La Jolla Playhouse

Experience excellence in performance and production at this Tony-Award winning regional theatre, enthralling audiences for more than 75 years. From its tree-dotted district on the UC San Diego campus, the venue originates entertaining and thought-provoking plays and musicals — many Broadway bound.

Founded by Hollywood luminaries Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer in 1947, the theatre initially enjoyed more than a decade of performances starring greats from stage and film. The Playhouse then went on hiatus from 1964–1982. While shuttered, a handful of dedicated supporters worked to keep the Playhouse alive, eventually seeing it revived on the campus of UC San Diego in 1983. Importantly, the Playhouse would be led by Des McAnuff, who served as artistic director from 1983 to 1994, and again from 2001-2007.

La Jolla Playhouse has since risen to prominence as one of the most celebrated regional theatres in the country. Under McAnuff, many new works have gone on to Broadway, including Big River, The Who’s Tommy, and Jersey Boys. In 1993, the Playhouse was awarded the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. This period also saw the beginning of the Playhouse’s acclaimed Performance Outreach Program (POP) Tour, in which a brand new, Playhouse-commissioned work brings the magic of theatre into San Diego schools. The Playhouse also launched its Page To Stage Development Program in 2001, as part of its commitment to developing new plays and musicals. Two Page To Stage Productions have garnered Tony Awards: I Am My Own Wife (also a Pulitzer Prize winner) and Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays.

Today, under the artistic direction of Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley, the internationally-renowned nonprofit continues its mission of advancing theatre as an art form to tell stories that inspire empathy and create a dialogue toward a more just future.

The new year features 3 Summers of Lincoln, a world-premiere musical that imagines the conversations that occurred during the three meetings between president Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist/reformer Frederick Douglass during the Civil War. The brand new musical, directed by Ashley, will feature a gospel, spiritual and R&B-infused score. Feb. 18-March 23, 2025

The spotlight then shifts to the annual WOW Festival (April 24-27), four days of exhilarating creativity on the UC San Diego campus. The Playhouse’s signature performance program offers site-specific and interactive pieces, installations, and workshops, ranging from plays, musicals, and exhibitions to puppeteering, and dance. Innovative and immersive, many WOW events tap audiences in as part of the show.

The curtain then rises on The Joan Jacobs 2025/26 Season, kicking off with Jaja’s African Hair Braiding (May-June). Direct from Broadway, this production welcomes you into Jaja’s bustling shop in Harlem, where a lively group of West African women create hair-braiding masterpieces.

Early summer will see the delicate and funny Indian Princesses (June-July), the story of five girls of color and their white fathers navigating the father-daughter bonding program.

Each of the four La Jolla Playhouse theatre spaces has fewer than 500 seats. The venue is at 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla. View all shows and purchase tickets at lajollaplayhouse.org.