The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team for the California premiere of Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Directed by Edward Torres, Water by the Spoonful will run April 12 – May 11, 2014 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run April 12 – April 16. Opening night is Thursday, April 17 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. In conjunction with local organizations Combat Arts and So Say We All, The Globe will also host an ongoing exhibit of art by returning veterans, and an evening of local veterans performing stories they have written about their service.

Performance Runs April 12 – MAY 11, with opening night on Thursday, April 17 AT 8:00 P.M.

Water by the Spoonful is an exciting new play from the playwright behind the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights. Elliot Ortiz is back in the States after serving in Iraq, reconnecting with family and starting a new life. At the same time, four strangers in an internet chat room seek support to face demons of their own, and soon the real world and the virtual one start to intersect in unexpected ways. The Hartford Courant calls Water by the Spoonful “funny, warm, and uplifting, with characters that stay with you long after the play is over!”

Water by the Spoonful is the second play in Hudes’ Elliot Cycle, three stand-alone plays written over an eight-year period. Each play uses a different kind of music—Bach, Coltrane, and Puerto Rican folk music—to trace the coming of age of a bright but haunted young Puerto Rican man. The first in the trilogy, Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue, which follows the title character as he returns to Philadelphia from serving in Iraq, debuted with Page 73 Productions and Culture Project and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2007. Water by the Spoonful made its world premiere at Hartford Stage and played Off Broadway at Second Stage Theatre, winning the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The final play, The Happiest Song Plays Last, which opened Off Broadway in February 2014 at Second Stage Theatre, explores Elliot’s journey towards peace and purpose as a lucky break in film and a cousin a half a world away put the realities of life into sharp focus.

“All of us at the Globe are looking forward to sharing this remarkable play with San Diego audiences,” said Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “The gifted director Edward Torres has gathered a very strong and talented cast, and together with a top-notch design team, they are sure to bring to vivid life the extraordinary and moving humanity of one of the best American plays of the past decade.”

He continued, “As excited as I am by the production, I’m also delighted that the Globe is partnering for the first time with two local organizations we very much respect, Combat Arts and So Say We All. Their innovative approaches to helping veterans express themselves through the visual and narrative arts are very much a complement to what we do. The Globe believes, as they do, that art is a powerful force for civic good, and we know that our audiences will gain as much from engaging with their work as they as they do from watching this Pulitzer-winning play.”

Rey Lucas makes his Old Globe debut as Elliot Ortiz. He appeared on Broadway in Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of The Rainmaker and has extensive New York and regional credits, including The Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Goodman Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, and Williamstown Theatre Festival, where he appeared in The Taming of the Shrewdirected by Roger Rees, Camino Real directed by Nicholas Martin, and Christmas in Naples directed by Dylan Baker. He also has extensive television credits, including NBC’s newest drama, “Believe,” and acclaimed series “The Blacklist,” “The Following,” “Person of Interest,” “Weeds,” and “Army Wives.”

The cast of Water by the Spoonful also features Robert Eli (Fountainhead aka John; Tartuffe on Broadway), Sarah Nina Hayon (Yazmin Ortiz; A Bright New Boise), San Diego local M. Keala Milles, Jr. (Ghost, Professor Aman, Policeman; The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at ion theatre company), Ruibo Qian (Orangutan; Henry IV, Miss Julie), Keith Randolph Smith(Chutes&Ladders, a San Diego resident; Broadway’s Fences with Denzel Washington and Salome with Al Pacino), and Marilyn Torres (Odessa Ortiz aka Haikumom; The Agony & the Agony).

The creative team includes Old Globe Associate Artist Ralph Funicello (Scenic Design), David Israel Reynoso (Costume Design), Jesse Klug (Lighting Design), Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Design), Caparelliotis Casting (Casting), and Jess Slocum (Stage Manager).

Water by the Spoonful is supported in part through gifts from Elaine Lipinsky Family Foundation, The Prado at Balboa Park, and Gen7 Wines.

Quiara Alegría Hudes (Playwright) is the author of The Elliot Cycle, which includes Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue (2007 Pulitzer Prize finalist), Water by the Spoonful (2012 Pulitzer Prize winner), and The Happiest Song Plays Last, which opened Off Broadway in February at New York’s Second Stage Theatre. Hudes wrote the book for the Broadway musical In the Heights, which received the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical, a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical, and was a 2009 Pulitzer Prize finalist. For the original Off Broadway incarnation of In theHeights, Hudes won the Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical. The touring companies of In the Heights have performed at Puerto Rico’s Centro de Bellas Artes, L.A.’s Pantages Theatre, and Tokyo’s International Forum. Her other works include Barrio Grrrl!, a children’s musical that premiered at The Kennedy Center in 2009 and toured nationally;26 Miles, which premiered at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre in 2009 and was published in American Theatre magazine; and Yemaya’s Belly, Hudes’ first play, which premiered at Portland Stage and received the Clauder Prize. Hudes’ honors include the United States Artists Fontanals Fellowship, the Joyce Fellowship at Goodman Theatre, the Aetna New Voices Fellowship at Hartford Stage, the Roe Green Award at the Cleveland Play House, fellowships at Sundance Institute Theatre Lab and The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, and a residency at New Dramatists. The City of Philadelphia honored Hudes with a Resolution in 2011, and Mayor Rahm Emmanuel declared April 27, 2013 “Quiara Hudes Day” in Chicago. After graduating from public school in Philadelphia, Hudes went on to receive a B.A. in Music from Yale University and an M.F.A. in playwriting from Brown University.

