James Lancaster, Tony Ward and Kirsten Potter in “The Weir” at South Coast Repertory. Photo by Henry DiRocco/SCR

The play, written by Irish playwright Conor McPherson, was proclaimed as “exceptional the most exciting evening in theatrical London!” by The Guardian when it debuted in 1997, and it won similar raves on Broadway.

It will be directed at SCR by Warner Shook.

“Water surrounding a weir may look relatively calm, but dangerous whirlpools lurk beneath,” explained Shook. “You’re caught between calm waters and devastating waters - the known and the unknown - much like the characters in the play. Are the stories they tell real or make-believe? Are they in a natural world or a supernatural one?”

Playing the tale-telling Irishmen will be SCR founding artist Richard Doyle and a trio of actors who also are no strangers to the South Coast Repertory stage: James Lancaster, Daniel Reichert and Tony Ward. Joining them as Valerie, the mysterious woman with a spellbinding, heartbreaking tale of her own, is Kirsten Potter, last seen at SCR as the flamboyant Polish adventuress in “Misalliance.”

Doyle is very well know and appreciated by regular and even occasional SCR audience members, as he has been with the theater group since its founding and has appeared in more than 200 productions with the troupe, most recently this season’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Misalliance.” A veteran of film and TV as well as the stage, his longest-running role is one that doesn’t take this time away from other projects: He is the holographic host at the Union Theater at the Lincoln Library in Springfield, IL.

Doyle is a recipient of The Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award and will be the 2011 Pageant of the Masters live narrator.

Lancaster is Irish by birth and began his acting career as a member of The Abbey Theatre in Dublin and of the Irish Theatre Company. Since moving to the US, he has performed in the New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park and at several regional theaters on the East and West coasts, along with a turn in “A Christmas Carol” at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. He has had many film and TV roles.

At SCR, he has previously appeared in “Dancing At Lughnasa” and “The Caretaker.”

Reichert first appeared at SCR in “Arms and the Man.” He is a veteran of several Western stages, including the American Conservatory Theatre, where he earned his MFA. He, too, has had numerous roles before film and TV cameras.

Ward has a slew of Broadway and off-Broadway credits in New York, as well as film and TV roles and regional theater credits on both coasts, including SCR’s production of “Terra Nova.”

Potter is well know to audiences in LA and Orange County, having performed in multiple productions each at the Geffen Playhouse, Matrix Theatre and Laguna Playhouse, plus others. Her Hollywood experience include not only film and TV, but also voice work in video games, cartoons and audio books.

Marshalling these talents is director Shook, who has helmed more than a half-dozen SCR productions. As artistic director at the Intiman Theater, he directed numerous productions, notably Intiman’s world premiere of “The Kentucky Cycle,” plus its subsequent productions at the Mark Taper Forum, the Kennedy Center and on Broadway, where it won the Pulitzer Prize and was nominated for the Tony Award.

Post-show discussions with the cast of “The Weir” and SCR’s literary team will be featured after the March 22 and March 23 performances.

Previews are Sunday, March 13, at 2 p.m., and Tuesday through Thursday, March 15-17, at 7:45 p.m. Regular performances are Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 7:45 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., through April 3.

Ticket prices range from $20 to $66. Low-priced preview performances are available Mar. 13-17. Tickets can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555, or by visiting the theater box office.

Philip Glass.One of America’s most fascinating and pre-eminent living composers, Philip Glass, goes under the microscope when Pacific Symphony partners with

Both the Symphony’s 11th American Composers Festival – “The Passion of Philip Glass” - and LBO’s production of the Glass opera “Akhnaten” and accompanying events featuring films, lectures, discussions probe deeply into the man and his music.

“I am really thrilled about Pacific Symphony’s new collaboration with the Long Beach Opera,” says Music Director Carl St.Clair. “Joining forces with our Philip Glass ACF and featuring this amazing American composer in such a joint venture is exactly what makes the arts scene in Southern California so exciting.”

