La Jolla Playhouse production history

La Jolla Playhouse is an American not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. It was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer.

The following is a chronological list of the productions that have been staged since its inception.

1947

 * Angel Street by Patrick Hamilton
 * The Shining Hour by Keith Winter
 * Tonight at 8.30 ... The Astonished Heart, Fumed Oak, Still Life by Noël Coward
 * Biography by S. N. Behrman
 * The Guardsman by Ferenc Molnár
 * The Hasty Heart by John Patrick
 * Dear Ruth by Norman Krasna
 * Night Must Fall by Emlyn Williams

1948

 * The Male Animal by James Thurber and Elliott Nugent
 * Rope by Patrick Hamilton
 * Serena Blandish (The Difficulty of Getting Married) by S. N. Behrman
 * Ultra-Marine by Peter Blackmore
 * The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
 * For Love or Money by F. Hugh Herbert
 * The First Mrs. Fraser by St. John Ervine
 * The Road to Rome by Robert E. Sherwood
 * Kind Lady by Edward Chodorov

1949

 * Petticoat Fever by Mark Reed
 * Command Decision by William Wister Haines
 * Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
 * Art and Mrs. Bottle by Benn Levy
 * The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
 * Light Up the Sky by Moss Hart
 * Arrangement for Strings by Michael Clayton Hutton and Samuel Rosen
 * Here Today by George Oppenheimer
 * Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward

1950

 * Goodbye Again by Allan Scott and George Haight
 * Clutterbuck by Benn Levy
 * The Silver Whistle by Robert E. McEnroe
 * Our Town by Thornton Wilder
 * The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
 * Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring
 * Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams
 * Claudia by Rose Franken
 * Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin

1951

 * On Borrowed Time by Paul Osborn
 * The Petrified Forest by Robert E. Sherwood
 * Room Service by John Murray and Allen Boretz
 * Come Back, Little Sheba by William Inge
 * The Voice of the Turtle by John Van Druten
 * Susan and God by Rachel Crothers
 * Second Threshold by Philip Barry
 * Ring Round the Moon by Jean Anouilh, translation by Christopher Fry

1952

 * The Lady's Not for Burning by Christopher Fry
 * Strike a Match by Robert Smith
 * The Corn Is Green by Emlyn Williams
 * The Happy Time by Samuel A. Taylor
 * Affairs of State by Louis Verneuil
 * Season in the Sun by Wolcott Gibbs
 * Time for Elizabeth by Groucho Marx and Norman Krasna
 * Remains to be Seen by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
 * The Moon Is Blue by F. Hugh Herbert

1953

 * Don Juan In Hell by George Bernard Shaw
 * Dial M for Murder by Frederick Knott
 * You Never Can Tell by George Bernard Shaw
 * Stalag 17 by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski
 * The Dazzling Hour by Anna Bonacci
 * My Three Angels by Sam and Bella Spewack
 * Jane by S. N. Behrman, based on an original story by W. Somerset Maugham
 * I Am a Camera by John Van Druten

1954

 * The Vacant Lot by Paul Streger and Berrilla Kerr
 * The Seven Year Itch by George Axelrod
 * Sabrina Fair by Samuel A. Taylor
 * Anniversary Waltz by Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields
 * The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan

1955

 * Oh, Men! Oh, Women! by Edward Chodorov
 * The Time of the Cuckoo by Arthur Laurents
 * Native Uprising by D. N. Roman
 * The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash

1956

 * The Little Hut by André Roussin
 * Pal Joey by John O'Hara, music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart
 * Miss Julie & The Stronger by August Strindberg
 * King of Hearts by Jean Kerr and Eleanor Brooke
 * Bus Stop by William Inge

1957

 * Androcles and the Lion / The Proposal by George Bernard Shaw / Anton Chekhov
 * Career by James Lee
 * The Potting Shed by Graham Greene
 * Paul and Constantine by Dario Bellini
 * The Reluctant Debutante by William Douglas-Home

1958

 * Visit to a Small Planet by Gore Vidal
 * A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
 * Bell, Book and Candle by John Van Druten

1959

 * Too Many Husbands by W. Somerset Maugham
 * Once More, with Feeling! by Harry Kurnitz
 * Two for the Seesaw by William Gibson
 * Who Was That Lady I Saw You With? by Norman Krasna
 * Look Homeward, Angel by Ketti Frings, based on the novel by Thomas Wolfe

1983

 * Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
 * A Mad World, My Masters by Barrie Keeffe
 * The Visions of Simone Machard by Bertolt Brecht

1984

 * As You Like It by William Shakespeare
 * War Babies by Robert C. Coe
 * Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong by Randy Newman
 * Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by William Hauptman, music and lyrics by Roger Miller

