Asolo Repertory Theatre Presents
DARWIN IN MALIBU
An Asolo Rep Production
in the Cook Theatre
(Sarasota, Florida) – Asolo Repertory Theatre presents Darwin in Malibu by Crispin Whittell. Playing from May 16 to June 10, 2007, this play is directed by Asolo Rep Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards and features guest actor Stephen Temperley as Darwin, as well as resident company members David Breitbarth, Douglas Jones and FSU/Asolo Conservatory student Leigh Anne Wolf (formerly known as Leigh Anne Wuest).
ABOUT THE PLAY: Charles Darwin peacefully spends his later years in a beach house overlooking the Pacific with a free-spirited young girl, until two friends come to visit, one determined to save Darwin's eternal soul and the other to preserve the theory of evolution. Caught in the middle of the debate between science and religion, this group of friends struggles to find the meaning of life, death and plastic surgery. A charming comedy full of an amusing juxtaposition of ideas.
Stephen Temperley, who plays Darwin in this production, is making his first appearance on the Asolo Rep stage. Born in London, Stephen first came to the U.S. as a teenager. In the United Kingdom, he has performed in London’s West End, on television and repertory. In the U.S. he has appeared both off and on Broadway and in regional theatres all over the country. He is the author of the play Souvenir which was recently produced on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre. It is nowbeing seen across the country (three productions will open during the run of Darwin in Malibu) and plans are underway for Europe, Australia and South America. His most recent play, The Pilgrim Papers, a comedy about Plymouth Plantation, was seen at the Berkshire Theatre Festival last summer. He is currently at work on a musical.
Michael Donald Edwards is directing the show. Michael is the producing artistic director of Asolo Repertory Theatre and former Associate Artistic Director of Syracuse Stage. He has recently directed productions of Asolo Rep’s Amadeus and Nobody Don’t Like Yogi, The Grapes of Wrath, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Private Lives, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Copenhagen. He also directed the world premiere of Las Meninas at San Jose Rep, Enter the Guardsmen for The Globe Theatres in San Diego, The Winter’s Tale and The Merchant of Venice for Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Amadeus for IRT, Syracuse Stage, and Virginia Stage, and The Importance of Being Earnest for Indiana Repertory Theatre. He also recently directed the West Coast premiere of Shopping and F***ing for the Rhino in San Francisco and the Celebration in L.A., which won two Garland Awards. His production of Henry IV Part I for OSF won a Garland Award for Best Direction and Richard III for SSC and Transgressor in L.A. each won Drama Logue Awards for Best Direction.
Several events are planned to enhance the production of Darwin in Malibu.During the run of the show, Asolo Rep is offering free discussions with both actors and creative team members so audiences can learn just how much work is done behind-the-scenes.
PLAYTALKS will be held on Sunday, March 25 after the 2 PM matinee performance, at approximately 4 PM and on Thursday, May 24 after the 8 PM evening performance, at approximately 10 PM in the Cook Theatre. This is a free opportunity for the community to meet the
actors of each play and participate in an animated and honest discussion about the production process. Tickets to show prior to the discussion are $29-$35.
INSIGHTS A FREE hour-long discussionheld on Saturday, May 26 at 11 AM in the Cook Theatre that provides a unique opportunity to look at the work done by members of the design team in order for the show to open. The discussion is FREE; you may purchase tickets to the 2:00 PM performance following the discussion for $29-$35; however, attendance of the show is not required.
AUDIO DESCRIBED performances will be held on Sunday, June 3, 2 PM and on Wednesday, June 6, 8 PM. This is a service provided by Asolo Rep where specially trained audio describers provide elaborate audio imagery of the play action and setting to the visually impaired audience member through a headset system.
CLOSING NIGHT CAST PARTY JUNE 9, 2007 AFTER THE 8:00 PM PERFORMANCE. CELEBRATE WITH THE STARS! LAKE CLUB OF LAKEWOOD RANCH.ATTEND THIS PLAY ON CLOSING NIGHT AND ENJOY A FREE AFTER SHOW CAST PARTY IN THE LOBBY WITH WINE, SNACKS AND DJ MUSIC. CLOSING NIGHT PARTIES ARE SPONSORED BY THE
Darwin in Malibu will run from May 16, 2007 through June 10, 2007 in the Cook Theatre, located across from the RinglingMuseum at 5555 N. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, Florida. Ticket prices vary from $29 to $35 depending on day, time and seat location. Group rates and special discounts are available; single tickets, money saving subscriptions, the $25 student pass and the $99 play pass are now on sale. Special event pricing varies. Purchase tickets in person at the Asolo Rep Box Office or by calling 941-351-8000, toll-free 800-361-8388, or online at www.asolo.org.