In addition to LBO’s production of the opera, “Akhnaten” on March 19 and March 27,  and the Symphony’s main concerts featuring “The Passion of Ramakrishna,” the Glass Festival includes the Symphony’s solo piano recital “Glass Plays Glass”; films scored by Glass:  “Koyaanisqatsi,” “Powaqqatsi,”  and  “Naqoyqatsi,” presented by LBO, and “The Illusionist,” presented by the Symphony in collaboration with Newport Beach Film Festival. LBO also offers a lecture on “Akhnaten and his World” at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and “An Afternoon with Philip Glass” exploring the opera “Akhnaten” at the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art (LACMA).

A number of the events include an in-person discussion with the composer.

The unifying theme for the Symphony’s 2011 ACF, led by St.Clair, is the influence that India’s music and philosophy have had on Glass. The Festival focuses on the composer’s collaborations with Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar, whom Glass first met in India in 1965.  

In 2006, Pacific Symphony co-commissioned with the Nashville Symphony a work from Glass for orchestra and chorus, “The Passion of Ramakrishna,” which received its world premiere at the gala opening of the Symphony’s home, the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. This year’s ACF revisits this momentous work and presents complementary works from Glass’s oeuvre, with the goal of bringing this modern master to the greater attention of music patrons in Southern California.

Mixing Eastern and Western traditions, Glass’ heroic musical homage to a simple Hindu holy man paints an exquisite symphonic and choral picture of India emerging from centuries of foreign domination. Glass’s concerto for saxophone quartet and orchestra rounds out this south Asian odyssey.

The Symphony’s ACF begins March 10-12, 8 p.m., in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, with St.Clair conducting “The Passion of Philip Glass,” a concert featuring Christópheren Nomura, baritone; Prism Quartet, saxophones; Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano; and Kevin Deas, bass-baritone. The concert begins with an excerpt from “Meetings Along the Edge” from “Passages,” a 1990 collaboration between Glass and Shankar, with each having written arrangements around themes created by the other. The program also includes one of Glass’ most performed concertos, for saxophone quartet and orchestra, composed for the Rascher Saxophone Quartet in 1995. The concert rounds out with Glass’s epic “The Passion of Ramakrishna,” and includes pre- and post-concert talks with Glass and St.Clair.

“This will most certainly be a sonic treat for everyone,” says St.Clair. “In addition to ‘Passion of Ramakrishna,’ Prism is one of the world’s best sax quartets. The works on this year’s festival will demonstrate the immense breadth of Philip’s musical language.”

On Sunday, March 13, at 3 p.m., in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, St.Clair and the orchestra further explore the “The Passion of Ramakrishna,” Glass’s symphonic tribute to the 19^th century Indian spiritual leader, during Classical Connections, an informative and relaxed Sunday afternoon conversation and performance.

“I’ve always had a strong attraction to choral music,” adds Glass. “As a young

man I sang in choruses and got to know the choral literature fairly well. And choruses enjoy singing my music—it’s well written for the voice. This piece is a good example of that. The chorus is central.”

The ancillary event, “Glass Plays Glass,” takes place Monday, March 14, at 8 p.m. in the Samueli Theater, and features an evening of solo piano music composed and performed by Glass. The exact selections are not entirely known at this time, but Glass plans to include several movements of his Études for solo piano.

“When I perform or record my solo piano music, what you hear is what it sounds like when I’m alone and playing for myself,” says Glass.

ACF 2011 continues when the Symphony partners for a second time with Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) to present “Behind the Score: The Illusionist.” Glass provided the soundtrack for the 2006 mystery/thriller, “The Illusionist,” and this event features a screening of the film and panel discussion with the composer. The event takes place on Sunday, March 13, at 7 p.m. at the historic Regency Lido Theater in Newport Beach.

