Premiere season

There are brand-new plays and there are plays that might as well be brand-new, since they’ll be new to theatergoers in attendance. The Laguna Playhouse will offer several examples in both categories next season.

For its 86th year of continuous operation, the playhouse will thrust its spotlight on two world premieres it commissioned, two West Coast premieres, one Southern California premiere, an Orange County premiere and the American premiere of a play judged Israel’s best of 2003.

The Orange County debut will be up first -- it’s “Shear Madness,” an interactive whodunit created by German writer and psychologist Paul Portner and adapted by Bruce Jordan and Marilyn Abrams. It’s been seen by over six million people and holds the distinction as the longest-running nonmusical play in American theater history, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

“Shear Madness” is set in a hair-styling salon where a murder is committed -- and the audience gets to solve the crime. The show runs from July 15 through Sept. 3 -- coincidentally during the “sheer madness” residents will encounter while driving through Laguna in search of a parking place in the midst of the Festival of Arts season.

The West Coast premiere of Melinda Lopez’s “Sonia Flew” arrives Sept. 16 and will run through Oct. 15. This story centers on a Cuban emigre who’s carved out a successful life in the United States but is forced to come to terms with her past.

Noel Coward may have left this dimension (in 1973), but his songs, dances and plays (such as “Blithe Spirit” and “Hay Fever”) remain. In the playhouse’s third offering, “A Marvelous Party -- the Noel Coward Celebration,” the master of wit and elegance will be celebrated anew.

Director David Ira Goldstein will stage this tribute to the English dramatist, actor, writer, composer, lyricist painter and wit in its West Coast premiere. Performances will be offered from Nov. 18 through Dec. 17.

Bernard Farrell is an old friend at the playhouse -- five of his plays have been given their American premieres in Laguna, including last season’s “Many Happy Returns.” Next season will see a world premiere from the Irish playwright. It’s titled “The Verdi Girls.”

Set in Milan and highlighted by a command performance at the La Scala Opera House, Farrell’s “Verdi Girls” turn the event into an opera rivaling those by their idol. Playhouse artistic director Andrew Barnicle will stage the comedy, which will run from Jan. 6 through Feb. 4.

David Rambo’s “The Ice-Breaker,” slated for its Southern California premiere Feb. 17 to March 18, focuses on a young doctoral student on the verge of an important discovery who aligns with a disgraced genius. Cold science gives way to warm emotion in this unique offering.

The play voted Israel’s best of 2003 was “The Master of the House” by Shmuel Hasfari, which will receive its American premiere in Laguna from March 31 through April 29. Home remodeling provides the conflict and comedy for this exploration of life’s complexities in contemporary Israel. Playhouse executive director Richard Stein will direct.

Another world premiere, also commissioned by the playhouse, is “The Pursuit of Happiness” by Richard Dresser, whose “Rounding Third” was presented in Laguna a few seasons ago. This comedy centers on a young woman’s choice of college -- and her parents’ obsession with it.

Barnicle again will be in the director’s chair for this one, which is scheduled to run from June 2 through July 1.

And yes, the nuns will be back next season. “Late Nite Catechism 2” will be presented most Sunday and Monday evenings throughout the season, while the holiday special “Sister’s Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold” will be on view from Nov. 19 through Dec. 23.20060217h3hei2kf(LA)