Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) will present the heartwarming play Dancing Lessons as the fifth and final show of its 40th Anniversary Season. Dancing Lessons is written by Mark St. Germain and directed by Saundra McClain with choreography by Jean Michelle Sayeg.
Previews begin Thursday, June 13, with opening night at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 15, at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. Dancing Lessons runs through Sunday, June 30,
The play tells the story of a socially awkward young man who asks his neighbor, a Broadway dancer, whose career has been sidelined by an injury, to teach him enough dance moves so he can survive an appearance at an awards dinner.
What follows is a bumpy road of self-discovery in this touching romantic comedy.
“We close our historic 40th anniversary season with a wonderfully charming play about two isolated souls who find a connection through dance,” said Jonathan Fox, ETC’s artistic director.
“We are delighted to have Saundra McClain back to ETC to direct the show,” he said. “We’re also pleased that two extraordinary talents, Trevor Peterson and Leilani Smith, will return to our stage.
“Our audiences will fall in love with this moving, tender and lovely play.”
St. Germain’s play Freud’s Last Session ran for two years Off-Broadway, closing July 24, 2012. His play Becoming Dr. Ruth premiered in July 2012 at the Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires, played at Hartford TheaterWorks, and was brought to NYC to the Westside Theatre.
Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah co-premiered in the summer of 2013 at the Contemporary American Theater Festival and Barrington Stage Company. His play The Best of Enemies, has been produced throughout the country.
McClain has 40 years of experience in all aspects of the theater disciplines. She directed ETC’s 2015 production of Intimate Apparel, as well as ETC productions of In The Continuum, The Fantasticks, and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.
The cast of Dancing Lessons features Trevor Peterson as Ever Montgomery, who returns to ETC after playing Biff in Death of a Salesman earlier this year.
His Los Angeles theater credits include Dead End (Ahmanson Theater), Pocatello and A Bright New Boise (Rogue Machine Theater), and The Interlopers and Wildboy ’74 (Bootleg Theater).
Peterson is joined by Smith as Senga Quinn. Smith won the 2016 NAACP Theatre Award for Best Ensemble in Flyin’ West (also directed by McClain) and was nominated again this year for Home.
Scenic design for Dancing Lessons is by François-Pierre Couture, lighting design by Jared A. Sayeg, sound design by Dave Mickey, costume design by Dianne K. Graebner, properties design by Ilana Molina, and casting by Amy Lieberman.
Production stage manager is Emily Lehrer.
Performances are 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. abd 7 p.m. Sundays with an added 7 p.m. show on Tuesday June 18 and a 4 p.m. Saturday matinee June 22.
All preview tickets are $40. Regular adult ticket prices range from $60-$75 with discounts available for seniors. Student tickets are available for $25, and tickets for patrons age 29-and-under are $40.
Single tickets available through the ETC box office, 805-965-5400, or online at etcsb.org. For group sales information, call 805-965-5400. Prices subject to change.
Dancing Lessons is made possible through the generosity of 2018-19 Season Sponsor Leatrice Luria. The production is sponsored by John C. Mithun and Mercedes Millington. Additional sponsorship by Montecito Bank & Trust and Ruth and Alan Heeger.
Subscriptions are now on sale for ETC’s 2019-20 season, which includes Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure; a radio play version of the holiday story It’s a Wonderful Life; a musical adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma; the West Coast premiere of the Broadway play American Son by Christopher Demos-Brown; and a pop and jazz musical, Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical.
— David Elzer for Ensemble Theatre Company.