Lamb’s Players Theatre Announces 2009 Season
Lamb\'s Players Theatre Coronado
Lamb's Players Coronado Theatre
Producing Artistic Director Robert Smyth Announces Coronado
2009 Season
Including the Hilarious Screwball Comedy Room Service,
Tennessee Williams’ Classic Drama The Glass Menagerie,
The Beloved Long-Running Musical The Fantasticks,
The San Diego Premiere of the Comedy Leaving Iowa,
and Tim Slover’s Historical Backstage Drama Joyful Noise
Producing Artistic Director Robert Smyth has announced Lamb’s Players Theatre’s 2009
Coronado Season. The Season will begin February 6 with ROOM SERVICE, Allen
Boretz and John Murray’s hilarious screwball comedy. It will continue with Tennessee
Williams’ classic drama THE GLASS MENAGERIE, Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt’s
beloved musical THE FANTASTICKS, Tim Clue and Spike Manton’s hilarious
LEAVING IOWA, and will conclude with Tim Slover’s historical backstage drama
JOYFUL NOISE, about the surprising story behind the creation of Handel’s Messiah.
“Our 2009 Season in Coronado is a lineup packed with must-sees,” says Producing
Artistic Director Robert Smyth. “We start with a wild comedy, ROOM SERVICE, which
was a huge hit on Broadway before it became a classic Marx Brothers movie. We
continue the season with the great American play, Tennessee Williams’ THE GLASS
MENAGERIE. For the summer we’ll be relishing young love with one of the most
popular musicals of all time, THE FANTASTICKS. From there we’re proud to
introduce San Diego to Tim Clue and Spike Manton’s hilarious, heartwarming comedy
LEAVING IOWA. And we’ll finish up the season with a reprise of one of our most
memorable hits, Tim Slover’s delightful and compelling historical drama JOYFUL
NOISE.”
* * *
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Room Service
February 6—March 22, 2009 (Opening February 13)
Season 2009 opens with ROOM SERVICE, a rediscovered comedic gem. Produced by the
legendary George Abbott, this screwball comedy ran for 500 performances on Broadway in
1937 before it became a motion picture starring the Marx Brothers and a young Lucille Ball.
Producer Gordon Miller is holed up in a hotel with his 22-member cast, rehearsing a new
play for Broadway. The Great Depression is in full swing, but the play is sure to be a hit, if
only Miller can find a financial backer - all the while keeping his hungry actors fed, the
hotel manager thinking the bill is being paid, his inexperienced playwright in the dark, and
an assortment of hotel staff thinking they have roles in the production. The show must go
on, but will the curtain ever go up? Opening night approaches, and no scheme is too low
for this determined band of show business misfits, as they embark on a wild, fast-paced,
hysterical ride that will have audiences rolling in the aisles.
“ROOM SERVICE is one of those forgotten American classics,” says Producing Artistic
Director Robert Smyth. “It was a huge hit on Broadway in the 30s, and was developed into
a film for the Marx Brothers. We’ve introduced audiences to little-known gems before,
with productions like Detective Story, The Winslow Boy, and The Voysey Inheritance. ROOM
SERVICE is a very different kind of piece. It’s fast-paced, with a rat-a-tat-tat rhythm and
great 1930s stock characters. It’s the perfect screwball comedy to start 2009 off with
comedic fireworks.”
Room Service will be directed by Robert Smyth, and will play February 6—March 22, 2009,
with a media opening on February 13.
The Glass Menagerie
April 10—May 24, 2009 (Opening April 17)
The season continues with the classic drama The Glass Menagerie. One of the great
American plays of all time, THE GLASS MENAGERIE introduced America to a new writer
named Tennessee Williams, and the modern stage was never the same. Williams' spare,
poetic story of his own family life etched a striking portrait of four unforgettable characters:
the haunted Tom Wingfield, his vivacious, indomitable mother Amanda, his shy sister
Laura who spends hours in the world of her fragile glass animal collection, and the
charming "Gentleman Caller" who just might change all their fortunes. San Diego's
Ensemble Theatre Company takes on a great ensemble drama — in a production that will
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move audiences and create fresh awe at the artistry of one of our master playwrights.
