"You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!" Rounds Out 24-25 Season

South Coast Repertory (Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Director Paula Tomei) announced the world premiere of You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World! by Keiko Green will join the 2024/25 season schedule. Directed by Zi Alikhan, the heartfelt comedy about a family facing crisis fills the previously to-be-announced slot on SCR’s schedule, April 5-May 4, 2025 on the Segerstrom Stage.

You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World! is an irreverently funny celebration through the cosmos. Since Greg’s terminal diagnosis, he’s felt a deep connection to the Earth—and to save himself, he’ll need to save the planet. Viv desperately wants to savor every last minute with her husband. Meanwhile M, our emcee, searches desperately to find meaning in the chaos of their final year with Dad. A heartfelt and joyful theatrical event, as magical as the world itself.

“You are Cordially Invited to the End of the World is a powerful complement to the entirety of our 61st season,” Ivers said. “It’s incredibly special to have Keiko Green and her moving, irreverent play as an anchor to the Pacific Playwrights Festival. Keiko’s writing is evocative and the play tackles undeniable truths in powerful and sometimes unimaginable ways.”

You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World! was a reading at the 2024 Pacific Playwrights Festival, where its “comedic spectacle,’ as Green calls it, captivated audiences at SCR’s three-day showcase featuring readings and productions of new plays from some of the most talented playwrights in the country.

SCR will announce the cast and creative team at a later time.

A Los Angeles-based playwright, screenwriter and performer known for her dark comedies and irreverent takes on various elements of Asian and American life, Green’s work has been produced all over the United States, including The Old Globe, Seattle Public Theatre, Cygnet Theatre, Sound Theatre Company Theater Mu and Actors Express. Her plays have been developed by the prestigious O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, The Kennedy Center, The National New Play Network, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Realm, Atlantic Theater Company and The Old Globe and she currently holds commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club/Sloan Foundaiton and Seattle Children’s Theatre/Kennedy Center. Green won the San Diego Critics Circle Best New Play Award for Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play, and she won the Gregory Award for Best New Play for Nadeshiko. The Gregory Awards recognize the top productions and performances in Seattle theatre.

Her television credits include “Interior Chinatown” for Hulu. As an actor, Green has performed throughout the country, originating the role of Connie in Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap at the Denver Center and Seattle Repertory. Originally from the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, Green has a BA in Drama from NYU/Tisch and an MFA in Playwriting from UC San Diego.

The New York City-based Alikhan has directed plays all over the country, including Pasadena Playhouse, Primary Stages, Writers Theatre/TheatreSquared), Playmakers Repertory Company, Portland Center Stage, Geva Theater Center, Olney Theater Center and Paper Mill Playhouse, among others. Alikhan’s direction of On That Day in Amsterdam at Primary Stages earned him Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel nominations for Outstanding Director and his direction of Sanctuary City at Pasadena Playhouse was named “Best of the Year” by the Los Angeles Times.

You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World! is receiving generous support from Honorary Producers Julia Voce and Nickie and Mickey Williams.

Tickets are on sale at scr.org and range in price from $35 to $114, with additional discounts available for educators, seniors and theatregoers ages 25 and under. Tickets may be purchased online at www.scr.org or by phone at (714) 708-5555. More information is available at www.scr.org.

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 David Emmes/Martin Benson Theatre Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available on Park Center Drive, off Anton Boulevard.

2024-25 Productions: Little Shop of Horrors, Sept. 21-Oct. 19, 2024; Joan, Oct. 27-Nov. 24, 2024; A Christmas Carol, Nov. 30-Dec. 24, 2024; Wish You Were Here, Jan. 12-Feb. 2, 2025; Hershey Felder’s Rachmaninoff and The Tsar, Feb. 19, March 2, 2025; Hershey Felder’s Great American Songbook Sing-Along!, March 3, 2025; The Incredible Book Eating Boy, Feb. 28-March 16, 2025; You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!, April 5-May 4, 2025; The Staircase, April 27-May 18, 2025.

The annual showcase of new works, the Pacific Playwrights Festival, runs May 2-4, 2025.

Complete information is available at www.scr.org.