South Coast Repertory Presents the World Premiere of Lauren Gunderson's Emilie – La Marquise Du Chåtelet Defends Her Life at the Petit Théåtre at Cirey Tonight
Natacha Roi and Don Reilly star as Emilie Du Châtelet and Voltaire.
COSTA MESA, Calif. (March 26, 2009)—Natacha Roi and Don Reilly take on the historical roles of Emilie Du Châtelet and Voltaire in the World Premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s Emilie – La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life at the Petit Théâtre at Cirey Tonight at South Coast Repertory. Commissioned by SCR and directed by Producing Artistic Director David Emmes, Emilie will run from April 19 through May 10, 2009 on the Julianne Argyros Stage. Low-priced previews are available from April 19 through April 23. Opening night is April 24. Press night is Saturday, April 25 at 7:45 p.m. Tickets to Emilie may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.
Passionate. Independent. A great beauty. A prodigious scientific intellect. These are the qualities that inspired this true story of 18th century Parisian noblewoman Emilie du Châtelet and her lifelong affair with the Enlightenment superstar Voltaire. In this highly theatrical rediscovery of one of history's most intriguing women, Emilie must defend her life by tallying her achievements in love and philosophy — and search for a formula that will convince the world of her worth.
Natacha Roi (Emilie) was last seen at SCR in Vesuvius and The Real Thing. On Broadway she has appeared in Sixteen Wounded, Closer and Wait Until Dark. Her Off Broadway and regional theater credits include Fiction at Roundabout Theatre Company; Uncle Vanya at McCarter Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse; Othello at The Public Theater; and Passion Play at Minetta Lane Theatre.
Don Reilly (Voltaire) previously appeared at SCR in Terra Nova and Amy’s View. His Broadway credits include The Heiress and Arcadia. Off Broadway, Reilly has been seen in Misalliance, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, The Virgin Molly, Fortinbras, Candida and Macbeth. He won the Boston Theatre Critics Best Actor Award for his portrayal of Jack Tanner/Don Juan in Man and Superman at the American Repertory Theatre, where he also played Petruchio in Andre Serban’s staging of The Taming of the Shrew.
The cast also features Susan Denaker (Madam), Matthew Humphreys (Gentleman) and Rebecca Mozo (Soubrette).
The creative team includes Cameron Anderson (set design), Nephelie Andonyadis (costume design), Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz (lighting design), Vincent Olivieri (original music and sound design), Gabriela Estrada (movement consultant), Kelly Miller (dramaturg) and Jennifer Ellen Butler (stage manager).
Lauren Gunderson is a playwright, screenwriter and short story author. She is currently finishing her M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and is a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. Her work has received national praise and awards including the Berrilla Kerr Award for American Theatre, Young Playwright’s Award, Eric Bentley New Play Award, Essential Theatre Prize, Virtual Theatre Prizes and many others. She has been produced Off Broadway (Parts They Call Deep), Off Off Broadway (Sus Manos) and recently had many new plays produced in Atlanta (including The Van Gogh Café, Leap and Background), as well as regionally (A Short History of Nearly Everything).
David Emmes is the Producing Artistic Director of South Coast Repertory and has received numerous awards for his direction of SCR productions during his career, including the World Premieres of Amy Freed’s Safe in Hell, The Beard of Avon, and Freedomland, Thomas Babe’s Great Day in the Morning, Keith Reddin’s Rum and Coke and But Not For Me, Neal Bell’s Cold Sweat, the American premieres of Terry Johnson’s Unsuitable for Adults and Joe Penhall’s Dumb Show, the West Coast Premieres of Jeffrey Hatcher’s Three Viewings, David Hare’s The Secret Rapture and Richard Nelson’s New England, and the Southland premiere of Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls at SCR and the Westwood Playhouse. Along with his artistic colleague, Martin Benson, Emmes is the recipient of the 2007-2008 Margo Jones Medal for lifetime commitment to the living theatre.
Bette & Wylie Aitken are the Honorary Producers of Emilie. 89.3 KPCC and Coast Magazine are the Media Partners.
Associated events taking place during the run of Emilie include:
POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: Tuesday, April 28 & Wednesday, April 29 Discuss the play with members of the Emilie cast during free post-show discussions led by South Coast Repertory’s literary team after the 7:45 p.m. performances on April 28 & 29.
INSIDE THE SEASON: Emilie Saturday, May 9, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. $12 Inside the Season is a series of interactive seminars that provide a comprehensive inside look at the theatrical production process. Each two-hour session is led by School and Community Programs Director Linda Sullivan Baity and features creative personnel from South Coast Repertory’s current production. Inside the Season is offered on select Saturday mornings from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 each and can be purchased online at www.scr.org or by calling the Box Office at (714) 708-5555. (Tickets to Emilie are sold separately.)
