Downs and Katie Kahanovitz; the return of Panto at The Playhouse with Lythgoe Family Productions’ Peter Pan and Tinkerbell A Pirate Christmas, Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan’s FLY produced in association with Crossroads Theatre Company; the West Coast Premiere of Harvey Fierstein’s Casa Valentina; and an Artistic Director’s Choice to be announced at a later date.
Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director of The Playhouse, said, “Happily, The Playhouse has enjoyed tremendous artistic success over the last several years. I feel confident that the selections for next season will allow us to continue this wonderful period of aesthetic excitement and creativity. These choices represent our ongoing commitment to theatrical diversity, vibrant and eclectic programming, and artistic excellence. I look forward with great anticipation to the joys of the theatrical journeys ahead and the ongoing collaboration with our cherished audiences.”
The Pasadena Playhouse 2015-2016 season features:
Real Women Have Curves (Production #1)
by Josefina López
Directed by Seema Sueko
September 8 – October 4, 2015
September 13 Opening at 5pm
Set in a tiny sewing factory in East L.A., this award-winning comedy from acclaimed playwright Josefina López is the story of five full-figured women racing to meet an impossible deadline to keep their tiny sewing factory in East L.A. from going under. The basis for the award-winning film of the same name starring America Ferrera, Real Women Have Curves is a microcosm of the Latina immigrant experience, and celebrates real women’s bodies, the power of women, and the incredible bond that happens when women work together.
World Premiere Musical
Breaking Through (Production #2)
Book by Kirsten Guenther
Music and Lyrics by Cliff Downs and Katie Kahanovitz
Directed by Sheldon Epps
October 27 – November 22, 2015
November 1 Opening at 5pm
A World Premiere Musical, Breaking Through is told through the eyes of a young, talented singer/songwriter, as she tries to navigate the treacherous shark-filled waters of the music business. She embarks on a compelling journey to find her way back to her authentic self and in the process rediscovers the music that truly makes her alive. Breaking Through features a score by Emmy award-winning songwriter and producer Cliff Downs (“The Voice,” “American Idol,”), and Katie Kahanovitz (Girls Night Out Pop Radio), with a book by Kirsten Guenther (Mrs. Sharp, 2008 Richard Rodgers Award-winner; the upcoming Benny and Joon). Breaking Through originated as a HOTHOUSE staged reading at The Pasadena Playhouse. Launched in 2005, HOTHOUSE is the signature new play development program at The Pasadena Playhouse.
Lythgoe Family Productions’
Peter Pan and Tinkerbell A Pirate Christmas (Production #3)
By Kris Lythgoe
Directed by Bonnie Lythgoe
Musical Direction by Michael Orland
Choreography by Spencer Liff
December 9, 2015– January 3, 2016
December 9 Opening at 7:30pm
Peter Pan and Tinkerbell A Pirate Christmas is the latest Holiday Spectacular presented by Lythgoe Family Productions in the style of the traditional British Panto. Tinkerbell, Wendy and Peter Pan embark on a wild quest to foil the pirates’ plot to kidnap Peter for Captain Hook’s Christmas present in this flying, singing, swashbuckling adventure. Featuring comedy, magic, dancers from “So You Think You Can Dance,” and contemporary music from Taylor Swift to the Bee Gees, a Panto is interactive holiday fun for all ages. “Those who have never been to a panto will have a glorious introduction to the form.” – Los Angeles Times. Panto at The Playhouse productions have featured luminaries from the worlds of music, theatre and television, including Ariana Grande, Ben Vereen, Olivia Holt and Lucy Lawless.
Fly (Production #4)
by Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan
Directed by Ricardo Khan
Produced in Association with Crossroads Theatre Company
January 26 – February 21, 2016
January 31 Opening at 5pm
With a focus on hope, endurance, and accomplishment, Fly tells the story of the first African-American Army Air Corp fighters known as the Tuskegee Airmen who flew over the skies of Europe and North Africa during World War II. Featuring a cast of eight men, including “Tap Griot,” a dancer who uses tap dance steps to set a mood that is part sublimated anger, part empowerment, Fly was hailed by The New York Times as “a superior piece of theatrical synergy.” Co-author and director Ricardo Khan is Tony Award-winning co-founder and former artistic director of the Crossroads Theatre Company, known as one of the nation’s foremost African-American theater companies. In honor of Black History month, The Pasadena Playhouse and Crossroads Theatre Company’s production of Fly dramatizes the historic contributions made by the Tuskegee Airmen to the desegregation of the American military and the furthering of civil rights.
Casa Valentina (Production #5)
By Harvey Fierstein
Directed by David Lee
March 15 – April 10, 2016
March 20 Opening at 5pm
From four time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein, the iconic playwright of the Broadway hits Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage Aux Folles, Newsies and Kinky Boots comes the West Coast Premiere of Casa Valentina, the recipient of four 2014 Tony Award nominations. Directed by nine-time Emmy Award-winner David Lee of NBC’s Frasier and director of the acclaimed Pasadena Playhouse productions of Can-Can and Art, this moving and insightful play is nestled in the Catskills in 1962 – land of dirty dancing and borscht belt comedy. But an inconspicuous bungalow colony is more than a place to escape the sweltering summer heat. For a group of heterosexual men it is a place to escape something else entirely: being men. Based on real events and infused with Fierstein’s trademark wit, this new work was lauded by The New York Times for posing “genuinely arresting questions about identity” and hailed by Theatermania as “far and away the best new play of the season.”
Artistic Director’s Choice (Production #6)
To Be Announced
May 31 – June 26, 2016
June 5 Opening at 5pm
The 2014-2015 Artistic Director’s Choice was revealed to be the premiere of the American Broadway Musical Waterfall, crafted by the legendary songwriting team of Tony Award-winner Richard Maltby Jr. and Academy Award-winner David Shire. As demonstrated by previous Artistic Director’s Choice selections, such as Twelve Angry Men, One Night with Janis Joplin, TWIST– An American Musical, Baby It’s You! and Sister Act, A Divine Musical Comedy, Playhouse audiences will enjoy an engaging and exciting Season Finale to kick off Summer 2016!
Full casting and creative teams for each production will be announced at later dates.
Subscriptions for the 2015-2016 Season are now available for purchase. Current subscribers can renew online or by phone and will receive priority access to their current seat locations. New subscribers can purchase subscriptions via phone only and will receive the best available seats within the requested sections.
Box Office Number: (626) 356-7529 or visit www.pasadenaplayhouse.org
The box office phone lines are open Monday-Friday from 12:00-6:00pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 1:00-6:00pm.
The Pasadena Playhouse is located at 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena.
On non-performance dates, the box office windows are open Tuesday-Sunday from 1:00-6:00 pm. On performance dates, the windows are open Tuesday-Saturday from 1:00-8:00 pm, and on Sunday from 1:00-7:00 pm.
