2910 La Jolla Village Drive La Jolla, CA 92037
lajollaplayhouse.org
For Immediate Release: May 6, 2010
Contact: Denise Montgomery, Communications Consultant
dmontgomery@ljp.org / (858) 373-7066
-or- Mary Cook, Director of Marketing
mcook@ljp.org / (858) 550-1070 x153
LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES
WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL
LIMELIGHT: THE STORY OF CHARLIE CHAPLIN
NEW MUSICAL BY CHRISTOPHER CURTIS AND THOMAS MEEHAN
COMPLETES 2010/2011 SEASON LINE-UP
LA JOLLA CA — La Jolla Playhouse is pleased to announce the addition of the new musical
Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin to its 2010/2011 season. This world premiere
production features music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis, book by Christopher Curtis and
Thomas Meehan and direction by Michael Unger. Limelight will run September 7 — October
17, 2010 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre.
About Limelight
He came to America an unknown. He left amidst scandals and controversy. In between, Charlie
Chaplin became one of the best-loved and most famous entertainers in the world. From the
gritty streets and smoky music halls of London to movie screens across the world, Limelight
goes behind the camera to show how a comic genius found soaring success and later fell from
grace. A fascinating study in talent and turmoil, boldness and vulnerability, Chaplin’s life was
fueled by an insatiable drive that was both essential to his artistry and the cause of strife in his
personal life. Limelight provides a moving and delightful close-up on the man who changed
motion pictures forever.
“La Jolla Playhouse is thrilled that veteran writer Thomas Meehan will return to the Playhouse
[Cry-Baby, 2007/2008 season] to join forces with a new talent, writer/composer and lyricist
Christopher Curtis, and director Michael Unger to bring the fascinating story of Charlie Chaplin’s
extraordinary life to the stage,” said Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director for La Jolla Playhouse.
Composer and lyricist Christopher Curtis was signed to the songwriter program at Disney
Animation where he composed the songs for the in-development animated film Rapunzel. He is
a composer and pianist who has performed in Los Angeles, New York, Japan and Ireland with
the likes of Stevie Wonder and Rita Coolidge. He has also performed for the United States
Congress on numerous occasions.
Celebrated writer Thomas Meehan won the 2003 Tony Award for co-writing the book for
Hairspray, the 2001 Tony Award for co-writing the book of The Producers and the 1977 Tony
Award for the book of Annie, which was his first Broadway show. He has since written or cowritten the books for Young Frankenstein, I Remember Mama, Ain't Broadway Grand, Annie
Warbucks and Bombay Dreams. He is a long-time contributor of humor, including “Yma Dream,”
to The New Yorker; an Emmy Award winning television writer; and a collaborator on
screenplays, including Mel Brooks' Spaceballs, To Be or Not to Be and The Producers. He is a
member of the Council of the Dramatists Guild.
Director Michael Unger’s extensive credits include the world premiere Caligula, The 25th
Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Barrington Stage Company); La Gioconda (Off Broadway,
Clurman Theatre) and Retribution (Off Broadway, Lambs Theatre). Other recent directing
credits include Paul Scott Goodman’s Tiny Dancer at the Prince Music Theatre and a new
version of The Rink, starring Leslie Uggams and Janet Metz at the Cape Playhouse. He has
also directed Noises Off (New Harmony); Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Game of Love
and Chance (French language productions); Cleavage and Smokes (Mark Taper Forum – NWF)
and Taming of the Shrew (Complex Theatre, LA). At Steppenwolf Theatre, in his hometown of
Chicago, Unger assistant directed A Clockwork Orange and Buried Child. His television credits
include Picket Fences.
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Subscriptions to La Jolla Playhouse’s 2010/2011 season are available by calling (858) 550-1010
or by visiting lajollaplayhouse.org. Subscriptions are available in six-play, four-play and threeplay packages, ranging from $135 – $380.
Single tickets for Surf Report, Midsummer Night’s Dream and Limelight: The Story of Charlie
Chaplin go on sale Sunday, May 16, 2010. Single ticket prices range from $44 – $80.
Performance Times (unless otherwise noted):
Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 pm
Thursday and Friday at 8:00 pm
Saturday at 2:00pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:00 pm
La Jolla Playhouse Media Room http://www.lajollaplayhouse.org/media-room
contains production photos, artistic profiles (username: media / password: pelican)
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LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE 2010/2011 FACT SHEET
SUBSCRIPTION PRODUCTIONS
Surf Report
By Annie Weisman
Directed by Lisa Peterson
Mandell Weiss Forum
June 15 – July 11, 2010; media night: Sunday, June 20 at 7:00 pm
World Premiere
A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream
By William Shakespeare
Music by Mark Bennett and Felix Mendelssohn
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre
July 20 – August 22, 2010; media night: Sunday, July 25 at 7:00 pm
Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin
Book by Christopher Curtis and Thomas Meehan
Music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis
Directed by Michael Unger
Mandell Weiss Theatre
September 7 — October 17, 2010; media night: Sunday, September 19 at 7:00 pm
World Premiere Musical
Notes from Underground
By Fyodor Dostoevsky
Adapted by Bill Camp and Robert Woodruff
Directed by Robert Woodruff
Based on a translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Originally Produced by Yale Repertory Theatre
Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre
September 17 – October 17, 2010; media night: Friday, September 24 at 8:00 pm
Ruined
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Liesl Tommy
Mandell Weiss Theatre
November 16 – December 19, 2010; media night: Sunday, November 21 at 7:00 pm
West Coast Premiere
A co-production with the Huntington Theatre Company and Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Little Miss Sunshine
Book/Directed by James Lapine
Music and Lyrics by William Finn
Mandell Weiss Theatre
February 15 – March 27, 2011; media night: Friday, March 4, 2011
World Premiere Musical
RESIDENT THEATRE COMPANY PRODUCTIONS
San Diego Asian American Repertory Theatre
BFE
By Julia Cho
August/September 2010
Short Play Festival: Innerviews
May/June 2011
Ted and Adele Shank Theatre
Resident Theatre Company Performance Times: To be announced
Financial support provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
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The nationally acclaimed, Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse is known for its tradition of
creating the most exciting and adventurous new work in regional theatre. The Playhouse was
founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, and is considered one of
the most well-respected not-for-profit theatres in the country. Numerous Playhouse productions
have moved to Broadway, including Big River, The Who’s Tommy, Thoroughly Modern Millie,
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Walk in the Woods, Dracula, Billy
Crystal’s 700 Sundays, the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, Jersey Boys, The
Farnsworth Invention, 33 Variations and Memphis. Located on the UC San Diego campus, La
Jolla Playhouse is made up of three primary performance spaces: the Mandell Weiss Theatre,
the Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre, and the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for La Jolla
Playhouse, a state-of-the-art theatre complex which features the Sheila and Hughes Potiker
Theatre. La Jolla Playhouse is led by Artistic Director Christopher Ashley and Managing Director
Michael S. Rosenberg.
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