TICKETS to Emilie – La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life at the Petit Théâtre at Cirey Tonight can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances begin on April 19 and continue through May 10. Ticket prices range from $20 to $64. Low-priced preview performances are available from April 19-23. Performance times: Previews: Sunday, April 19 at 2:00 p.m., and Tuesday, April 21, Wednesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 23 at 7:45 p.m. Regular Performances: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings at 7:45 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, educators, seniors and groups of 15 or more. There will be a “Pay-What-You-Will” performance on Saturday, April 25 at 2:00 p.m. ($10 minimum) and an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, May 9 at 2:00 p.m.
LOCATION: South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Folino Theater Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available off Anton Blvd. on Park Center Drive.
COMING UP: Pacific Playwrights Festival (5/1-3), Collected Stories (5/15 – 6/14), The Brand New Kid (5/29 – 6/14).
PHOTO EDITORS: Digital images of South Coast Repertory productions are available at www.southcoastrepertory.com/photos.html.
Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, under the artistic direction of David Emmes and Martin Benson, is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theaters in the United States. Founded in 1964, SCR is committed to theater that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but through its education and outreach programs. While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theater, SCR is renowned for its extensive new play development program, including the Pacific Playwrights Festival. Of SCR’s more than 400 productions, over 100 have been world premieres with subsequent stagings achieving enormous success across America and around the world. SCR-developed works have garnered eight Pulitzer Prize nominations with Margaret Edson’s Wit winning the prize in 1999 and David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole winning in 2007. Located in Costa Mesa, California, in 2002 SCR opened the Folino Theater Center, an expanded three-theater complex that includes the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio.
Biographies
SUSAN DENAKER (Madam) is making her SCR debut. Her regional theater credits include Miss Lucy in Sweet Bird of Youth and Mrs. Soames in Our Town at La Jolla Playhouse; Lola in Come Back Little Sheba at Nevada Conservatory Theatre; Her Ladyship in The Dresser; Flora, Alexandra and others in No Way to Treat a Lady; Sheila in Relatively Speaking and Donna Lucia in Charley’s Aunt at North Coast Repertory Theatre; Frau Schmidt in The Sound of Music at Sacramento Music Circus; and Angie in Breaking Legs at Westport Country Playhouse. Denaker has performed on London’s West End in Holiday at the Old Vic, Accidental Death of an Anarchist at Wyndhams Theatre, Budgie at Cambridge Theatre, Blockheads at Mermaid Theatre and Country Life at Lyric Hammersmith. Her British regional theater credits include Frankie in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Anne in A Little Night Music, Marta in the national tour of Company and a summer season directed by Alan Ayckbourn at his theatre in Scarborough. Denaker’s film and television credits include American Friends with Alfred Molina, Shining Through, Morons from Outer Space, The Woman He Loved with Tom Wilkinson, Royce, Passport to Murder, Two Voices, “As Time Goes By” with Dame Judi Dench, “Me and My Girl,” “Just a Gigolo,” “Saints and Sinners,” “Cover Me” and “Pensacola.”
MATTHEW HUMPHREYS (Gentleman) is making his SCR debut. His theater credits include the Broadway production of The Vertical Hour and the Off Broadway productions of You've Never Done Anything Unforgivable, Say You Love Satan and The School for Scandal. His regional theater credits include It Pays to Advertise, Heaven and Iphigenia at Aulis at Yale Repertory Theatre; King Lear and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival; The Blue Room at Hangar Theatre; and Outrage at The Wilma Theater. Humphreys’ film and television credits include the upcoming thriller Obsessed, The Good Shepherd, Chapter 27, Altamont Now, “Supernatural,” “Numb3rs,” “Journeyman,” “Medium” and “Burn Notice.”
REBECCA MOZO (Soubrette) previously appeared at SCR in The Heiress and Doubt, a parable. Her other theater credits include Educating Rita and Trying (Ovation Award nomination for Best Actress) at The Colony Theatre; The Cherry Orchard opposite Annette Bening and Alfred Molina at Center Theatre Group; and Pera Palas, Classicfests’ A Month in the Country and The Dresser at The Antaeus Company. She also appeared in the Hollywood Food Chain production of I Capture the Castle (Ovation Award nomination for Best Actress). Mozo’s film and television credits include Zerophilia, Headless Horseman, The Water Hole, “Cold Case” and “Medium.”
