New Douglas Play Has Original Cast

The world premiere production of Rebecca Gilman’s powerful and arresting “Luna Gale” begins previews November 23, opens December 2 and continues through December 21 at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.

Directed by Robert Falls, the complete original cast continues with the production, including Jordan Baker, Reyna de Courcy, Melissa Duprey, Mary Beth Fisher, Erik Hellman, Colin Sphar and Richard Thieriot.

Set design for “Luna Gale” is by Todd Rosenthal, costumes by Kaye Voce, lighting by Robert Wierzel and original music and sound design by Richard Woodbury. The production stage manager is Kirsten Parker.

Gilman, whose “work reaches the heart and head with equal force,” according to Time magazine, explores with profound humanity the issues of faith, family and one child’s uncertain future.

A veteran social worker, Caroline, thinks she has a typical case on her hands when she meets Peter and Karlie, two teenage drug addicts accused of neglecting their baby, Luna Gale. But when Caroline places their daughter in the care of Karlie’s very religious mother, she sparks a family conflict that exposes a shadowy past and forces her to make a risky decision with potentially life-altering consequences.

When “Luna Gale” opened at the Goodman Theatre in January of this year Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune said the play was “… excellent and intensely involving new drama … ‘Luna Gale’ packs quite a punch.”

Rebecca Gilman’s plays include “A True History of the Johnston Flood,” “Boy Gets Girl,” “Spinning Into Butter,” “Blue Surge” (all of which were commissioned and originally produced by the Goodman Theatre, where she is an artistic associate), “The Story of Living,” “The Sweetest Thing in Baseball,” “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter,” “Dollhouse,” “The Crowd You’re in With,” and most recently, “Soups, Stews and Casseroles: 1976.” She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Harper Lee Award, the Scott McPherson Award, the Theater Masters Visionary Award and an Illinois Arts Council playwriting fellowship, among others.

The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located at 9820 Washington Blvd. Tickets are available at http://www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, by calling 213-628-2772, in person at the Center Theatre Group box office or at the Kirk Douglas Theatre box office two hours prior to curtain.