For tickets or more information on the Symphony’s ACF 2011 featuring Glass, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org/ACF; for tickets or more information on LBO’s Glass opera and events: call (562) 432-5934 or visit www.LongBeachOpera.org

The Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra will perform Gershwin’s ‘Porgy and Bess” and other works this Sunday at Segerstrom Concert Hall. Photo courtesy of Pacific Symphony

In addition to the Gershwin folk opera, which the PSYO will perform on its three-concert tour to Bulgaria beginning in June, the orchestra and choir with baritone James Martin Schaefer will perform “Five Mystical Songs” by Vaughn Williams. Also, pianist Ray Cheng, 16-year-old winner of the symphony’s 2010 Concerto Competition, will perform Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Gershwin’s most ambition creation, “Porgy and Bess” (orchestral arrangement by Bennett), is a jazz and blues-infused opera written in 1934-35. With celebrated songs such as “Summertime,” the music challenges PSYO musicians to perform at the highest quality, according to Pacific Symphony Assistant Conductor Maxim Eshkenazy, who leads the PSYO.

Pacific Symphony Assistant Conductor Maxim Eshkenazy, who leads the Youth Orchestra. Photo courtesy of Pacific Symphony“We are performing ‘Porgy and Bess’ because it is an American classic,” says Eshkenazy, “and I wanted the Bulgarian audience to enjoy an American orchestra playing an American classic.”

This coming June 26-July 5, PSYO will travel to Bulgaria, the home country of Eshkenazy, for 10 days to show off the extraordinary work they’ve been doing this season. Along with “Porgy and Bess,” the orchestra will play Bernstein’s “Slava! A Political Overture,” Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” “Thracian Dances” by Bulgarian composer Petkov Staynov, a suite from “Star Wars” by John Williams and Badelt’s “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Practice should pay off as the musicians give three performances in Plovidiv, Varna and Sofia— teaching them how to adapt to the acoustics in different environments.

“When an orchestra goes on tour, it helps them grow and meld together,” says Craig. “It promotes personal growth for the musicians, which in turn enhances their musical expression. It’s great because most of the students wouldn’t otherwise get this experience.”

“It’s huge,” says Eshkenazy. “Performing three concerts in Bulgarian territory is something that makes me very proud for this organization. It is one thing for a professional orchestra to do an international tour, but it is quite another to take a youth orchestra on tour.

“Musically, I would like them to learn from repeating the same repertoire in many different places. Also, presenting them with this challenge will help them to get even better just by trying to achieve the goal. It’s going to be a mind-opening trip going to an ex-Soviet dominated region that’s becoming a European nation. The students will see a lot of things that they don’t see living in Orange County or anywhere in America. It’s going to be great for all of us.”

Together with the Honor Choir, PSYO this weekend also will take on the professional challenge of performing the exuberant orchestral and choral creation “Five Mystical Songs” by Vaughn Williams, which captures the spirit of George Herbert’s four mystical poems from his collection “The Temple: Sacred Poems.” 

“The collaboration between Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra and Pacific Chorale Honor Choir is very unique,” says Director of Youth Ensembles Melissa Craig. “Performing orchestral and choral music is a completely different scene than traditional repertoire, so this partnership is a great opportunity for the youth orchestra musicians to expand their musical repertoire and learn how to be versatile musicians. This is an experience that they are not going to have every day.”

Meanwhile, not only is featured pianist Cheng the PSYO’s 2010 Concerto Competition winner - having competed against 14 other students to perform his chosen piece “Rhapsody in Blue” in this concert - he is also the orchestra’s co-concertmaster on violin.

He has studied the piano for 11 years and the violin for eight, winning numerous awards for both instruments and competing in many prestigious competitions. This season marks Cheng’s fourth year with PSYO, and he also serves as concertmaster of the University High School Symphonic Orchestra where he attends school in Irvine.

“Ray Cheng … I am really, really impressed by that young gentleman,” says Eshkenazy. “He’s playing [“Rhapsody in Blue”] with so much insight and so much detail and such a virtuosic feel - he makes it look easy. But I assure you it is not. The kid is amazing.”

