2019/2020 SEASON
PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS
THEATER IS FAMILY.
HELLO FRIENDS! We’re proud to unveil our 2019/2020 season showcasing the world premieres, new adaptations and wildly theatrical productions you’ve come to expect from the Geffen Playhouse. I invite you to join seasoned and brand new theatergoers alike for a fresh line-up of comedy, drama, passion and a touch of magic. Our subscribers get
Matt Shakman Artistic Director
the best seats in the house, so I encourage you to reserve early and become part of our Geffen family! We look forward to seeing you at the theater.
Eli Gelb, Idina Menzel and Will Brittain in Skintight
SUBSCRIBE TODAY! • Lowest price of the season Save up to 30% off single ticket prices • Subscribers pay no ticket fees • Unlimited ticket exchanges Flexibility to fit your schedule • Priority access to additional seats and events
PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS
Idina Menzel
SKINTIGHT Written by Joshua Harmon Directed by Daniel Aukin Featuring Idina Menzel, Eli Gelb & Will Brittain Hanging on by a thread after her ex-husband gets engaged to a much younger woman, Jodi (Tony Award winner Idina Menzel, Rent, Wicked) retreats to her dad’s swanky Manhattan townhouse. But rather than the comforts of home, she instead finds her aging father’s new live-in boyfriend, Trey—who is 20. In his new comedy, Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other) brings neurotic family drama to the forefront as father and daughter contend with the age-old questions of how to age gracefully in a world obsessed with youth and where love fits into it all. WEST COAST PREMIERE
SEPT 3 – OCT 6, 2019 GIL CATES THEATER
OUR MODERN FAMILIES Joshua Harmon’s penchant for dysfunctional—and hilarious— family drama. How does playwright Joshua Harmon make his characters so endearing and exasperating at the same time? His plays are Geffen Playhouse favorites and Skintight makes its Geffen debut following the smash hit productions of Bad Jews (2015) and Significant Other (2018). Harmon’s ability to draw humor out of everyday interactions makes the people in his plays instantly recognizable and holds the mirror up to our own modern families.
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MACBETH Written by William Shakespeare Directed by Matt Shakman Featuring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau “Something wicked this way comes.” Three witches, a prophecy and the ambitious general Macbeth (Emmy Award nominee Nikolaj CosterWaldau, Game of Thrones) set the stage for Shakespeare’s timely and timeless tragedy about the dangerous allure of power. As Macbeth violently sets forth to fulfill his fate, he and his wife find themselves mired in murder and cover-up in a bloody attempt to hold onto the throne. Following a triumphant collaboration on Game of Thrones, director Matt Shakman and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau reunite for Shakespeare’s most cinematic play.
NOV 5 – DEC 8, 2019 GIL CATES THEATER
THE CURSE OF MACBETH While you’re inside a theater, never say the “M” word. Legend has it that “The Scottish Play” was cursed from its first performance after a coven of witches allegedly hexed the play in objection to Shakespeare’s use of real supernatural incantations. Mishaps and freaky accidents have plagued productions ever since—to the point where most theater artists refuse to speak the play’s name. What happens if you accidentally do say it out loud? Just exit the building, spin around three times, spit, curse and knock on the theater door.
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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
PHOTO BY ISAK HOFFMEYER
Andy Garcia
KEY LARGO Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher & Andy Garcia Based on the play by Maxwell Anderson and the screenplay by Richard Brooks & John Huston Produced in association with Frank Mancuso & Andy Garcia Featuring Andy Garcia Welcome to the eye of the storm! Key Largo is a bold reimagining of Maxwell Anderson’s Broadway hit that became the iconic noir film starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Returning from World War II, disillusioned Frank McCloud travels to a hotel in Key Largo to pay his respects to the widow of a fallen friend. What McCloud doesn’t count on is an entirely different battle with mobsters who have overtaken the hotel, led by the ruthless Johnny Rocco (Academy Award nominee Andy Garcia). As a hurricane barrels toward the Keys, McCloud must face his demons in order to take down a monster. WORLD PREMIERE ADAPTATION & GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE COMMISSION
FEB 4 – MAR 8, 2020 GIL CATES THEATER
A STORMY NOIR CLASSIC Move over, Casablanca. Key Largo is a Category 5 drama ready for its close-up. One of the biggest stars of the 1948 film Key Largo was the hurricane itself—heightening the drama as the story built towards its climax. Little did audiences know that the storm was taken from stock footage in Ronald Reagan’s Night Unto Night, a melodrama filmed that same year. A perfect backdrop for this crime thriller, the hurricane will make landfall at the Geffen Playhouse with frightening force next February.
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BERNHARDT/ HAMLET Written by Theresa Rebeck Directed by Sarna Lapine It’s 1899, and the legendary Sarah Bernhardt shocks the world by taking on the lead role in Hamlet. While her performance is destined to become one for the ages, Sarah first has to convince a sea of naysayers that her right to play the part should be based on ability, not gender— a feat as difficult as mastering Shakespeare’s most verbose tragic hero. Fresh off its Broadway triumph, Theresa Rebeck’s shrewd comedy puts the spotlight on a woman who used her singular talent to challenge whether a woman’s place was “to be or not to be” in the greatest role ever written. WEST COAST PREMIERE
APR 7 – MAY 10, 2020 GIL CATES THEATER
1899 GLASS CEILING Theresa Rebeck’s ode to a first-of-her-kind. Sarah Bernhardt was the superstar of her generation— a performer in some of the earliest motion pictures, a muse to Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha and a woman who could fill a nightly theater audience of 1,700. Now, in this celebration of women and the art of playmaking, Bernhardt is brought back to vivid life by one of America’s most renowned playwrights.