“THE GLASS MENAGERIE is beautiful, heartbreaking, and unforgettable, with some of
the greatest roles ever written for actors,” says Smyth. “It’s the type of play where, if you
ask an audience who the protagonist was, you’ll get a different answer from each audience
member – which is the kind of ensemble piece we love to tackle.”
Directed by Robert Smyth, The Glass Menagerie will play April 10—May 24, 2009, with a
media opening on April 17.
The Fantasticks
June 5—July 26, 2009 (Opening June 12)
Opening June 12, Lamb’s Players Theatre presents one of the simplest, loveliest musicals
ever written. THE FANTASTICKS started out a crowd-pleaser and ended up the longestrunning
musical of all time, with an astonishing 42-year New York run. A girl and boy
who live in neighboring houses fall in love despite their parents' feud, until they find that
the feud was a trick to bring about their romance. Summer is the perfect season for this
sweetly beautiful, broadly theatrical fable about falling in love, growing up, losing childlike
innocence, and coming home again all the wiser. With a gorgeous score filled with beloved
songs like "Soon It's Gonna Rain," "I Can See It," and the international chart-topper "Try to
Remember," THE FANTASTICKS is a delicious musical confection, a treat for the whole
family.
“We’ve always loved THE FANTASTICKS,” says Robert Smyth. “It’s a beautiful look at
love from two vantage points: in the romantic light of moonlight, and then in the more
pragmatic light of day. It may be the longest-running musical of all time, but it’s still a
piece which many have never seen. We think audiences will love it.”
The Fantasticks will be directed by LPT Associate Artistic Director Deborah Gilmour Smyth,
and will play June 5—July 26, with a media opening on June 12.
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Leaving Iowa
August 7—September 20, 2009 (Opening August 14)
Opening August 14, Lamb’s Players’ season continues with the San Diego premiere of
LEAVING IOWA. The Brownings are on vacation. Mom and Dad are in the front seat,
brother and sister are tolerating each other in the back, and Dad is convinced they're not
lost. Sound familiar? Flash forward 40 years: Don Browning is a newspaper columnist on
his own road trip to honor his Dad's memory, when hilarious flashbacks of childhood
vacations come rushing back as fast as the Midwestern "landmarks" that whiz by outside
his car windows. For anyone who's ever spent hours putting up with siblings in the back
seat of a car, or been forced to pose for one more picture, LEAVING IOWA will take you
back to days when seat belts were optional, "stupid" was a bad word, and Dad never
stopped at any of the cool places — a time when a back seat car window was alternately a
prison — and the ultimate moving picture show.
Smyth notes: “LEAVING IOWA is one of those rare new plays that’s simultaneously
hilarious and moving. If you grew up in America and were ever dragged on a family
vacation, you will relate to it. In fact, if you have a family, you will relate to it. It’s a
stirring tribute to that distinctly American longing for the open road, and even more than
that, a memorable celebration of family life, in all its delightful absurdity.”
LEAVING IOWA will be directed by LPT Associate Artistic Director Kerry Meads, and will
play August 7—September 20, with a media opening on August 14.
Joyful Noise
October 9—November 22, 2009 (Opening October 16)
Finishing up the season is a reprise of one of Lamb’s Players most popular hits, Tim
Slover’s historical backstage drama JOYFUL NOISE, about the surprising story behind the
creation of one of the greatest musical works of all time, Handel’s Messiah. The result of
Lamb’s Players’ 1999 world premiere was a runaway hit that traveled to New York for an
extended run Off-Broadway and productions at other theatres around the nation. Now for
the first time in a decade, Lamb's Players is pleased to return to this witty, compelling look
at the story behind one of the world's most beloved pieces of sacred music — whose
journey to the stage was anything but sacred. Both George Frideric Handel and singer
Susannah Cibber are at the low point of their careers when a new libretto arrives
unexpectedly on the composer's doorstep. Politics, piety, envy, scandal, and oversized egos
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collide and combust in this mesmerizing true story of heavenly art - and the very flawed
humans who created it.