DON REILLY (Voltaire) previously appeared at SCR in Terra Nova and Amy’s View. At the Mark Taper Forum, he played Joseph Surface in The School for Scandal and was featured in The Moliere Comedies. His Broadway credits include The Heiress and Arcadia. Off Broadway, Reilly has been seen in Misalliance, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, The Virgin Molly, Fortinbras, Candida and Macbeth. He won the Boston Theatre Critics Best Actor Award for his portrayal of Jack Tanner/Don Juan in Man and Superman at the American Repertory Theatre, where he also played Petruchio in Andre Serban’s staging of The Taming of the Shrew. Reilly’s other regional credits include Heartbreak House at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre; Romeo & Juliet and Love’s Labours Lost at The Great Lakes Theater Festival; The Philanthropist at Long Wharf Theatre Company; All’s Well That Ends Well at Hartford Stage Company; and Fortinbras at The La Jolla Playhouse.
NATACHA ROI (Emilie) returns to SCR where she appeared in Vesuvius and The Real Thing. On Broadway she appeared in Sixteen Wounded, Closer and Wait Until Dark. Her Off Broadway and regional theater credits include Fiction at Roundabout Theatre Company; Uncle Vanya at the McCarter Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse; Twelfth Night at Long Wharf Theatre; Othello at The Public Theater; Passion Play at Minetta Lane Theatre; Closer at Berkeley Repertory Theatre; The Game of Love and Chance at Seattle Repertory Theatre; A Doll's House and The Notebook of Trigorin at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; The House of Bernarda Alba and Changes of Heart at the McCarter Theatre; Hamlet at Huntington Theatre Company; Six Characters in Search of an Author, King Stag and The Oresteia at American Repertory Theatre; Three Birds Alighting on a Field at the Manhattan Theatre Club; and The Merchant of Venice at Hartford Stage. Her television credits include “The Beast,” “Journey Man,” “ER,” “Bones,” “The Unit,” “Without a Trace,” “Hack,” “Ed,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: SVU” and the PBS special “Benjamin Franklin.”
Fact Sheet
EMILIE La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life at the Petit Théâtre at Cirey Tonight By Lauren Gunderson Directed by David Emmes
CREATIVE TEAM: Cameron Anderson (set design), Nephelie Andonyadis (costume design), Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz (lighting design), Vincent Olivieri (original music and sound design) Gabriela Estrada (movement consultant), Kelly Miller (dramaturg) and Jennifer Ellen Butler (stage manager).
CAST: Susan Denaker (Madam), Matthew Humphreys (Gentleman), Rebecca Mozo (Soubrette), Don Reilly (Voltaire) and Natacha Roi (Emilie).
HONORARY PRODUCERS: Bette & Wylie Aitken
MEDIA PARTNERS: 89.3 KPCC and Coast Magazine
SYNOPSIS: The true story of 18th century Parisian noblewoman Emilie Du Châtelet and her lifelong affair with the Enlightenment superstar Voltaire.
TICKETS: $20-$45 previews; $28-$64 regular performances.
RUNS: April.19 – May 10, 2009
PREVIEWS: April 19 SUN at 2:00pm April 21 TUES at 7:45pm April 22 WED at 7:45pm April 23 THURS at 7:45pm OPENING NIGHT: April 24 FRI at 7:45pm REGULAR PERFORMANCES: April 25 SAT at 2:00pm (Pay-What-You-Will) April 25 SAT at 7:45pm (Press Night) April 26 SUN at 2:00pm April 26 SUN at 7:45pm April 28 TUE at 7:45pm (Post Show Discussion) April 29 WED at 7:45pm (Post-Show Discussion) April 30 THU at 7:45pm May 1 FRI at 7:45pm May 2 SAT at 2:00pm May 2 SAT at 7:45pm May 3 SUN at 2:00pm May 3 SUN at 7:45 pm May 5 TUE at 7:45pm May 6 WED at 7:45pm May 7 THU at 7:45pm May 8 FRI at 7:45pm May 9 SAT at 2:00pm (ASL-interpreted) (Inside the Season) May 9 SAT at 7:45pm May 10 SUN at 2:00pm May 10 SUN at 7:45pm
POST SHOW DISCUSSIONS: Tuesday, April 28 and Wednesday, April 29 Discuss the play with members of the cast following the performance.
INSIDE THE SEASON: Emilie Saturday, May 9, 10:30am–12:30pm A 2-hour comprehensive class featuring creative personnel from the current production. Tickets: $12.
BOX OFFICE WINDOW HOURS: 10am to showtime Tuesdays through Saturdays; noon to showtime Sundays; 10am to 6pm Mondays and non-performance days. American Express, VISA and MasterCard accepted. (714) 708-5555.
LOCATION: Folino Theatre Center, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa CA 92626. One block east of South Coast Plaza at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway.