1985

 * The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
 * Ghost on Fire by Michael Weller
 * A Man's a Man by Bertolt Brecht
 * Merrily We Roll Along by George Furth, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

1986

 * Ajax by Sophocles, adapted by Robert Auletta
 * Gillette by William Hauptman
 * Figaro Gets a Divorce  by Ödön von Horváth
 * The Three Cuckolds by Leon Katz
 * Shout Up a Morning by Paul Avila Mayer and George W. George, music by Julian Adderley and Nathaniel Adderley, lyrics by Diane Charlotte Lampert

1987

 * Silent Edward by Des McAnuff
 * The Tempest by William Shakespeare
 * The School for Wives by Molière, translation by Richard Wilbur
 * A Walk in the Woods by Lee Blessing
 * Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen
 * The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder

1988

 * 80 Days by Snoo Wilson, music and lyrics by Ray Davies
 * The Fool Show by Geoff Hoyle
 * Lulu by Frank Wedekind
 * Two Rooms by Lee Blessing
 * Once in a Lifetime by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman

1989

 * The Man Who Had No Story by Oana-Marie Hock
 * Macbeth by William Shakespeare
 * The Misanthrope by Molière
 * Down the Road by Lee Blessing
 * Dangerous Games - Two Tango Pieces by Jim Lewis and Graciela Daniele, lyrics by William Finn, music by Astor Piazzolla
 * Nebraska by Keith Reddin
 * The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

1990

 * Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
 * My Children! My Africa! by Athol Fugard
 * Don Quixote De La Jolla by Eric Overmyer
 * A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
 * Life During Wartime by Keith Reddin
 * The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov

1991

 * Elmer Gantry by John Bishop, music by Mel Marvin, lyrics by Bob Satuloff
 * A Lesson from Aloes by Athol Fugard
 * The Heliotrope Bouquet by Eric Overmyer
 * The Regard of Flight and The Clown Bagatelles by Bill Irwin
 * Fortinbras by Lee Blessing
 * Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov

1992

 * Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
 * The Swan by Elizabeth Egloff
 * Marisol by José Rivera
 * Playland by Athol Fugard
 * What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton
 * The Who's Tommy by Pete Townshend
 * Le Petomane - A Comedy of Airs by Paul Magid
 * The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

1993

 * Sweet & Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen, music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Harold Arlen, Truman Capote, Ira Gershwin, Yip Harburg, Ted Koehler, Johnny Mercer, Leo Robin, Billy Rose and Jack Yellen
 * The Mission by Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Siguenza
 * Luck, Pluck & Virtue by James Lapine
 * The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill
 * Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
 * Children of Paradise: Shooting a Dream by Steven Epp, Felicity Jones, Dominique Serrand and Paul Walsh

1994

 * How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, music and lyrics by Frank Loesser
 * Mump and Smoot in Ferno by Michael Kennard and John Turner
 * The Good Person of Setzuan by Bertolt Brecht
 * Thérèse Raquin by Neal Bell
 * The Triumph of Love by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux
 * Harvey by Mary Chase

1995

 * Randy Newman's Faust, book, music, lyrics by Randy Newman
 * An Almost Holy Picture by Heather McDonald
 * Slavs! Thinking about the Longstanding Problems of Virtue and Happiness by Tony Kushner
 * A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
 * Cloud Tectonics by José Rivera
 * The Invisible Circus/Le Cirque Invisible by Victoria Chaplin

1996

 * Valley Song by Athol Fugard
 * Boy by Diana Son
 * The Green Bird by Carlo Gozzi
 * Happy Days by Samuel Beckett
 * Yanks & Frogs by Theatre de la Jeune Lune
 * 2.5 Minute Ride by Lisa Krion

1997

 * Harmony: A New Musical by Bruce Sussman, music by Barry Manilow
 * Having Our Say by Emily Mann
 * The Model Apartment by Donald Margulies
 * Rent by Jonathan Larson
 * The School for Wives by Molière
 * The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

1998

 * Maricela De La Luz Lights the World by José Rivera
 * Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn
 * Light Up the Sky by Moss Hart
 * Improbable Theatre's 70 Hill Lane by Phelim McDermott
 * The Captain's Tiger: A Memoir for the Stage by Athol Fugard
 * Guitar Lessons: The Springhill Singing Disaster by Karen Trott
 * Nora by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Ingmar Bergman

1999

 * The Flimflam Man by Melanie Marnich
 * Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams
 * Wonderland by Chay Yew
 * Pretty Fire by Charlayne Woodard
 * Jane Eyre by John Caird and Paul Gordon
 * Loot by Joe Orton
 * Oo-Bla-Dee by Regina Taylor