“When we first produced JOYFUL NOISE, we knew we had found a great script and a
really talented writer, but we didn’t have any idea it would be such a hit, or that we would
end up producing it Off-Broadway the next year with virtually all of the original San Diego
cast. Ten years later, it’s seen multiple productions around the country, but this will be San
Diego’s first repeat production since the premiere. Tim Slover has written a deliciously
smart play with beautiful language, larger-than-life personalities in a life-and-death battle
over art. It’s the kind of production that reminds us all why we do theatre. Audiences are
in for a treat.”
JOYFUL NOISE will be directed by Robert Smyth, and will play October 9—November 22,
2009, with a media opening on October 16.
* * *
In addition to the company’s subscription series in Coronado, Lamb’s Players will continue
to produce at its second space, the Horton Grand Theatre downtown in San Diego’s vibrant
Gaslamp Quarter. Currently playing at the Horton Grand is Kerry Meads and Vanda
Eggington’s musical revue BOOMERS: the musical revue of a generation. BOOMERS is
one of many original theatre pieces developed at Lamb's Players Theatre, and one of San
Diego's most popular musical hits. Packed with music and memories, BOOMERS is a
rollicking salute to the generation born between 1946 and 1964.
* * *
The company will wrap up 2009 at its Coronado theatre with the next installment in its
unique play cycle FESTIVAL OF CHRISTMAS. Two blocks away at the Hotel del
Coronado, the interactive turn-of-the-century feast and celebration AN AMERICAN
CHRISTMAS will spread yuletide cheer. 2009 subscribers will receive advance purchase
privileges for Lamb’s Players 2009 Christmas productions. They also receive a discount on
tickets for both Christmas productions, substantial discounts for non-subscription
productions like BOOMERS, as well as advance purchase privileges for LPT’s popular
SUNDAY NIGHT AT LAMB’S concert series.
All plays and dates are subject to change.
* * *
Lamb’s Players Theatre Announces 2009 Season
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Season tickets are now on sale to the general public. Packages start as low as $65. Subscribers
receive five productions and can save over 40% off the single ticket price. Other benefits
include discounts at area restaurants, discounts when purchasing additional tickets for family
and friends, easy ticket exchange privileges, free replacement of lost tickets, and the option to
keep the same seat for Season 2010.
Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday
at 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
All season packages are available by calling the Lamb’s Players Theatre Box Office at
(619) 437-0600 or by visiting the Lamb’s Players website at www.lambsplayers.org.
* * *
Lamb’s Players Theatre is one of San Diego’s leading professional theatres. The company produces in
two of the region’s premier locations: San Diego’s vibrant downtown Gaslamp Quarter, and the beautiful
island community of Coronado. In the Gaslamp Quarter, Lamb’s Players produces longer-running
productions at the Horton Grand Theatre, a beautifully intimate 250-seat proscenium theatre located
steps away from dozens of restaurants and nightspots, the San Diego Convention Center, and Petco Park.
In Coronado, the theatre presents a full subscription season in its beautiful 350-seat theatre, just a short
drive over the Bay Bridge from downtown San Diego. The company’s Coronado theatre is within
walking distance of numerous shops and restaurants, the Coronado beach, and the historic Hotel del
Coronado.
San Diego’s third largest theatre company, Lamb’s Players Theatre is one of only a handful of artistdirected
Ensemble theatres in the nation. The theatre is committed to the tradition of “repertory” theatre,
maintaining both a long-term ensemble of resident actors and a body of work to which they frequently
return. In addition to producing classics and lesser-known gems of the theatre, Lamb’s Players is
committed to the development of new work. The theatre also has a special interest in exploring spiritual
issues for a diverse mainstream audience.
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