South Coast Repertory’s Theatre for Young Audiences Opens The Borrowers, 2/10

Some very little people go on a very big adventure in the next installment of South Coast Repertory's Theatre for Young Audiences series: an adaptation of Mary Norton's The Borrowers, running Feb. 10-26.

At the center of this classic children's tale is four-inch-tall Arrietty Clock, a brave 13-year-old who lives with her parents beneath the floorboards of an old house inhabited by "human beans." On a trip above the boards, she befriends one of them, a young boy. When he accidentally gives away their hiding place, the Clock family flees to the great outdoors, where Arrietty sees her first sunrise, spends the night in a shoe and encounters all manner of new friends and foes.

This enchanting production utilizes a mix of puppets and live actors. Kalie Quiñones, a graduate of SCR's Professional Actor Training program, will make her professional debut in a leading role as Arrietty. Cornerstone Theatre's Peter Howard will play her father, Pod; and Amelia White (Silent Sky) will play her mother, Homily. Rounding out the cast are Wyatt Fenner (Misalliance) as The Boy, Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper (Lucky Duck) as Crampfurl, and Jennifer Parsons (A Christmas Carol) as Mrs. Driver. Fenner, Mongiardo-Cooper and Parsons will play various smaller roles as well.

British playwright Charles Way based this adaptation on the first two books in Mary Norton's five-book series: The Borrowers and The Borrowers Afield. Way is a classically trained actor who has authored more than 50 musicals and plays, the majority of them for children. In addition to The Borrowers series, Norton wrote a pair of books that served as the basis for the Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks. She won the Carnegie Medal for The Borrowers, first published in 1952.

SCR's version of The Borrowers will be directed by Shelley Butler, who helmed the TYA productions of A Wrinkle in Time, The Brand New Kid and James and the Giant Peach. She is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The production's creative ensemble consists of Sibyl Wickersheimer (Set Design), Leah Piehl (Costume Design), Tom Ruzika (Lighting Design), John Ballinger (Sound Design), Lynn Jeffries (Puppet Designer) and Jennifer Ellen Butler (Stage Manager).

Emulex and Nordstrom are the Corporate Honorary Producers. Coast Kids is the Media Partner.

About TYA: SCR's Theatre for Young Audiences presents three professional productions each season designed especially for children and their families. In addition to the public performances, TYA hosts more than 10,000 students from elementary schools annually in an effort to introduce the next generation to the magic of live theater.

TICKETS to The Borrowers can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances begin on Feb. 10 and continue through Feb. 26. Ticket prices range from $20 to $32. Low-priced previews run Feb. 10-17.

LOCATION: South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Folino Theatre Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available off Anton Blvd. on Park Center Drive.

COMING UP: Sight Unseen (March 11 – April 1), The Prince of Atlantis (March 30 – April 29).