Laguna Playhouse to Open Season With State Premiere of ‘Violet’

Laguna Playhouse will open its 1999-2000 season with the California premiere of the award-winning musical “Violet,” launching a slate that also includes the U.S. premiere of a play from Dublin’s Abbey Theatre, two Southern California premieres, the Orange County premiere of Steve Martin’s “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” and a revival of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie.”

The season:

* “Violet” (Sept. 16-Oct. 10). With music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by Brian Crawley, “Violet” is based on a story by Doris Betts about a woman crossing America in search of an evangelist who can heal her. The off-Broadway production won the 1997 best musical award from the New York Drama Critics Circle. Tesori also wrote the score for “The First Picture Show,” scheduled for L.A.’s Mark Taper Forum in August.

* “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” (Nov. 4-28). Martin’s comic fantasy about a meeting between the great artist and Einstein in 1904.

* “The Glass Menagerie” (Jan. 6-30): Williams’ classic.

* “Communicating Doors” (Feb. 24-March 19). The Southern California premiere of Alan Ayckbourn’s bedroom farce/mystery thriller, set mainly in 2014.

* “Kevin’s Bed” (April 20-May 14, 2000). The U.S. premiere of Bernard Farrell’s examination of a couple’s ruinous 25th anniversary, seen from the perspective of their 50th. This and 10 other Farrell plays have been produced by Ireland’s famed Abbey Theatre.

* “Gun-Shy” (May 25-June 18, 2000). A modern marital comedy by Richard Dresser that attracted attention at the 1997 Humana Festival of New Plays in Louisville.

Season subscriptions, which go on sale June 1, will run from $126 to $228. Information: (949) 497-2787.