Drama Versus Musical at Segerstrom Center and SCR

Segerstrom Center is renowned for its Broadway musical series, while South Coast Repertory has long been a haven for dramatic works.

In September, their roles are reversed when Segerstrom Center presents the North American tour of the National Theatre production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” Sept. 12-17, while SCR opens its 2017-18 season with the multi-award-winning musical “Once” Sept. 2 – 30.

“Once”

Based on the Academy Award-winning film of the same name and directed by Kent Nicholson, “Once” follows a Dublin street musician who’s about to give up on his dream when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs. As their relationship grows, his music soars to powerful new heights, but their bond turns out to be deeper and more complex than expected.

“Once is an extraordinary testament to the power of music and the power of story,” Nicholson said. “It’s a unique story about human interaction, kindness and what draws people together and how that can have an effect on art.”                   

“Once” earned eight Tony Awards, a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album, and four Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Musical.

Playwright Enda Walsh is a multi-award-winning Irish playwright who won a Tony Award for writing the book for “Once” in 2012. The musical played for three years on Broadway, two years in London’s West End and has been touring worldwide.  

Tickets start at $26. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, fulltime educators, seniors and groups of 10 or more.

Post-show discussions with “Once” cast members take place Sept. 13 and 19, while a special “Inside the Season” discussion takes place on Sept. 23, led by members of SCR’s literary staff with in-depth interviews with cast members and artists from the production staff.

For more information, visit scr.org.

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”

Yes it has an odd title, but “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” won five Tony Awards including Best Play, six Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Play, five Outer Critics Circle Awards including Outstanding New Broadway Play and the Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play. The production was named among the Top 10 productions of 2014 by dozens of publications including Associated Press, Broadway.com, Broadway Insider, Chicago Tribune, Daily News, Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood Reporter, Huffington Post, New York Magazine, New York Post, The New York Times, and Time Magazine.

The show originally opened on Oct. 5, 2014 at the Barrymore Theatre and closed nearly two years later after 800 performances on Sept. 4, 2016.

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” is based on the book of the same name by Mark Haddon and details the tale of Christopher, 15, who has an extraordinary brain and is exceptionally intelligent but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life due to his autism spectrum condition. When he falls under suspicion for killing his neighbor’s dog, he sets out to identify the true culprit, which leads to an earth-shattering discovery and a journey that will change his life forever.

For more information and tickets, visit SCFTA.org.