2000

 * Alice's Wild Ride by Karen Hartman
 * Thoroughly Modern Millie by Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan, music by Jeanine Tesori
 * Going to St. Ives by Lee Blessing
 * The Cosmonaut's Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union by David Greig
 * Sheridan, or Schooled In Scandal by David Grimm
 * Lifegame by Keith Johnstone
 * Blood Wedding by Federico García Lorca, translation by David Johnston

2001

 * The Origin of Corn / El Origen De Maiz by Ralph Lee
 * Dracula, The Musical by Christopher Hampton and Don Black, music by Frank Wildhorn
 * Diva by Howard Gould
 * The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and Leigh Fondakowski
 * Be Aggressive by Annie Weisman
 * I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright
 * The Collected Works of Billy The Kid by Michael Ondaatje
 * Our Town by Thornton Wilder

2002

 * Ladybird: The Life and Time of a Roller Derby Queen by Luis Alfaro
 * Mabou Mines' Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie
 * Adoration of the Old Woman by José Rivera
 * I Think I Like Girls by Leigh Fondakowski
 * Wintertime by Charles L. Mee
 * When Grace Comes In by Heather McDonald
 * A Feast of Fools by Geoff Hoyle, music by Gina Leishman
 * Tartuffe by Molière, translation by Richard Wilbur

2003

 * The Breeze, the Gust, the Gale, and the Wind by Hilly Hicks
 * The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
 * Beauty by Tina Landau
 * Eden Lane by Tom Donaghy
 * The Country by Martin Crimp
 * The Burning Deck by Sarah Schulman
 * Fräulein Else by Arthur Schnitzler
 * Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov

2004

 * Guitar by Julia Jordan
 * Private Fittings by Georges Feydeau, adapted by Mark O'Donnell
 * Jersey Boys by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe
 * The Love of Three Oranges by Carlo Gozzi, adaptation by James Magruder
 * Paris Commune by Steve Cosson and Michael Friedman
 * Suitcase by Melissa James Gibson
 * Continental Divide: Mothers Against and Daughters of the Revolution by David Edgar
 * 700 Sundays / Billy Crystal / A Life In Progress by Billy Crystal

2005

 * Pop Tour: Bay and the Spectacles of Doom by Julia Cho
 * Palm Beach, The Screwball Musical by Robert Cary and Benjamin Feldman, music by David Gursky
 * Zhivago by Michael Weller, music by Lucy Simon, lyrics by Michael Korie and Amy Powers
 * Current Nobody by Melissa James Gibson
 * I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright
 * The Scottish Play by Lee Blessing
 * The Miser by Molière
 * Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
 * Pop Tour: West of the 5 by Sunil Kuruvilla

2006

 * Zhivago by Michael Weller, music by Lucy Simon, lyrics by Michael Korie and Amy Powers
 * Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht
 * All Wear Bowlers by Geoff Sobelle and Trey Lyford
 * Culture Clash's Zorro in Hell by Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Sigüenza
 * The Wiz by William F. Brown, music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls
 * The Farnsworth Invention by Aaron Sorkin, music by Andrew Lippa

2007/08

 * Carmen by Sarah Miles, music by John Ewbank
 * The Deception, adapted from La Fausse Suivante by Pierre Marivaux
 * After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
 * The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice
 * Cry-Baby by John Waters
 * The Seven by Will Power, music by Will Power, Will Hammond, Justin Ellington
 * Most Wanted by Jessica Hagedorn, music by Mark Bennett

2008/09

 * 33 Variations by Moisés Kaufman
 * The Night Watcher by Charlayne Woodard
 * Memphis (musical) by Joe DiPietro
 * The Third Story by Charles Busch
 * Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell
 * Xanadu by Douglas Carter Beane
 * The Edge Series

2009/10

 * Unusual Acts of Devotion by Terrence McNally
 * Creditors, adapted and directed by Doug Wright
 * Restoration
 * Herringbone
 * The 39 Steps
 * Bonnie & Clyde by Frank Wildhorn, Don Black and Ivan Menchel
 * Aurélia's Oratorio by Aurélia Thierrée Chaplin
 * The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, directed by Darko Tresnjak
 * The Edge Series: Dogugaeshi and HOOVER COMES ALIVE!

