Here's an official article from the playhouse:
LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE'S YOUNG PROFESSIONALS GROUP
Performance & Cocktails
PRESENTS THE WIZ
Saturday, September 30, 2006
LA JOLLA, CA (August 23, 2006) - Fall is approaching, and the lazy days of summer are ending. Time to pack up your beach chairs, break out the self-tanner and resign yourself to nights in, right? Wrong. Refill your social calendar at La Jolla Playhouse! Get out on the town with Performance & Cocktails, a young professionals group designed for those seeking a retreat from the usual night out.
For $34 - half off a regularly priced theatre ticket! - young patrons (21 and up) can enjoy an all-inclusive night of drinks, gourmet eats and admission to a world-class musical. The group will begin the night at luxurious hotspot Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa for drinks and hors d'oeuvres. They'll mingle, network and relax, then see the highly-anticipated musical spectacular The Wiz at the Tony Award®-winning La Jolla Playhouse. Post-show, beer will be provided by Karl Strauss. This event has a value of over $100!
Based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, with a book by William F. Brown, and music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls, director Des McAnuff's Wiz is a major re-envisioning for the 21st century. When The Wizard of Oz met the urban beat of the 1970s, history was made to the tune of seven Tony Awards®. Now the young Dorothy travels to the strange and spectacular Land of Oz once again as McAnuff teams up with original Wiz orchestrator Harold Wheeler to create a re-imagined, multi-cultural musical phenomenon for a new century.
McAnuff, fresh off a Best Musical Tony® win for the Four Seasons musical Jersey Boys, will, along with set designer Robert Brill, employ theories of "environmental design." The audience will enter into a place that is part theatre, part musical and even part rock concert, becoming a part of a dynamic setting that puts the performers and the music at the forefront of this heightened theatrical experience. The show stars In Living Color vet David Alan Grier as The Wiz and Broadway regulars Nikki M. James (All Shook Up) as Dorothy, Tituss Burgess (Jersey Boys) as Lion, Michael Benjamin Washington (Mamma Mia!) as Tin Man and Rashad Naylor (Hairspray) as Scarecrow.
Named one of the "World's Hottest New Hotels for 2005/06" by Condé Nast Traveler, Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa is a different kind of hotel experience: it's an inspired La Jolla destination comprised of a luxury hotel, a world-class spa and an unparalleled restaurant experience. A California-rancho style setting in an idyllic coastal town, Estancia La Jolla exists in harmony with nature, inviting guests to experience a heightened sense of well-being amidst an eclectic blend of tradition, contemporary comforts and modern-day sophistication.
The event, taking place on Saturday, September 30, begins at 5:30pm with a pre-party at Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa, including hors d'oeuvres and drinks; at 8pm is a performance of The Wiz at La Jolla Playhouse; post-show drinks and mingling will take place on the VIP deck of the Mandell Weiss Theatre.
Tickets are available online at
http://www.lajollaplayhouse.com/pandc or by contacting Jill McIntyre at 858.228.3092 or jmcintyre@ljp.org. Photographers/social columnists welcome. (Pre-productions photos for The Wiz will be available next week.)
FACT SHEET
WHAT: La Jolla Playhouse presents Performance & Cocktails
WHERE: Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa, 9700 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037
WHO: San Diego's young professionals
SCHEDULE: Saturday, September 30, 2006
5:30 pm Cocktails and Cusine @ Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa
8:00 pm The Wiz @ La Jolla Playhouse
Post-show: Mingling on the VIP desk of the Mandell Weiss Theatre
PRICES: $34 all-inclusive of food, drinks & performance
HOW: Online at
http://www.lajollaplayhouse.com/pandc/
By phone at 858.228.3092
"I love acting. It is so much more real than life." Oscar Wilde
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." Aldous Huxley