The signature touch of departing executive producer Lou Spisto will be on stage with the Old Globe’s standout summer productions. The three theaters will feature shows like “Divine Rivalry,” “Inherit The Wind” and “God Carnage,” plus two Shakespearean standards. Spisto, who has been with the Globe for nine seasons, stepped down in December to become an independent stage producer. “I am delighted that the final summer season I have put together for The Old Globe brings back three of my favorite directors — Adrian Noble, Michael Wilson and our very own Richard Seer — and introduces San Diego audiences to the incredible talent of Lindsay Posner,” said Spisto. “Adrian’s leadership of the Shakespeare Festival has been stellar, and next year will no doubt build upon the phenomenal success of the festival, one of the nation’s premier theatrical events. “I am also particularly excited for our audiences to see “Divine Rivalry.” I was attracted to this work in part because The Old Globe is a theater set among great museums, and a play about the rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci is especially appropriate for us. I’m delighted to launch its future life by presenting the West Coast premiere by special arrangement with The Shubert Organization.” The West Coast premiere of “Divine Rivalry” (running July 7 through Aug. 1 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage) is by Michael Kramer with D. S. Moynihan and directed by Wilson. The San Diego premiere of Yasmina Reza’s Tony Award-winning play “God of Carnage” (July 27 through Sept. 2 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre) will be directed by Seer. Noble will return for his third season as the artistic director of the Globe’s Summer Shakespeare Festival and will direct Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” and the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee classic, “Inherit the Wind.” Presented in repertory in the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, the festival will also include “Richard III” directed by Lindsay Posner, former associate director at London’s Royal Court Theatre. All three shows will run June 17 through Sept. 25. Completing the winter schedule will be “Dividing the Estate,” Jan. 14 through Feb. 12, “The Recommendation,” Jan.21 through Feb. 26, “A Room with a View,” March 2 through April 8 and “Anna Christie,” March 10 through April 15. The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, which are both part of The Old Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theater’s education and community programs. Tickets to the Globe’s 2012 summer season are currently available by subscription only, and prices range from $66 to $387. Subscription packages may be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the box office.
