La Jolla is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying 7 miles (11 km) of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature of 70.5 °F (21.4 °C).
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego.
Matt Hoverman is an American actor and playwright based in Los Angeles.
San Diego Men's Chorus (SDMC) was a men's chorus in San Diego, California, during the period of 1985 to 2009. The chorus was served by four artistic directors throughout its history, concluding, in its final years, with the direction of Jerry R. Foust, who had served previously as the assistant director for more than 18 months before assuming the artistic director position in January 2006.
The Grapes of Wrath is a 1988 play adapted by Frank Galati from the classic 1939 John Steinbeck novel of the same name, with incidental music by Michael Smith. The play debuted at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, followed by a May 1989 production at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego and a June 1989 production at the Royal National Theatre in London. After eleven previews, the Broadway production, directed by Galati, opened on March 22, 1990 at the Cort Theatre, where it ran for 188 performances. The cast included Gary Sinise, Kathryn Erbe, Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, Lois Smith, Francis Guinan, and Stephen Bogardus. The play was adapted for television in 1990 for the PBS series American Playhouse.
The culture of San Diego, California, is influenced heavily by American and Mexican cultures due to its position as a border town, its large Hispanic population, and its history as part of Spanish America and Mexico. San Diego's longtime association with the U.S. military also contributes to its culture. Present-day culture includes many historical and tourist attractions, a thriving musical and theatrical scene, numerous notable special events, a varied cuisine, and a reputation as one of America's premier centers of craft brewing.
Claudia Shear is an American actress and playwright. She was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Play and Best Actress for her play Dirty Blonde.
Geoff Hoyle is an English performer who originated the role of Zazu in the Broadway theatre production of The Lion King. Hoyle has also performed in vaudeville shows, worked with Bill Irwin in "The Pickle Family Circus", performed with Cirque Du Soleil's Nouvelle Expérience, and performed with the Revels.
Hilly Hicks Jr. is an American playwright and screenwriter.
David Noroña, usually simplified as David Norona, is a Cuban American actor and director who has appeared in films including Though None Go with Me, TV series including The Mentalist and Jack Ryan, and various theatre works. He is co-creator and co-lyricist for Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings and has directed two short films.
33 Variations is a play by Moisés Kaufman, inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven's Diabelli Variations. It débuted on Broadway on March 9, 2009, starring Jane Fonda. Originally written in 2007, its world première was held at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. before continuing on to La Jolla Playhouse in 2008.
Christopher Ashley is an American stage director. Since 2007, he has been the artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse.
Live: La Jolla Playhouse 2001 In June 2001 Pete Townshend performed two fundraising shows at the intimate La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. The Playhouse was the same venue where the musical Tommy was first staged prior to moving on to Broadway. The shows raised around $300,000. Townshend performed solo and the small theatre atmosphere led to a 'Storytellers' type of show. The style of the show and the different set lists on both nights provided a unique dialogue. Music from the concerts was released on November 23, 2001, as two CD sets.
Richard V. Riddell is an American lighting designer.
Little Miss Sunshine is a musical adapted from the 2006 film of the same name, with music and lyrics by William Finn and book and direction by James Lapine. The musical premiered in San Diego, California at the Mandell Weiss Theater, La Jolla Playhouse on February 15, 2011 and began performances Off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre in October 2013. The musical opened Off West End at the Arcola Theatre in 2019.
Chaplin: The Musical, formerly titled Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin, is a musical with music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis and book by Curtis and Thomas Meehan. The show is based on the life of Charlie Chaplin. The musical, which started at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2006, debuted at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2010, and then premiered on Broadway in 2012.
In 2012, the La Jolla Playhouse in California generated nationwide controversy for the casting of a musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's 1843 story "The Nightingale", set in ancient China. The play was part of the La Jolla Playhouse's "Page to Stage" program, a workshop series in which unfinished new works are tested and altered during the show's run. Two Asian-American actors were cast, and the remainder of the cast were African-American and Caucasian. The Asian American Theatre Community expressed their indignation on the lack of Asian-American actors cast.
Sleeping Beauty Wakes is a musical with book by Rachel Sheinkin, who won a Tony Award for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and a pop score by composer Brendan Milburn and lyricist Valerie Vigoda, two members of the indie music trio GrooveLily. The show is a twist on the classic Charles Perrault fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. In this modern-day version, Rose is brought to a sleep-disorder clinic to wake her from her 900-year nap.
Miss You Like Hell is a musical with book and lyrics by Quiara Alegría Hudes, and music and lyrics by Erin McKeown. The show follows a troubled teenage girl who embarks on a cross-country road trip with her estranged mother, who is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico.
Harmony is a stage musical with music by Barry Manilow and book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman. The musical tells the true story of the Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of six young men in 1920s Germany who took the world by storm with their blend of sophisticated close harmonies and uproarious stage antics, until their inclusion of Jewish singers put them on a collision course with history.
