La Jolla Playhouse has announced their 2025/2026 season featuring new works from Cyndi Lauper & Theresa, a new play about Julia Child and more.
The 2025/2026 season is named for Playhouse Trustee Emerita and philanthropist Joan Jacobs, who passed away in May, 2024.
The new season will feature two world-premiere musicals directed by Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley, the Rich Family Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse (Come From Away): WORKING GIRL, music and lyrics by Tony and Grammy Award winner Cyndi Lauper, book by Theresa Rebeck, based on the Twentieth Century Fox motion picture written by Kevin Wade; and THE HEART, book and additional lyrics by Kait Kerrigan, music and lyrics by Anne Eisendrath and Ian Eisendrath, based on Réparer les Vivants, by Maylis de Kerangal.
The season will also include the Tony Award-nominated play JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING, by Jocelyn Bioh, directed by Whitney White, co-produced with Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Theater, in association with Madison Wells Live and LaChanze; as well as the world premieres of INDIAN PRINCESSES, by Eliana Theologides Rodriguez, directed by Miranda Cornell; ALL THE MEN WHO’VE FRIGHTENED ME, a Playhouse commission by Noah Diaz, directed by Playhouse Directing Fellow Kat Yen, developed during the Playhouse’s 2021 DNA New Work Series; and a new play about Julia Child (title to be announced), by Claudia Shear (Playhouse’s Restoration), directed by Lisa Peterson (Playhouse’s An Iliad), based on the book Dearie by Bob Spitz.
Prior to the start of the subscription season, La Jolla Playhouse will mount its annual WOW Festival, presented in partnership with UC San Diego, taking place on the UC San Diego campus April 24 – 27, 2025. The Playhouse will also present a stand-alone WOW event: THE UNFAIR ADVANTAGE, created and performed by Harry Milas, to run February 25 – March 23, 2025.
“This year’s season – named in honor of the extraordinary Joan Jacobs and her remarkable impact on our theatre and far beyond – features a wonderful mix of new voices, Playhouse veterans, theatrical rock stars…and one actual rock star. All of these works are truly heart-forward while engaging with complex issues and thought-provoking themes,” said Ashley. “We’ll kick off the subscription slate with a Tony-nominated Broadway hit that I feel is a can’t-miss experience for San Diego audiences. We’ll also be mounting three world-premiere plays by three riveting writers, each of whom brings their singular vision to works that are at once deeply personal and universally relatable. Additionally, I’m delighted to be directing two brand new musicals this season: Working Girl, based on the beloved ‘80s film, but very much in conversation with our current moment, and The Heart, an adrenaline-fueled, genre-defying show that is unlike any project I’ve directed before. These six productions – along with our WOW programming – make for an unforgettable season that epitomizes the Playhouse’s commitment to developing new work for the American theatre.”
Tickets for the Playhouse’s 2025/2026 season are currently available via a subscription purchase at lajollaplayhouse.org or by calling (858) 550-1010.
La Jolla Playhouse 2025/2026 Season
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
By Jocelyn Bioh
Directed by Whitney White
A Co-Production with Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater In Association with Madison Wells Live and LaChanze
May/June, 2025
Direct from Broadway, this dazzling production welcomes you into Jaja’s bustling shop in Harlem, where a lively and eclectic group of West African hair braiders create masterpieces on the heads of neighborhood women. During one sweltering summer day, love will blossom, dreams will flourish and friendships will be tested. When their uncertain circumstances boil over, this tight-knit group must confront what it means to be outsiders in the place they call home. The Guardian called it “rapturous,” and The New York Times raved: ”Full of treasurable moments, when the drama feels tightly woven with the comedy.” Featuring humor as entertaining as its characters, this extraordinary play by Ghanaian American playwright Jocelyn Bioh celebrates courage, community and the indomitable spirit of women.
Indian Princesses
World Premiere
By Eliana Theologides Rodriguez
Directed by Miranda Cornell
July/August, 2025
In the summer of 2008, five young girls of color and their white fathers show up at a community center. With emotions ranging from excited to downright suspicious, some are more ready than others to embark on this adventurous father-daughter bonding program. Over their time as the “Winnebago Tribe,” they navigate the joy and confusion of childhood amidst myriad challenges: burgeoning friendships, unfulfilled crushes, intergenerational struggles, grief, financial insecurity and the frustration of not being seen for who you truly are. Eliana Theologides Rodriguez is an exhilarating new voice whose work centers on young women. Indian Princesses is based on a real-life YMCA father-daughter program she participated in as a child, which still exists today under different names. Both laugh-out loud funny and delicately tender, this delightful new play delves into the quirky, messy and magical moments of growing up, while exploring the complexities of race, heritage and family.