Asolo Repertory Theatre is funded in part by the Division of Cultural Affairs, Florida Department of State, the Florida Arts Council, the City and County of Sarasota and the Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax through the Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council and the Sarasota County Arts Council. Funding is also received through efforts of support groups including the Asolo Repertory Theatre Angel Association, the Asolo Repertory Theatre Guild, the Directors Emeritus and the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations.
DARWIN IN MALIBU
FACT SHEET
PRESENTED BY ASOLO REPERTORY THEATRE
Michael Donald Edwards, Producing Artistic Director
WHAT DARWIN IN MALIBU
By Crispin Whittell
WHERE Asolo Repertory Theatre
In the Cook Theatre
5555 N. Tamiami Trail - Sarasota, Florida34243
WHO Directed by: Michael Donald Edwards
Scenic Design: Jeff Dean
Costume Design: Nicole Bartet
Wig/Hair Design: Michelle Hart
Lighting Designer: Jim Florek
Sound Design: Kevin Kennedy
Vocal Coach: Patricia Delorey
Casting: Stuart Howard, Amy Schecter & Paul Hardt
CAST Darwin… Stephen Temperley
Sarah… Leigh Anne Wolf
Huxley… David Breitbarth
Wilberforce… Douglas Jones
SYNOPSIS Charles Darwin peacefully spends his later years in a beach house overlooking the Pacific with a free-spirited young girl, until two friends come to visit, one determined to save Darwin's eternal soul and the other to preserve the theory of evolution. Caught in the middle of the debate between science and religion, this group of friends struggles to find the meaning of life, death and plastic surgery. A charming comedy full of an amusing juxtaposition of ideas.
TICKETS $29-$35 at the Box Office 941-351-8000 or 800-361-8388
PREVIEWS Tuesday, May 15 at 8:00 PM
OPENING NIGHT Wednesday May 16 at 8 PMThe opening night show is followed by Asolo Rep’s champagne reception, and “mingle with the stars” celebration. Members of the media are invited to photograph and interview the cast and creative team at the party.
SHOW TIMES
05/15 8:00 PM PREVIEW
05/16 8:00 PM ON
05/17 8:00 PM
05/18 8:00 PM
05/19 2:00 PM
05/19 8:00 PM
05/20 2:00 PM PT
05/22 8:00 PM
05/24 8:00 PM PT
05/25 8:00 PM
05/26 2:00 PM IN
05/26 8:00 PM
05/27 2:00 PM
05/29 8:00 PM
05/30 8:00 PM
05/31 8:00 PM
06/01 8:00 PM
06/02 2:00 PM
06/02 8:00 PM
06/03 2:00 PM AD
06/05 8:00 PM
06/06 8:00 PM AD
06/07 8:00 PM
06/08 8:00 PM
06/09 2:00 PM
06/09 8:00 PM
06/10 8:00 PM CLOSING
PLAYTALKS A free opportunity for the community to meet the actors of each play and participate in an animated and honest discussion about the production process. Tickets to show prior to the discussion are $29-$35. (In the Cook Theatre)
Sunday, May 20 after the 2 PM matinee performance, at approximately 4 PM and Thursday, May 24 after the 8 PM evening performance, at approximately 10 PM
INSIGHTS A FREE hour-long discussion on select Saturday mornings that provides unique opportunities to look at the work done by members of the design team in order for a show to open. The discussion is FREE; you may purchase tickets to the 2:00 PM performance following the discussion for $29-$35; however, attendance of the show is not required. Saturday, May 26 at 11 AM
AUDIO DESCRIBED A service provided by Asolo Rep where specially trained audio describers provide elaborate audio imagery of the play action and setting to the visually impaired audience member through a headset system. Sun, June 3, 2PM & Wed, June 6, 8 PM
CORPORATE MEDIA SEASON PRESENTERS Comcast and The Sarasota Herald-Tribune
CORPORATE CO-PRESENTER Sun Hydraulics and Longboat Key Club and Resort
CO-PRODUCERS Gary & Barbara Ackerman; Doug & Patty Bradbury; Evelin Corsey; Harlan & Esther Domber; Len & Mimi Gumley; Michael & Mary Jane Hartenstine; Betty Schiff; Phil & Lisa Skirball; Gil & Elisabeth Waters; Dr. John & Mrs. Myrna Welch; Ed & Ida Wilkof; Mary Lou & Edward Winnick; Norman & Jeanne Winston; Robert & Jeanne Zabelle
Asolo Repertory Theatre is funded in part by the Division of Cultural Affairs, Florida Department of State, the Florida Arts Council, the City and County of Sarasota and the Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax through the Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council and the Sarasota County Arts Council. Funding is also received through efforts of support groups including the Asolo Repertory Theatre Angel Association, the Asolo Repertory Theatre Guild, the Directors Emeritus and the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PLAY
PROGRAM NOTES:
One hundred and forty-three years after he published The Origin of Species, and 120 years after his death, Charles Darwin is sitting on the deck of a Malibu beach house reading a fat Pat Booth paperback and enjoying the ministrations of Sarah, a nubile Californian. Then up pop the bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce, and Darwin's friend and champion Thomas Huxley, both also long dead and buried.