The concert will begin at 4 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Tickets are $18 general admission, $30 box seats. For more information or to purchase tickets call 714-755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.

Clockwise from left, Reneé Brna, Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper, Jamey Hood, Amy Tolsky and Gloria Garayua in South Coast Repertory's Theatre for Young Audiences production of ““Lucky Duck”.” Photo by Ben Horak/SCR.

The duck in question is Serena, who has great pipes but can’t compete in the looks department and so is not qualified to enter the competition for “the best songbird in the land.” To top things off, she learns that she’s a foundling and—upset by the news—flees to the forest. Waiting for her is Wolf, a slick agent (and alleged vegetarian), who convinces her to seek her destiny in New Duck City.

With a book by Bill Russell and Jeffrey Hatcher, music by Henry Krieger, lyrics by Russell and orchestrations by Harold Wheeler, “Lucky Duck” is about making the most of who you are. Art Manke, a five-time Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) Award-winning director, who is also an esteemed choreographer, will wear both hats for this production. He returns to SCR after directing numerous productions, including the LADCC winner “Bach at Leipzig” and, most recently, “Noises Off.”

Jamey Hood (SCR’s “Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business” and “Imagine”) plays Serena; SCR newcomer Brian Ibsen plays the Wolf who goes into agent mode to make Serena a star. Portraying the King and Queen (among other characters) are Tom Shelton (“In the Next Room” and numerous Theatre for Young Audiences productions) and Amy Tolsky (“Sideways Stories from Wayside School”).

SCR’s Theatre for Young Audiences presents three professional productions each season designed especially for children and their families. In addition to the public performances, TYA hosts more than 10,000 students from elementary schools annually in an effort to introduce the next generation to the magic of live theater.

Tickets to “Lucky Duck” can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances begin on Feb. 11 and continue through Feb. 27. Ticket prices range from $18 to $30. 

Exeunt Martin Benson and David Emmes.By Roger Bloom | Editor

David Emmes and Martin Benson, who founded South Coast Repertory out of the trunk of a car in the 1960s and grew it into a regional theater powerhouse, are giving up their leadership roles with the theater.

Enter Marc Masterson.Emmes, currently Producing Artistic Director, and Benson, currently Artistic Director, will become Founding Directors and work part-time on the transition to new leadership.

Wednesday evening, the SCR board voted unanimously to name Mark Masterson of the Actors Theatre of Louisville to become the sole Artistic Director of SCR, beginning part-time on April 1.

Masterson and current Managing Director Paula Tomei will act as co-CEOs of South Coast Repertory after a transition, the theater said. He will become full-time on Sept. 1

Emmes called Masterson "an ideal successor," noting that Actors Theatre, like SCR, has multiple stages, a new-play festival and an emphasis on education and outreach. Masterson has led Actors Theatre for 11 years.

In addition, said Benson, "Marc's passion for new plays matches our own. Half of the 200 plays he's produced in Louisville were world premieres."

"I am honored to be given the opportunity to build the next generation of excellence for South Coast Repertory," Masterson said. "I am interested in bringing new artists into the repertoire, deepening the connections with the community and extending SCR's reach to other parts of the world."

Cameron McIntyre as the young Tommy in the Chance Theater production of “The Who’s Tommy,” playing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts this weekend and next.

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts is taking a Chance this weekend and next, but it’s a sure bet.

The Chance Theater production of “The Who’s Tommy, ” which drew stellar reviews and Ovation Awards nominations for its summer run on that theater’s Anaheim stage, is playing for two extended weekends on the Founder’s Hall stage at The Center.

It is being directed by Oanh Nguyen, who helmed the first go-round at Chance, and features the choreography, lighting and video that wowed everyone in Anaheim, reworked for the larger Founder’s Hall space.

“We had 3,000 lighting an projection cues,” Nguyen said of the summer production. “But we’ve almost doubled that now. … It’s been revamped thoroughly.”