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Sarah Bernhardt
THERESA REBECK PHOTO BY HEATHER STEN
QUI NGUYEN PHOTO BY JESSE DITTMAR VAMPIRE COWBOYS PHOTO BY THERESA SQUIRE
Qui Nguyen
REVENGE SONG A Vampire Cowboys Creation
Written by Qui Nguyen Directed by Robert Ross Parker Featuring the Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company A rousing, romping, music-filled look at the real life of Julie d’Aubigny, a queer 17th century French swordswoman and opera singer, Revenge Song is a heroine’s journey toward self-discovery and acceptance. In this world premiere Geffen Playhouse commission, conversations about gender and sexuality blend together with the outrageous fun and superhero style of the Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company to create a genre unto itself—a hilarious, historical comedy with hip hop, rock and epic fight scenes. Major support for this world premiere production provided by the Edgerton Foundation New Play Production Fund. WORLD PREMIERE & GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE COMMISSION
JUN 16 – JUL 19, 2020 GIL CATES THEATER
VAMPIRE COWBOYS “America’s best known geek theater company.” The origin story of this theater startup began when its co-artistic directors Qui Nguyen and Robert Ross Parker met in grad school at Ohio University. Their shared love of action/adventure, comic books, epic fight scenes and dark comedy led to the formation of this OBIE Awardwinning company that has created some of the most fun, irreverent and thought-provoking productions in the New York City theater scene.
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Simon Helberg
WITCH Written by Jen Silverman Inspired by The Witch of Edmonton by Rowley, Dekker & Ford Directed by Marti Lyons Featuring Simon Helberg
WEST COAST PREMIERE
AUG 20 – SEPT 29, 2019 AUDREY SKIRBALL KENIS THEATER
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PHOTO BY LIONEL DELUY
Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory, Florence Foster Jenkins) is featured in this fiendishly funny new play by Jen Silverman (The Roommate, Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties). A charming devil arrives in the quiet village of Edmonton to bargain for the souls of its residents in exchange for their darkest wishes. Elizabeth should be his easiest target, having been labeled a “witch” and cast out by the town, but her soul is not so readily bought. An inventive retelling of a Jacobean drama, this sharp, subversive fable debates how much our souls are worth when hope is hard to come by.
Larissa FastHorse
THE THANKSGIVING PLAY Written by Larissa FastHorse Directed by Michael John Garcés How does one celebrate Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month at the same time? In Larissa FastHorse’s biting satire, this is the question facing three “woke” white thespians tasked with devising an elementary school pageant about the first Thanksgiving while avoiding any culturally appropriative missteps.
PHOTO BY CONOR HORGAN
A roast of the politics of entertainment and well-meaning political correctness alike, The Thanksgiving Play puts the American origin story itself in the comedy-crosshairs.
OCT 22 – DEC 1, 2019 AUDREY SKIRBALL KENIS THEATER
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David Kwong
THE ENIGMATIST Written & Performed by David Kwong
WEST COAST PREMIERE
MAY 5 – JUN 14, 2020 AUDREY SKIRBALL KENIS THEATER
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PHOTO BY JILLIAN SIPKINS
Can you solve the enigma? Prepare for an immersive experience of puzzles, cryptology and illusions by renowned magician and New York Times crossword constructor David Kwong in the intimate Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater. Clues are everywhere, so keep your eyes open and be ready for surprises behind every flip of the card.
PHOTO BY JEFF LORCH
As part of the Geffen Playhouse’s education and community engagement programs, underserved high school students had the opportunity to enjoy a matinee and talk back with the cast of Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole.
WE ARE A NON-PROFIT THEATER Each season, the Geffen Playhouse serves more than 15,000 community members including veterans in need of connection, seniors challenged by economic circumstances or disabilities, and lots and lots of students— most of whom have never stepped foot inside of a theater before. We are deeply committed to serving our community and can’t do it with out your support. Your donation helps sustain the work that we do both in the community and inside our theater. As a thank you, we invite you to enjoy a variety of donor benefits including your name in our program and invitations to exclusive events.
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geffenplayhouse.org/donate | 310.208.6500 ext. 128 Geffen Playhouse is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is distinguished by a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. Donations are tax-deductible.
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*30% off valid for Premium, Section A & Section B. †9-Play Section B package includes Gil Cates Theater Section B and Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater Section A.
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FAQs What are previews? The Geffen Playhouse produces and builds its own shows from the ground up. Previews are at the beginning of a show’s run to allow our artistic teams extra time to hone the stories and acting, iron out technical kinks and perfect the production.
What is the variable section? The Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater is an intimate theater with infinite opportunities for configuration. Variable seat locations can change by production offering unique—and often the best—views in the house.
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MACBETH NOV 5 – DEC 8, 2019
KEY LARGO BERNHARDT/HAMLET APR 7 – MAY 10, 2020
REVENGE SONG
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FEB 4 – MAR 8, 2020
THE ENIGMATIST MAY 5 – JUN 14, 2020 One additional Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater production to be announced.
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A Vampire Cowboys Creation JUN 16 – JUL 19, 2020
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2019/2020 SEASON