All the wrong men chase all the wrong women in “Misalliance,” an exuberant comedy from George Bernard Shaw that opens South Coast Repertory’s 47th season with a week of preview peformances starting tonight, followed by the official opening night on Sept. 17.
The witty classic, directed by SCR Artistic Director Martin Benson, will run through Oct. 10 on the theater’s Segerstrom Stage.
Stage and screen veteran Dakin Matthews, who appeared in SCR’s production of Shaw’s “Major Barbara” and more recently portrayed Polonius in “Hamlet,” plays the pivotal role of John Tarleton, underwear magnate and armchair philosopher.
Melanie Lora (“Collected Stories”) takes on the part of his spoiled daughter, Hypatia, a young woman bored with life and her fiancé, Bentley (Wyatt Fenner). Then a plane drops from the sky into the Tarleton greenhouse, bringing with it a dashing pilot (Peter Katona) and a lady acrobat (Kirsten Potter).
Soon afterwards, a man with a gun and a grudge (JD Cullum) turns up in their Turkish bath. Suddenly, the rules of courtship are turned upside-down as the Tarletons and their friends attempt to woo the new guests.
Rounding out the cast are Amelia White (“The Heiress”) as Mrs. Tarleton, SCR newcomer Daniel Bess as John Tarleton, Jr., and SCR Founding Artist Richard Doyle as Lord Summerhays.
Shaw, best known for such works as “Pygmalion,” “Arms and the Man,” “St. Joan” and “Mrs. Warren’s Profession,” is the only person to win both an Oscar and the Nobel Prize for literature.
Director Martin Benson has a long and lauded history with the playwright’s works; he has won the L.A. Drama Critics Circle’s directing prize three times for his Shaw productions.
“Some people hear the name ‘Shaw’ and think ‘intellectual,’” said Benson. “But he is so funny and human. I defy anyone to read “Misalliance” and not think, No. 1, that it’s funny, and No. 2, that the characters are very real in their wants and desires.”
(Box:)
hed: ‘Misalliance’ at South Coast Repertory
TICKETS: 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 Sept. 10 and continue through Oct. 10. Ticket prices range from $20 to $66. Low-priced preview performances are available Sept. 10 – 16. Opening night is Friday, Sept. 17, and press night is Saturday, Sept. 18, at 8 p.m.
TIMES: Previews are Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10 – 11, at 8 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 14 – 15, at 7:30 p.m., and Thursday, Sept. 16, at 8 p.m. Regular performances are Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, educators, seniors and groups of 10 or more. There will be an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, October 9, at 2:30 p.m.
POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: Wednesday, Sept. 22, & Tuesday, Sept. 28
Discuss the play with members of the “Misalliance” cast during free post-show discussions led by South Coast Repertory’s literary team.