Nguyen is the Chance Theater’s co-founder and artistic director, but is no stranger to the The Center. He has also been tapped by South Coast Repertory to lead a program called the Studio Series, bringing local performing arts companies to SCR’s studio stage.

It wasn’t the SCR connection that got “Tommy” to the Founder’s Hall, however.

“It was Terry Dwyer’s idea,” Nguyen said. “He came to see the show, then brought some others from the Center to see the show.”

Dwyer, now the CEO of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, was in charge of the La Jolla Playhouse when in 1992 it debuted “The Who’s Tommy,” a collaboration between composer Pete Townshend and La Jolla’s artistic director, Des McAnuff. 

“lIt was the first musical I worked on in La Jolla,” Dwyer recalled last week.

“I’ve seen a number of shows at the Chance Theater,” said Dwyer. “It’s a grat theater.  We’ve been looking for partnerships in Orange County, and it seemed like a natural place to start. So we started talking about making ‘Tommy’ the first partnership.”

How does it feel to be involved in “Tommy” again after all these years?

“Oanh is a great talent,” Dwyer said. “It’s quite a different take on the show.  He’s dealing with significantly different physical spaces, and that going to shape the production, but they both have that raw rock n’ roll energy.”

For his part, Nguyen is happy to be in Founder’s Hall, a smaller second stage attached to the original Performing Arts Center building, which has been somewhat replaced by the Samueli Theater in the new Segerstrom Concert Hall structure.

“I think that space has been under-used,” said Nguyen. Pointing out that it’s twice as large as his group’s Anaheim space, he adds. “and  I like its grittiness, it fits our production. The Samueli maybe is too clean for us.”

Shows are Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. through Feb. 20. For Tickets and information, call 714-556-ARTS or visit www.scfta.org.

The season will kick off Sept. 22-24 with a performance of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto  featuring the world-renowned Sarah Chang.

In the course of the season, Music Director Carl St.Clair will inaugurate a three-year opera  and vocal initiative, “Symphonic Voices,” with productions of “La Bohème” and a Family Series presentation of “Hansel and Gretel.”

Season highlights also include “The Three Nines,” exploring the final epic works of three classical icons with performances of Mahler’s Ninth, Schubert’s Ninth and Beethoven’s Ninth.

St.Clair also is orchestrating the return of music from some of today’s greatest living composers: Richard Danielpour, Michael Daugherty, Osvaldo Golijov, James Newton Howard, Narong Prangcharoen and Frank Ticheli.

And the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded “Music Unwound” series will continue with three innovative new programs for in-depth exploration that  includes multimedia and other enhancements.

Pacific Symphony 2011-12 Classical Season Calendar.

Maggie Petersen and Douglas MacIntyre will help the Pacific Symphony bring “Peter and the Wolf” alive for local youngsters on Saturday.

Led by Assistant Conductor Maxim Eshkenazy, principal Symphony musicians also will become the heroes of the story with Mercedes Smith (flute) as the Bird, Jessica Pearlman (oboe) as the Duck and Benjamin Lulich (clarinet) as the Cat.

With performances tomorrow at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, and a musical carnival before and after the show, this 45-minute concert is designed for children of all ages, but especially those 5-11.

Consistently praised for their imaginative and innovative content, Magic Circle Mime Co., the creative partnership of Maggie Petersen and Douglas MacIntyre, performed with the Symphony last season for “Orchestra from Planet X” and three years ago for “The Listener.”

 “The two mimes are such amazing, professional and inspiring artists,” says Maestro Eshkenazy. “They’re really funny, and in a thoughtful way that children and families adore. They perform around the world and have brought their craft to the point that it’s understandable for children and really helps connect people to the music. They’re fantastic.”

Originally written to bring the love of music to children in their first years of school, Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” has since become a timeless classic with countless renditions—from Walt Disney’s animated film (1946), to David Bowie’s narration with the Philadelphia Orchestra, to the Academy Award-winning film by director Suzie Templeton (2006).