The Heart
World-Premiere Musical
Based on Réparer les Vivants by Maylis de Kerangal
Book and additional lyrics by Kait Kerrigan
Music and Lyrics by Anne Eisendrath and Ian Eisendrath
Directed by Christopher Ashley
August/September, 2025
When a young surfer’s life is cut short, it means a second chance for a woman who had been making peace with her terminal illness. Over the course of 24 suspenseful hours in San Diego, we follow one precious heart on its vital, life-saving journey from donor to recipient, and meet the people whose lives are impacted along the way. With a gripping book by Kait Kerrigan (Broadway’s The Great Gatsby), and helmed by the Playhouse’s own Tony-winning Artistic Director Christopher Ashley, The Heart is based on the highly lauded novel by Maylis de Kerangal, Réparer les Vivants. Anne Eisendrath and Ian Eisendrath (music supervisor of Come From Away) have crafted a uniquely epic, surging electronic score that takes inspiration from the world of the high-tech hospital. This breathtaking new musical is an enlightening, edge-of-your-seat ride on a powerful wave of emotion.
All the Men Who’ve Frightened Me
World Premiere, La Jolla Playhouse Commission
By Noah Diaz
Directed by Kat Yen
September/October, 2025
Young married couple Ty and Nora are preparing to move into Ty’s childhood home to start a family. While they are busy choosing paint colors, lamps and throw pillows, they learn that Nora is unable to carry the child they so desperately want. So Ty, a trans man, makes the impulsive decision to carry the baby himself. Preparations for parenthood begin to collapse when three mysterious men from Ty’s past inexplicably begin appearing in their new home. Noah Diaz’s rich, multi-layered drama is full of shrewd insights and humor. Helmed by Playhouse Directing Fellow Kat Yen, All The Men Who’ve Frightened Me is the 12th play to make the jump from the DNA New Work Series to the main stage. Expect the unexpected in this wildly surprising family story with a huge heart.
Working Girl
World-Premiere Musical
Music and Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper
Book by Theresa Rebeck
Based on the Twentieth Century Fox Motion Picture Written by Kevin Wade
Directed by Christopher Ashley
November/December, 2025
Tess McGill is a Staten Island secretary with big dreams and even bigger ideas, but when her scheming boss Katharine Parker steals one, Tess decides to take matters into her own hands. With Katharine unexpectedly out of town, Tess seizes the chance to prove herself, making a bold business move that could change her life forever. With some help from her savvy friends and a charming businessman, she’s got one shot to pull it off – before the boss returns! This sharp and hilarious adaptation of the iconic 1988 film features an exhilarating original score by the legendary Cyndi Lauper, a smart, fresh book from award-winning playwright Theresa Rebeck, and direction by Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. Working Girl is the ultimate corporate Cinderella story that’s just as much about the power of friendship as it is about chasing ambition and success.
(title to be announced soon)
World Premiere
By Claudia Shear
Based on the Book Dearie by Bob Spitz
Directed by Lisa Peterson
February/March, 2026
Before Julia Child became the TV personality we all know, she was a rambunctious rebel against the privileged but bland life expected of her. Directionless but driven, careening from Pasadena to New York to Washington D.C. to Ceylon and finally to Paris’s famed Cordon Bleu cooking school, she battled long odds, too-short sleeves, and her own self-doubt before finding both her calling and her true love, her husband Paul Child. Two-time Tony Award nominee Claudia Shear and two-time Obie Award winner Lisa Peterson return to the Playhouse with a funny, colorful and delicious new play about the early life of an endlessly fascinating character – Julia, a girl from Pasadena – and her path from confusion to discovery, fear to strength, failure to success.
WOW Programming
The Unfair Advantage
February 25 – March 23, 2025
Created and Performed by Harry Milas
Produced by Pemberley Productions and Parrot Ox
Harry Milas takes audiences on a journey of deception, into a world that very few have experienced and even fewer talk about. The Unfair Advantage is a rare and intimate experience, as audiences experience the secrets of card cheating. Already a highly lauded magician, Harry reveals the secrets behind his skills as a sought-after security weapon for the world’s top casinos. Before participating in the experience, audiences of just 35 people at a time will be asked to sign a legal contract of confidentiality. Harry explains, “Audience members will join me around a small table, as I reveal – step by step – how magicians, card cheaters and mentalists fool the world.”
WOW Festival
April 24 – 27, 2025
Presented in Partnership with UC San Diego
The 2025 WOW Festival will feature four action-packed days of theatre, dance, music, puppetry, spectacle events and more, with multiple performances by renowned local, national and International Artists occurring throughout the weekend. A complete roster of artists and projects will be announced in the coming months.
La Jolla Playhouse is a place where artists and audiences come together to create what’s new and next in the American theatre, from Tony Award-winning productions, to imaginative programs for young audiences, to interactive experiences outside our theatre walls. Founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, the Playhouse is currently led by Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley, the Rich Family Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse, and Managing Director Debby Buchholz. The Playhouse is internationally renowned for the development of new plays and musicals, including mounting 120 world premieres, commissioning 70 new works, and sending 36 productions to Broadway, garnering a total of 42 Tony Awards, as well as the 1993 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre.
