Playhouse Presents World Premiere of “Restoration”

La Jolla Playhouse presents the world premiere of Restoration, written by and starring award-winning playwright/actress Claudia Shear (Dirty Blonde, Blown Sideways Through Life) and directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. Commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse, Restoration runs in the Mandell Weiss Forum June 23 through July 19.

Inspired by the actual restoration of Michelangelo’s David in 2004, acclaimed playwright/actress Claudia Shear delivers a passionate, funny and moving portrait of a woman who spends a year in the shadow of a masterpiece – and uncovers herself in the process. Giulia Alfani, a once-rising star in the world of art restoration, is now working out of her late mother’s garage in Brooklyn. Her mentor, Professor Williams, arrives with the opportunity of a lifetime: he has secured Giulia an interview with L’Accademia in Florence for the job of “refreshing” the David in preparation for its 500th birthday. The play follows Giulia as she restores the iconic statue and develops relationships with a strikingly beautiful museum administrator and an omnipresent head of security. These encounters spark a life change in Giulia, allowing her to discover the statue’s imperfections, as well as her own.

In her research for this fictionalized work, Shear traveled to Florence several times, meeting with experts at the Galleria dell’Accademia and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure – the most respected restoration center in Italy – as well as interviewing the woman who performed the statue’s 2004 restoration. She was also given exclusive access to the David in order to become immersed in the world of the play.

“As an artist, Claudia is obsessive in the best possible way: when she falls in love with a topic or a character, she relentlessly plumbs their deepest depths,” said La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. “In this new play, she has created a delightfully fanatical woman who becomes personally restored by the very act of restoring Michelangelo’s David.”

Restoration
Presented by the La Jolla Playhouse
June 23-July 19
Tickets: $30-$65

Mandell Weiss Forum , 2910 La Jolla Village Drive
(Located on the UCSD Campus via the Revelle Entrance)
Box Office: (858) 550-1010
Online: lajollaplayhouse.com