When asked why he thinks “Peter and the Wolf” is so popular, Eshkenazy says, “I always answer this question the same way: Why Corvette 1966? Why Beethoven’s Fifth? Why ‘Peter and the Wolf’? Classics are classics and Prokofiev must have done something right. ‘Peter and the Wolf’ was written in a very short period of time - only four days - but it is one of his most famous pieces. It’s incredible, humorous and educational. It has beautifully sophisticated music that makes sense to every age everywhere in the world. Play it on any continent and it makes sense.”

Magic Circle Mime Co. is regarded as one of today’s premier family attractions. Both Petersen and MacIntyre have backgrounds in theatre and instrumental music and have used their training to unite the concert orchestra with visual theatre. They have performed with virtually every major orchestra in North America - and have a growing reputation outside the States, as well, performing as far away as Asia. They made their European debut with the Palau de la Música de Valencia in April 2007.

In addition to the concert, children and their parents are invited to attend the Symphony’s Musical Carnival—beginning at 9 a.m. (for those attending the 10 a.m. concert) and 12:15 p.m. (for those attending the 11:30 a.m. concert)—where kids enjoy hands-on musical experiences. Children can Meet the Musicians, enjoy a fun coloring station, and play instruments from the woodwind family in the Musical Petting Zoo.

“Like so many, I remember the first time I heard ‘Peter and the Wolf,’” says Eshkenazy. “I was taken from my music school, and we walked to the concert. I was only in the fifth grade, and I still remember it vividly. I thought, ‘Oh, no! He’s going to eat the duck!’ So many memorable moments! And like me, children will remember it for years to come.”

Tickets for “Peter and the Wolf” are $24-$41; for more information or to purchase tickets call 714-755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.

Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” at the NTAC left me feeling totally humbled.

Humbled to have been in the presence of such talent; skillfully tackling complex and emotionally challenging roles, telling a heavy and sad story. I was also humbled by the reminder of the generation that lived and fought; loved and lost so much during World War II. 

If “All My Sons” was an onion, the layers would be made up of rich dialogue.  Layers that are slowly peeled back a little bit at a time, exposing pain, sadness and hope. In “All My Sons,”  through the conversations between and among the characters, the audience puts together a picture of a man, a family, a community, and an entire nation who have been changed forever.

The entire play takes place in the backyard of the Keller family home on a Sunday in August 1947.  Three years have passed since Joe Keller and Steve Deever were arrested for shipping faulty plane engine cylinders to the government, causing the deaths of 21 pilots.  

Keller has been exonerated claiming he did not know about the faulty cylinders, but his partner, Deever is still in jail.

The Kellers have two sons, Chris, who is back from the war and Larry who has been missing in action for three years. Kate Keller, Joe’s wife, is the only one holding on to the hope that Larry is still alive. 

Chris has brought Ann Deever home with him and plans to marry her. But Ann was Larry’s girl and to marry her everyone must acknowledge that Larry is dead.

Director David Colley says that “All My Sons” is “a particularly challenging show from an emotional standpoint, for the lead actors especially.”  

Vince Campbell, who plays Joe Keller gives a no-holds-barred, authentic performance.  At times I sympathized with Joe Keller, and other times I hated him. Campbell impeccably vacillated between the outwardly confident and inwardly tortured man. 

Toni Beckman plays the equally challenging role of Kate Keller, who lives every moment in a precarious and delicate place between grief and unwavering hope.  Moments of denial are quickly followed, at times without warning, with moments of anguish or guilt. Beckman has mastered the nuances of these changes and has even captured the few laughs to be had in the play with her precise execution of a few bittersweet lines. Beckman had an impressive hold on my heartstrings throughout the show. 

Chris Keller, played convincingly by Jonathan Deroko, struggles with adjusting to life after war. Chris is the only one in the cast who has been up close and personal with the war and he makes it very real for the audience as he shares his memories of being on the front lines.

Amber Bonasso bravely plays the role of Ann Deever, Chris Keller’s girlfriend, and daughter of the imprisoned Steve Deever.  Her sincere performance allows the audience to feel her torn loyalties along with her.

