Play festival set this weekend

Tom Titus

Local theatergoers attending productions of unfamiliar plays might

ask themselves, “Where did these plays come from and how did they get

on stage originally?”

Chances are, they were born right here in Costa Mesa. Certainly

South Coast Repertory has made significant contributions to original

scripts over the years, and this weekend the birthing pains begin

again.

Tonight through Sunday, SCR will stage its seventh annual National

Playwrights’ Festival. This is the project that brought plays like

Amy Freed’s “The Beard of Avon” and Richard Greenberg’s “The Violet

Hour” to life -- and eventually to full production on the SCR stage.

The theater’s current productions of Freed’s “Safe in Hell” on the

Segerstrom Stage and Noah Haidle’s “Mr. Marmalade” on the Julianne

Argyros Stage are part of the festival, sharing the spotlight with

four staged readings sandwiched into the odd, dark moments, with a

couple of familiar names (Greenberg and Craig Lucas) involved in the

process.

The festival begins today with “Vesuvius” by Lucinda Coxon,

offered at a 1 p.m. matinee on the Argyros Stage. This story is set

in Naples, in the shadow of that fearsome volcano, as a man and woman

arrive separately, expecting peaceful holidays. SCR co-founder David

Emmes is directing -- and also will stage the play in its world

premiere at SCR next April.

Meanwhile, on the Segerstrom Stage, Sarah Ruhl’s “The Clean House”

will be given a staged reading at 3:30 p.m. It centers around a

Brazilian cleaning woman with a contagious sense of humor. Bill Rauch

is directing the reading, and Kate Whoriskey (“Antigone”) will stage

the world premiere at SCR next January.

Lucas, once a mainstay at the Costa Mesa theater (“Blue Windows,”

“Prelude to a Kiss”), returns with “The Singing Forest,” to be

previewed Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on the Segerstrom Stage. This story

revolves around the second-richest man in the world and the Oprah

Winfrey show. Bartlett Sher directs.

Finally, Greenberg, who has had six of his plays born on at SCR,

will unveil another -- a substantial revision of “Safe as Houses,” a

play he premiered in 1988, but felt was unfinished. Greenberg

dissects social and family mores and finds them equally fascinating

and wanting. This play will be staged Sunday at 11 a.m. on the

Segerstrom Stage, to be directed by Ethan McSweeny.

The 2004 festival brings to 55 the number of plays that have

received readings, workshop productions and full productions since

its launch in 1998. And 36 of these plays have gone on to productions

at SCR and around the country.

Tickets to the productions are $19 through $55 (previews $19 to

$38; regular run $27 to $55), with discounts for students, seniors

and groups of 15 or more. Tickets to the festival readings are $10.

They may be reserved by calling the SCR box office at (714) 708-5555.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.