It was the bishop and Huxley who famously came to blows at a debate at the British Association's Oxford meeting in 1860. Wilberforce facetiously asked Huxley whether his ape ancestors were on his grandfather or grandmother's side. Huxley replied that he would rather have an ape for a grandfather than a man with an impressive brain and considerable influence who chose to employ those facilities in the ridicule of science. This suggestion – that when it came to grandfathers, an ape was preferable to a bishop – caused uproar.
Now the stage is set for a rerun of the debate. However, experience of life and death, love and loss means that previously held certainties are now uncertainties. Once you know something – whether it is about DNA or what your boyfriend did last night – nothing is ever quite the same again. And while science may be able to explain how we got here, it cannot explain why we are here. It cannot explain our hearts.
Initially, it appears that Crispin Whittell's comic drama Darwin in Malibu might be all clever and witty conceit and no real substance, all argument and no heart. But it blossoms into something much bigger: it is fiercely intelligent but also delicate as it probes the mysteries of what makes us human, and why, in the face of all the knowledge offered by science, we sometimes still need faith in ourselves and each other. After all, who in their right mind would choose to live on a fault line that science tells us will one day be the site of a major earthquake? Why do we continue to make attachments when we know those attachments can so easily be severed by death?
Darwin in Malibu is an exceptionally spry little play, with big ideas and a big heart, and it deserves the widest possible audience. You should see it – not just because it's there, but because we are here. Along with the barnacles and the stars.
- Lyn Gardner
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Michael Donald Edwards is the producing artistic director of Asolo Repertory Theatre and former Associate Artistic Director of Syracuse Stage. He has recently directed productions of Asolo Rep’s Amadeus and Nobody Don’t Like Yogi, The Grapes of Wrath, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Private Lives, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Copenhagen. He also directed the world premiere of Las Meninas at San Jose Rep, Enter the Guardsmen for The Globe Theatres in San Diego, The Winter’s Tale and The Merchant of Venice for Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Amadeus for IRT, Syracuse Stage, and Virginia Stage, and The Importance of Being Earnest for Indiana Repertory Theatre. He also recently directed the West Coast premiere of Shopping and F***ing for the Rhino in San Francisco and the Celebration in L.A., which won two Garland Awards. His production of Henry IV Part I for OSF won a Garland Award for Best Direction and Richard III for SSC and Transgressor in L.A. each won Drama Logue Awards for Best Direction.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Crispin Whittell was born in Kenya and studied English at Cambridge University. His previous plays include Party Tricks (Nottingham Playhouse) and HappyValley (Liverpool Everyman), which he also directed. He recently translated Rafael Spregelburd’s award-winning play Stupidity for the Royal National Theatre Studio. Darwin in Malibu premiered at Birmingham Repertory Theatre where it was shortlisted for the TMA Award for Best New Play. It was subsequently produced at Hampstead Theatre in London. Other work as a writer includes Happy Birthday, a film directed by Helen Mirren for Showtime, and Hot Dog, a short film for which Crispin directed for Play UK. Other work as a director includes Repeat After Me (Channel 4); The Irredeemable Brain of Dr. Heinrich Hunsecker, Charlie’s Angel, Whacked, and The Patter of Tiny Feet (all for the BBC). His latest play, Clever Dick recently opened at Hampstead Theatre in a production directed by Crispin.