Bonasso reveals one secret as to why the show is so powerful, so moving.

“Theater is never about one individual,” she said. “There is chemistry and interconnectedness that the cast has worked to build and David has fostered that has served to create magic on stage.”

The meticulous set by designer and scenic artist Andrew Otero further emphasizes the juxtaposition between the comfortable life on the surface and the price tag of guilt that is now attached to it.

From the pink impatiens growing along the porch to the shiny white patio furniture set atop the carefully paced flagstone patio just off the neatly trimmed lawn, everything seems beautiful. The only indication that something is not picture perfect is the apple tree that blew down in a storm the night before - a tree planted in honor of Larry when he went missing.

Lighting designer Mitch Atkins adds to the change in the mood as the play progresses. The opening scene is sunny and bright, with sharp shadows of the tree branches against the yellow paint of the house.  As the day wears on, into the night, the mood darkens and subtle changes to the lighting bring a darkness that begins to settle over the house and yard. 

Bonasso said that performing “All My Sons” is like, “grabbing the hand of history, and it is such a privilege to get to portray it.”

“All My Sons” definitely grabbed me, and the privilege was all mine. 

Arthur Miller’s Tony Award-winning “All My Sons” is playing at the Newport Theatre Arts Center through Feb. 20. Tickets $15. Call 949-632-0288 or visit www.ntaconline.com.

Amber Bonasso (Ann Deever); Jonathan Deroko (Chris Keller); Toni Beckman (Kate Keller) in “All My Sons” at the Newport Theatre Arts Center. Photo by Ron Yee By Jill Fales | NB Indy

David Colley returns to Newport Theater Arts Center to direct Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons,” opening tonight and running through Feb. 20.

Colley says of the show, “It's one that I have wanted to direct for quite some time now - mainly because of how wonderful the writing is. [Miller] creates some fantastic characters and situations and it's a real honor to bring them to life in this production. “ 

“All My Sons” was Miller’s attempt to redeem himself as a playwright after his first play, “The Man Who Had all the Luck,” was a complete flop, running only four shows on Broadway before closing.

“All My Sons” opened on Broadway in 1947 and went on to win a Tony Award for Best Play and a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play in as well as the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award.

When the play opens on the back porch of the Keller family home on a Sunday in 1946, three years have passed since Joe Keller and Steve Deever were arrested. Keller and Deever ran a factory that manufactured airplane parts and knowingly sent faulty cylinders to the government, causing the deaths of 21 pilots when their planes crashed on the same day. Keller has been exonerated claiming he did not know about the faulty cylinders, but his partner, Deever, is still in Jail.

The Kellers have two sons, Chris, who is back from the war, and Larry, who has been missing in action for three years. Kate, Joe Keller’s wife, is the only one holding on to the hope that their son is still alive. It is the main reason that she is opposed when Larry’s fiancée, Ann, and Larry’s brother Chris become romantically involved. To complicate matters, Ann happens to be the daughter of Keller’s convicted partner.

Says Colley: “The writing in the play is so rich, so good, that we spend a lot of time working on understanding all those layers - so that the actors are able to bring a strong, nuanced portrayal to their performances.” 

The 10-member cast comes from all over Orange County and as far away as Sherman Oaks. 

“I think that's a real tribute to the theater and the consistent quality of the productions there  that actors would be willing and interested in making that type of time and financial commitment to be a part of the show,” said Colley.

Colley is very proud of not only cast, but also the designers and crew.

“They have put in a lot of time and effort getting everything just right. We very much want to create an accurate reflection of the period of 1947 - so there's a lot of research involved in making sure that the set and costumes reflect the era.”

“I'm excited to let our audiences see it all come together in the coming weeks.”

“All My Sons” runs through Feb. 20. Showtimes are Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 29, and all Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets: $15. For tickets and information, call 949-631-0228 or visit www.ntaconline.com.