Edward Torres (Director) most recently directed the world premiere of Quiara Alegría Hudes’ The Happiest Song Plays Last (Goodman Theatre), White Tie Ball by Martín Zimmerman (Teatro Vista), and How Long Will I Cry?: Voices of Youth Violence (Steppenwolf for Young Adults). He directed the world premiere of Kristoffer Diaz’s The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Victory Gardens Theater (produced in association with Teatro Vista), which was named Best Play of 2009 by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and Time Out Chicago, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and earned Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best Production and Best Director. He also directed subsequent productions Off Broadway at Second Stage Theatre (2011 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, Obie Award for Best New American Play) and at Geffen Playhouse to critical acclaim. Torres has been a producer for 18 years and is the cofounder and former artistic director of Teatro Vista, where his directing credits include The Show Host, Aurora’s Motive, Ambrosio, Icarus, The Boiler Room, and The Sins of Sor Juana. His other Chicago directing credits include Fish Men, Cocks Have Claws and Wings to Fly, and Lolita de Lares. As an actor he has appeared in Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and Teatro Vista as part of the Visiting Company Initiative at Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Oedipus el Rey (Victory Gardens Theater), El Grito del Bronx (Collaboraction in association with Goodman Theatre), The Cook (Goodman Theatre), and Massacre (Sing to Your Children) (Goodman Theatre). He was the recipient of a 2010 3Arts Artist Award and was featured as guest director at the 2011 Eugene O’Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference, where he has served on their artistic council since 2014.

TICKETS to Water by the Spoonful can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Performances begin on April 12 and continue through May 11. Ticket prices start at $29. Performance times: Previews: Saturday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, April 13 at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 15 at 7:00 p.m., and Wednesday, April 16 at 7:00 p.m. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. There is a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, April 30 and no matinee performance on Saturday, May 3. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors, and groups of 10 or more.

In conjunction with local organizations Combat Arts and So Say We All, The Old Globe is happy to host an exhibit of art by returning veterans in Hattox Hall, above the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Curated by local artist and Combat Arts founder Elizabeth Washburn, the exhibit will open with a kick-off celebration on April 12 and will remain on display throughout the run of Water by the Spoonful. Exhibit hours will be one hour prior to performance, as well as full days on free Tuesdays, April 15 and April 22. In conjunction with So Say We All Executive Director Justin Hudnall, the Globe will also host an evening of local veterans performing stories they have written about their service on Monday, April 21 at 7:00 p.m.

Additional events taking place during the run of Water by the Spoonful include:

INSIGHTS SEMINAR: Water by the Spoonful
Monday, April 14 at 7:00 p.m. FREE
Insights Seminars are informal presentations of ideas and insights to enhance the theatregoing experience. The seminar features a panel selected from the artistic company of the production and takes place in the theatre where the production is performed. Reception, 6:30 p.m. Seminar, 7:00 p.m. Admission is free and reservations are not required.

POST-SHOW FORUMS: Water by the Spoonful
Tuesdays, April 22 and 29 and Wednesday, May 7. FREE
Discuss the play with members of the Water by the Spoonful cast and crew at post-show discussions led by the Globe’s creative staff after the performances.

SUBJECT MATTERS: Water by the Spoonful
Saturday, May 10. FREE
Following the performance, explore the ideas and issues raised by the production through brief, illuminating post-show discussions with local experts, such as scientists, artists, historians and scholars. Guest speakers Elizabeth Washburn of Combat Arts and Justin Hudnall of So Say We All will speak about their work with returning veterans and will offer audience members a guided tour of the exhibit of artwork by local veteran artists and writers.

LOCATION: The Old Globe is located in San Diego’s Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Valet parking is also available during performances ($10). For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org.

A REMINDER: Balboa Park’s 100-year-old Cabrillo Bridge, which provides access to Laurel Street and the west side of the Park, will be closed to automobiles and vehicular traffic through June during Caltrans’s seismic retrofitting process. The bridge will remain accessible to pedestrians and bicycles, so patrons could arrive a bit earlier and enjoy the short walk across the iconic bridge towards Plaza de Panama and the historic views of the California Tower and Dome. To access The Old Globe during this repair period, vehicle traffic should enter Balboa Park from the east via Park Boulevard and President’s Way. The Organ Pavilion and the Hall of Champions lots all offer ample parking, and a lovely short walk through the Park. Due to improvements under way, the parking lot adjacent to the Alcazar Garden will be temporarily closed for the next six to eight weeks to increase the number of spots available to disabled users of the Park. During this time, the City of San Diego will extend the hours of the beautiful new Balboa Park trams until after Old Globe performances have concluded; running until 10:00 p.m. on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and until 11:00 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Audience members wishing to take the trams to and from the Globe should park near the pick-up location at Inspiration Point (east of Park Boulevard at President’s Way), where they depart every 10-15 minutes and deliver guests to the heart of Balboa Park at the Plaza de Panama. The trams do not have stops at the Organ Pavilion or Hall of Champions lots. Guests may also be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. The Balboa Park valet is located in front of the Japanese Friendship Garden. For directions and up-to-date information, please visit www.TheOldGlobe.org/Directions.

CALENDAR: Time and the Conways (3/29-5/4), Water by the Spoonful (4/12-5/11), Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (5/17-6/22), Dog and Pony (5/28-6/29), Othello (6/22-7/27), Into the Woods (7/12-8/10), Quartet (7/25-8/24), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (8/10-9/14).

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego’s flagship arts institution for over 75 years. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Michael G. Murphy, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 14 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre’s education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Catered Affair, and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

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