May 15 - June 14, 2009 Segerstrom Stage COLLECTED STORIES by Donald Margulies directed by Martin Benson KOCE TV, Segerstrom Stage Season Media Partner Jewish Life Magazine, Media Partner

Originally commissioned and premiered by SCR, Collected Stories was a smash hit, won Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for both the play and the writer, went on to become a Pulitzer Prize finalist and was produced to enormous acclaim across the country and the world.  In this first major revival, the question of who has control over memories—the one who lives them or the one who writes about them—is the complex dilemma that confronts a young author and her revered mentor, with whom she collides on her race toward fame.  

Playwright:
Donald Margulies is the author of four plays that were commissioned and premiered by SCR: the Obie Award-winning Sight Unseen (1991) and the Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle Award-winner, Collected Stories (1996), both of which were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Brooklyn Boy (2004); and Shipwrecked! An Entertainment (2007). Dinner with Friends, went on after its West Coast premiere at SCR to win numerous awards, including the 2000 Pulitzer Prize, long runs Off-Broadway and in Paris, and productions all around the world. His other plays include God of Vengeance, The Model Apartment (Obie Award), The Loman Family Picnic, Found a Peanut and Luna Park. What's Wrong With This Picture? was produced on Broadway in 1994; Sight Unseen and Brooklyn Boy received their Broadway premieres in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The recipient of the 2000 Sidney Kingsley Award for outstanding achievement in the theatre by a playwright, Margulies was honored in 2005 by the American Academy of Arts and Letters with an Award in Literature.

Recommendation and Resources:
This fascinating conflict between friends has a serious theme but is filled with humor.   Junior High and up will be captivated by the intelligence and wit of the characters as the playwright presents ethical and moral choices and that will be long discussed. For more detailed information, please call ticket services.

*Post-show discussion led by SCR literary staff and artists from the show.
**ASL interpreted performance for the Deaf community.