South Coast Plaza Throws Cast Party for "Fast Company"

South Coast Repertory’s 50th Season on the Julianne Argyros Stage opened with the world premiere of Carla Ching’s Fast Company—to a packed house. Notable audience members included SCR supporters Julianne and George Argyros, First Nighters and their guests, and special artists long associated with the theatre.

After enjoying the fast-paced show about a family of grifters (and adding new words to their vocabularies, like “roper,” “fixer” and “the mark”) everyone continued the celebratory evening at the Cast Party, hosted by South Coast Plaza, which also is the 50th Season’s Golden Elite Sponsor.

The already splendid Jewel Court was the scene of a dazzling SCR installation that included cut-out characters from memorable SCR productions, color panels telling the theatre’s history through photos and text and a historical video with stunning images of past productions and the donors who made it all possible.

There, First Nighters sipped special cocktails and sampled cuisine with an Asian flare by Crème de la Crème as they strolled through the display area or relaxed on sumptuous lounge furniture, chatting with the artists and guests at what will be remembered as one of the 50th Season’s grandest First Nights.



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The Long Ride Home

by Kimberly Colburn

THE CAST:  Rebecca Mozo, Matt Caplan, Klarissa Mesee and Jenny O'Hara.

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It’s the middle of the night, and 91-year-old Vera has been woken up by an insistent buzzing at the door; her hearing isn’t what it used to be. She’s not expecting anyone, and she certainly isn’t expecting who it turns out to be: her grandson, Leo, who’s been incommunicado for the past few months, riding his bicycle across the country sans cell phone.

Leo doesn’t quite explain what brought him to Vera’s door, but it’s clear that he’s still a little lost in his life. He’s not ready to talk to his mother yet and he’s already been booted from his girlfriend’s house—she’s still mad at him for not calling all summer. Vera persuades him that he can lay low and get his bearings at her apartment in Greenwich Village—she’s an old political Leftie and perhaps senses a kindred spirit in her staunch environmentalist grandson.

This is the moment that opens Amy Herzog’s play 4000 Miles. We meet the central characters right when their relationship begins to change. Of course, Vera has known Leo since he was born; but when they find themselves sharing space, they get to know each other in a whole new way.

Herzog based the character of Vera on her own grandmother, Leepee Joseph, with whom she shared a strong bond. Her grandmother passed away since the play was produced at Lincoln Center in New York last year.

[Read a a New York Times profile of Herzog and her grandmother.]

In 4000 Miles, we see the bond between Vera and Leo grow and develop as we learn more about their lives and the tragedy that Leo is struggling to move past. Herzog’s work unfolds with exacting, well-observed characters that highlight the inter-generational relationship as Leo finally begins to face adulthood. Even as Leo makes the mistakes of youth, Vera naturally makes room in her life and thrives on the unexpected attention of her grandson, helping to instill our sympathy for the troubled young man. Sometimes, the only way to grow up is to confront the past, and relying on his grandmother gives Leo the space to find his way.

The humanity in the piece is what drew director David Emmes. He explains that it “is an intimate and insightful play about the nature of compassion and healing, as reflected in the relationship between a 91-year-old Leftist and her rebellious grandson.” He’s put together a standout cast, including Jenny O’Hara as Vera and Matt Caplan as Leo (meet the cast here), and a fantastic team of designers familiar to SCR audiences. Ralph Funicello (Elemeno Pea, Misalliance), one of America’s leading scenic designers, will be designing the set, with Sara Ryung Clement (How the World Began, Completeness) on costumes, Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz (Ordinary Days, La Posada Mágica) on lights, and Cricket S. Myers (The Parisian Woman, Sight Unseen) designing sound.

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The "Fast Company" Bond Between Playwright and Director

The cast of Fast Company:  Nelson Lee, Jackie Chung, Emily Kuroda and Lawrence Kao

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Both Los Angeles-based, playwright Carla Ching and director Bart DeLorenzo wear many hats when bringing the world premiere of Fast Company together.

Playwright Carla Ching

“For me a world premiere is all about the relationship with the playwright and the working together to bring the vision to life,” says DeLorenzo.  Their collaboration comes with both challenges and excitement to create this fast-paced new play.

To become a great team, Ching says she prefers a director who is a smart-minded storyteller, good with actors and able to create a “family” feeling in the rehearsal room.

"You have to be a total collaborator when you’re making all sorts of decisions together, and the entire piece can change at a moment's notice so you have to be ready for anything," adds DeLorenzo. "I always feel a special responsibility because usually how a world premiere is received has a big impact on the future life of the play."

Before the creative and artistic team was chosen for her world premiere, Ching is hard at work to make the script the best it can be. 

"I have an inkling of an idea [for what the world of the play looks and feels like], and then read and watch as much as possible until some disparate strands start to braid together,” she says. “Then, I will probably discover who inhabits the world and just start writing scenes."

Director Bart DeLorenzo

By far the biggest challenge that a playwright faces, adds Ching, is getting the play produced.

"As an emerging writer, it’s hard to get someone to take a chance on you," she explains. "When we are unproven, [producing companies] just have to trust you, and take a leap of faith."

Smart risk-taking is another quality Ching looks for in the team that brings a world premiere to life. DeLorenzo says even during the very first play he ever directed—in 10th grade, Eugene O'Neill’s one-act play, In the Zone—he had absolutely no idea what he was doing but, because he took that risk, he fell in  love with the theatre-making process and has loved the art of directing ever since.

Ching agrees with DeLorenzo about being drawn to the art of theatre-making and for her, the life of a play is never over.

"It's never done,” she says. “I rewrote a play [a play of mine] that already had been produced and published.” Her life experience and growth as a writer all influence how she reviews and revises completed works and approaches new play ideas may that form.