2010/11

 * Surf Report by Annie Weisman
 * A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
 * Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin by Christopher Curtis and Thomas Meehan
 * Notes from Underground, adapted by Bill Camp and Robert Woodruff from the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky
 * Ruined by Lynn Nottage
 * Little Miss Sunshine, music and lyrics by William Finn; Book and Direction by James Lapine

2011/12

 * A Dram of Drummhicit by Arthur Kopit and Anton Dudley
 * Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen and adapted by David Schweitzer
 * Sleeping Beauty Wakes, music and lyrics by Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda Book by Rachel Sheinken
 * Milk Like Sugar by Kirsten Greenidge
 * Jesus Christ Superstar, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim Rice
 * American Night: The Ballad of Juan José by Richard Montoya

2012/13

 * Hands on a Hardbody, music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green, lyrics by Amanda Green, book by Doug Wright
 * Blood and Gifts by J. T. Rogers
 * The Nightingale, music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, book by Steven Sater
 * An Iliad by Homer, adapted by Denis O'Hare and Lisa Peterson
 * Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet
 * Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by Wayne Coyne and Des McAnuff

2013/14

 * His Girl Friday by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, adapted by John Guare
 * Tribes by Nina Raine
 * Sideways, book by Rex Pickett
 * The Tallest Tree in the Forest by Daniel Beaty
 * Side Show, music by Henry Krieger, book and lyrics by Bill Russell
 * The Who & The What by Ayad Akhtar

2014/15

 * Chasing the Song, book by Joe DiPietro, music by David Bryan, lyrics by Joe DiPietro and David Bryan
 * The Orphan of Zhao, adapted by James Fenton
 * Ether Dome by Elizabeth Egloff
 * Kingdom City by Sheri Wilner
 * The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Peter Parnell, music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, novel by Victor Hugo

2015/16

 * Come from Away, book, music, and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein
 * Up Here, book, music, and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
 * Blueprints to Freedom by Michael Benjamin Washington
 * Healing Wars by Liz Lerman
 * Indecent by Paula Vogel
 * Guards at the Taj by Rajiv Joseph

2016/17

 * Latin History for Dummies, created and performed by John Leguizamo
 * Hollywood by Joe DiPietro
 * The Last Tiger in Haiti by Jeff Augustin
 * Junk: The Golden Age of Debt by Ayad Akhtar
 * Tiger Style! by Mike Lew
 * Miss You Like Hell, book by Quiara Alegría Hudes, music by Erin McKeown, lyrics by Quiara Alegría Hudes and Erin McKeown
 * Freaky Friday, book by Bridget Carpenter, music and lyrics by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, based on the novel by Mary Rodgers

2017/18

 * Escape to Margaritaville – book by Greg Garcia and Mike O'Malley, music and lyrics by Jimmy Buffett
 * At the Old Place – by Rachel Bonds
 * Kill Local – by Mat Smart
 * Wild Goose Dreams – by Hansol Jung
 * SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical – book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary, and Des McAnuff
 * Mike Birbiglia: The New One – by Mike Birbiglia
 * The Cake – by Bekah Brunstetter
 * Home of the Brave – by Lee Cataluna

2018/19

 * The Squirrels by Robert Askins
 * Queens by Martyna Majok
 * Seize the King by Will Power
 * Hundred Days by The Bengsons and Sarah Gancher
 * The Year to Come by Lindsay Ferrentino
 * Diana by Joe DiPietro, music and lyrics by David Bryan

2019/20

 * Put Your House in Order by Ike Holter
 * The Luckiest by Melissa Ross
 * The Coast Starlight by Keith Bunin
 * Kiss My Aztec! by John Leguizamo and Tony Taccone, music by Benjamin Velez, lyrics by David Kamp, Benjamin Velez, and John Leguizamo
 * Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee
 * FLY by Rajiv Joseph, music by Bill Sherman, lyrics by Kirsten Childs and Rajiv Joseph, based on the book Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie

2021/22

 * The Garden by Charlayne Woodard
 * To The Yellow House by Kimber Lee
 * Bhangin' It: A Bangin' New Musical by Mike Lew and Rehana Lew Mirza, music and lyrics by Sam Willmott

2022/23

 * Lempicka by Carson Kreitzer and Matt Gould
 * Here There Are Blueberries by Moises Kaufman and Amanda Gronich
 * Fandango for Butterflies (And Coyotes) by Andrea Thome, music by Sinuhe Padilla
 * Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord by Kristina Wong
 * As You Like It by William Shakespeare
 * The Outsiders by Adam Rapp, music and lyrics by Jamestown Revival, based on the novel by S.E. Hinton

2023/24

 * Love All by Anna Deveare Smith
 * Is It Thursday Yet? by Jenn Freeman and Sonya Tayeh, composed by Holland Andrews
 * The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical by Joe Iconis and Gregory S. Moss, music and lyrics by Joe Iconis
 * SUMO by Lisa Sanaye Dring
 * Babbitt by Joe DiPietro, based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis
 * Redwood by Tina Landau, music by Kate Diaz, lyrics by Kate Diaz and Tina Landau