HARBOR by Chad Beguelin to Make West Coast Premiere at NCTC, 1/23-3/1

In January, New Conservatory Theatre Center presents the West Coast Premiere of the sharp and timely new comedy, Harbor by Chad Beguelin, directed by NCTC Founder & Artistic Director Ed Decker. Kevin's seemingly perfect world hits troubled waters in this "wickedly funny" play (Variety) when his ne'er-do-well sister, Donna and her teenage daughter show up unexpectedly at the Sag Harbor home he shares with his husband, Ted. This sharp and timely comedy sails through the riptides of family and the unpredictability of the lives we lead.

Starring at Ted is former NCTC Conservatory Director, Andrew Nance, last seen at NCTC in an acclaimed performance in Del Shores' Yellow, last season.

Harbor runs January 23 - March 1, 2015 in NCTC's intimate Walker Theater. Opening Night is Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 8pm. Tickets are $25 - $45 and available at nctcsf.org or by calling (415) 861-8972.

Harbor premiered at Westport Playhouse, followed by a New York production at Primary Stages.

Playwright Chad Beguelin is a four-time Tony nominee. His works include Disney's Aladdin, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Book and Best Original Score, and The Wedding Singer, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Book and Best Original Score. He also wrote the lyrics for the Broadway musical Elf, which broke several box office records at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Beguelin also wrote the book and lyrics for Judas & Me (NYMF Award for Excellence in Lyric Writing), The Rhythm Club (Signature Theater) and Wicked City (American Stage Company). He is the recipient of the Edward Kleban Award for Outstanding Lyric Writing, the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Awards, the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Award and the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award.

Director Ed Decker is the Founder & Artistic Director of New Conservatory Theatre Center, where he oversees NCTC's mainstage season, Emerging Artist Program artist residencies, New Play Lab commissions, Conservatory and YouthAware touring theatre-in-education program. Decker is a graduate of San Francisco State University and a former Director of the American Conservatory Theatre Young Conservatory. Since 1981, Decker has produced and/or directed several hundred plays, musicals and special events for NCTC. He and his husband Robert Leone also co-wrote their first play Rights of Passage, which had its world premiere at NCTC in August 2012.

Andrew Nance (Ted Adams-Weller) returns to NCTC, having serving for 18 years as NCTC's Conservatory Director, wherein he led all educational school programs/workshops for youth and adults. Last season, he received raves reviews for his performance in Del Shores' Yellow, also directed by Decker. Previously, he has appeared at NCTC in Doubt (Bay Area Critics Circle Nomination, Best Actor), I Am My Own Wife (BATCC Award, Best Solo Performance), Beautiful Thing and Virgins and Other Myths. He received a BA in Theatre from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, as well as training at LaMama etc. and A.C.T.

In addition, Harbor cast features Scott Cox, Terri Whipple, and introducing Jenna Herz.

The full creative team of Harbor includes scenic design by Devin Kasper, lighting design by Christian Mejia, costume design by Michelle Mulholland, sound design by Liz Rider, prop design by Jamie Abts, stage management by Stephanie Desnoyers.

Special Engagements:

During the run of the show, theatre lovers can enjoy many special events:

• Onstage Insight, Post-Show Discussion after the following performance:
  • Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 2pm- Panel discussion featuring the cast.

• Low-cost Previews take place Friday, January 23 - Friday, January 30, 2015.
• Community Pay What You Wish Tickets: A limited number of tickets are held for each preview performance for our Pay-What-You-Wish program. These tickets cannot be reserved or purchased in advance and are only available for walkup sales beginning 1 hour before the performance. These tickets must be purchased in person.

• Opening Night will take place on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 8pm. The performance will be followed by a reception with the cast, designers and director.

New Conservatory Theatre Center is San Francisco's premier LGBTQIA and allied performing arts institution and progressive arts education conservatory since 1981. NCTC is renowned for its diverse range of innovative, high quality productions, touring productions and shows for young audiences; its foundational anti-bullying work with youth and educators through YouthAware; and its commitment to nurturing emerging artists and playwrights to expand the canon of queer and allied dramatic work.

Pictured: Terri Whipple, Jenna Herz, Scott Cox, Andrew Nance. Photo by Lois Tema.