Second Page to Stage of the 2008/2009 Season



    February 13 - March 8, 2009



    LA JOLLA, Calif., July 28 /EMWNews/ -- La Jolla Playhouse

will present Peter and the Starcatchers, a new play, as part of its Page to

Stage program in the Winter of 2009, by special arrangement with Disney

Theatrical Productions. Based on the popular novel by Dave Barry and Ridley

Pearson, Peter and the Starcatchers - a prequel to Peter Pan - will play in

La Jolla Playhouse's Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre from February 13

through March 8, 2009.



    Written by Rick Elice, directed by Roger Rees and co-directed by Alex

Timbers, Peter and the Starcatchers reveals the wonderful story that

precedes J. M. Barrie's beloved Peter Pan. Young orphan Peter and his mates

sail aboard the Never Land in a high seas adventure, battling pirates to

keep secret a mysterious and dangerous cargo.



    "I'm really thrilled to have Roger Rees and Alex Timbers working on

this project and at La Jolla Playhouse for the first time," says Artistic

Director Christopher Ashley, "And of course we're delighted to have Rick

Elice back. Page to Stage will provide Peter and the Starcatchers' artistic

team with nightly feedback from the audience as they rehearse and refine

the production throughout the run."



    "La Jolla really knows how to encourage everyone who works in the

theater - from the directors to the writers to the actors and the entire

creative team, to the producers, to the interns," says writer, Rick Elice.

"I've been the beneficiary of that support on Jersey Boys, and I can't wait

to come back to the Playhouse for Peter. It feels just like coming home."



    "Ever since I first read the unpublished galley back in 2004, I have

hoped to bring this beautiful story to life," says Thomas Schumacher,

Producer and President of Disney Theatrical Productions. "I have always

admired the wonderful work that has emanated from La Jolla Playhouse,

particularly their prestigious Page to Stage program. I am supremely

honored to have Peter take his next steps on their stage."



    Now in its seventh year, Page to Stage is La Jolla Playhouse's

signature new development program in which audiences experience the "birth"

of a play. Throughout the rehearsals and run of the show, the playwright

and director make constant changes in response to audience reactions and

direct feedback. Previous Page To Stage productions include The Farnsworth

Invention, Zhivago, the Tony Award-winning 700 Sundays and I Am My Own

Wife, which went on to receive a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.



    Tickets for Peter and the Starcatchers will go on sale in September.

Performance times will be Wednesday and Thursday 7:30pm; Friday and

Saturday, 8:00pm; and Sundays 7:30pm. Matinees will be on Saturdays and

Sundays at 2:00pm. For information: call (858) 550-1010 or go online to

http://www.lajollaplayhouse.org.