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SCR's 50th Season Gala: A Golden Night, Filled with Surprises

“Theatrical Gold,” South Coast Repertory’s 50th Season Gala, held onsite for the first time in the event’s history, was an evening of dancing, dining, disco—and surprises.

Those surprises were five-fold, and each one brought the house down—or, up, for standing ovations.  Following the reception on SCR’s terrace (beautifully transformed  for the occasion, with gold-clad aerialists twirling above the guests) Gala Vice Chairs Bette Aitken, Sophie Cripe and Yvonne Jordan, along with the 420 party-goers, moved into the Segerstrom Stage, where they were welcomed by Board President Damien Jordan. 

Then the surprises began.  Honorary Chair Julianne Argyros announced two of them—first, declaring that the Gala had exceeded its goal, raising a history-making $1 million, and then stunning the audience with news that she and her husband, George, and the Argyros Family Foundation, were adding another $2 million gift.  Before the cheering was over, former Board President Paul Folino—whose $10 million gift eleven years earlier named the Folino Theatre Center—announced that he was re-naming it the David Emmes and Martin Benson Theatre Center, in honor of SCR’s Founding Artistic Directors.

The evening’s comedy surprise was “The Second City’s Salute to South Coast Repertory,” in which actors from Chicago’s famed troupe jumped in and out of vignettes and musical moments inspired by SCR’s long and celebrated history. 

During dinner on tiered platforms specially constructed for the evening and carpeted in gold, guests were treated to a video that played on two large screens with images highlighting productions and donors through the years.

Wondering about the fifth surprise?  It happened later in the evening, at Club Argyros, when the Julianne Argyros Stage was dramatically changed into a vibrant disco.  There, guests partied on amidst dancing lights and hypnotic music at a fabulous bash that capped the most memorable Gala in SCR history.



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"4000 Miles" Cast Comprised of New and Returning Actors

Familiar and new faces, national and regional credits, one returning South Coast Repertory veteran and three newcomers to SCR. They all are coming together at South Coast Repertory for Amy Herzog’s 4000 Miles. Meet the cast of the play.

Matt Caplan makes his SCR debut as Leo in 4000 Miles.  On Broadway, he appeared in Rent, South Pacific and Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark and regionally he appeared in American Idiot. His television and film appearances include “New Amsterdam” and “NCIS,” Ambivalence, Across the Universe and Painting Abby Long. He is from New York by way of Virginia, where he studied theater at the Governor’s School for the Arts. Caplan also is a songwriter.

Rebecca Mozo appeared at SCR last season in The Parisian Woman, and also in In the Next Room or the vibrator play, A Wrinkle in Time, Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight, The Heiress and Doubt, a parable. Her other theatre credits include We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia at The Matrix Theatre Company; The Savannah Disputation (Ovation Award nomination), Trying (Ovation Award nomination) at The Colony Theatre Company; The Cherry Orchard opposite Annette Bening and Alfred Molina at Center Theatre Group; and Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Peace in Our Time, King Lear, Cousin Bette, Pera Palas and The Dresser at The Antaeus Company, where she is a member. Her film and television credits include The Repatriate, Headless Horseman, The Waterhole, “Pizza Time,” “Cold Case,” “The Young and the Restless” and “Medium.” She recently wrapped the web series “Kittens in a Cage.” Mozo earned her BFA from Rutgers University and studied at The Globe Theatre in London.

Klarissa Mesee role as Amanda in 4000 Miles marks her SCR debut. She can be seen in Mickey and the Magical Map at the Disneyland Resort. Her other credits include McCoy/Rigby’s Miss Saigon (Ovation Award nomination) and Richard Shermans’ Pazzazz! She also originated the role of Scarlet Wong in English Only: A Fight For Words in America. Her film and television credits include “Lost Tapes” for Animal Planet and “Teenage Mountain Lion,” a forthcoming web series. She is a native of Southern California and earned her BA from The Ray Bolger Musical Theater program at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television.

Jenny O’Hara is featured as Vera in 4000 Miles. She previously appeared in SCR’s production of Richard Greenberg’s Our Mother’s Brief Affair. On Broadway, she appeared in The Odd Couple (female version), The Iceman Cometh, Promises Promises, The Kid, Fig Leaves Are Falling and Dylan (debut with Alec Guinness). Her off-Broadway credits include John Guare’s New York Actor, Peter Hedges’ Good as New, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Marathon ’93, Sedalia Run and The Fox. She also has appeared in numerous regional productions. O’Hara has been a series regular on “The King of Queens,” “Costello,” “Life’s Work,” “The Pastor’s Wife,” “My Sister Sam,” “The Facts of Life,” “Secrets of Midland Heights,” “Highcliff Manor” and has made guest appearances on “Rizzoli and Isles,” “Franklin and Bash,” “CSI,” “Grey’sAnatomy,” “Drop Dead Diva,” “Boston Legal,” “Philly,” “NYPD Blue,” “Family Law,” “The Practice,” “Roswell,” “Strong Medicine,” “ER,” “Chicago Hope,” “Party of Five,” “Drew Carey Show,” “Murphy Brown,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Law & Order,” “L.A. Law” and many more. Her movies of the week include If These Walls Could Talk II, The Color of Courage, My Name is Jane, An Unexpected Family, Robin Cook’s Terminal, A Mother’s Prayer, Happily Ever After, Winnie, V and Black Beauty. Her feature films include BFF, Sassy Pants, Devil, Heavy Lifting, The Hit List, Extract, Matchstick Men, Mystic River, Angie, Career Opportunities and Heartbeat. She is a founding member of Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA.