LOS ANGELES: Geffen Playhouse has announced their 24th season, spotlighting two world premieres, an immersive theatrical production, and celebrity headliners.
The season will kick off at the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater with Witch (Aug. 20-Sept.29), by Jen Silverman. The sleepy village of Edmonton is shaken up when the devil comes to town bartering locals’ souls in exchange for their darkest wishes. Elizabeth, town outcast and believed witch, must resist the devil’s temptations. Marti Lyons will direct.
Next up at the Gil Cates Theater is Skintight (Sept. 3-Oct. 6), by Joshua Harmon. The play, which originally premiered at Roundabout Theatre Company, follows a young woman coming to terms with her ex’s much younger, new girlfriend and her father’s 20-year-old beau. Tony Award winner Idina Menzel will reprise her role in this West Coast premiere. Daniel Aukin will direct.
Following on the Audrey Skirball Kenis stage is The Thanksgiving Play (Oct. 22-Dec. 1), by Larissa FastHorse, about three “woke” actors tasked with putting on an elementary school play about the conception of Thanksgiving.
After that on the Gil Cates stage is the beloved Shakespeare tragedy, Macbeth (Nov. 5-Dec. 8). Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau will take on the role of Macbeth. Matt Shakman will direct.
Up next on at the Gil Cates Theater is the world premiere adaptation of Key Largo (Feb. 4 -Mar. 8, 2020), adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and Andy Garcia and based on the play by Maxwell Anderson with the screenplay by Richard Brooks and John Huston. At the conclusion of World War II, Frank McCloud travels to Key Largo to pay respects to a deceased soldier’s wife. Shortly after his arrival, he realizes his hotel is being overhauled by the mob. Andy Garcia (Ocean’s Eleven) will star as gang leader Johnny Rocco.
There will be a production on the Audrey Skirball Kenis stage (Mar. 3-Apr. 12, 2020) that will be announced shortly.
Up next is Bernhardt/Hamlet (Apr.7-May 10, 2020), by Theresa Rebeck, on the Gil Cates stage. Actor Sarah Bernhardt must persuade the public that she has every right to play Shakespeare’s Hamlet just as much as the next man. Sarna Lapine will direct.
Audrey Skirball Kenis stage will house the West Coast premiere of The Enigmatist (May 5-Jun. 14, 2020), David Kwong. Kwong himself will entertain audiences with a series of puzzles and illusions.
The season will close at the Gil Cates Theater with Revenge Song: A Vampire Cowboys Creation (Jun. 16-Jul. 19, 2020), by Qui Nguyen, which follows the true story of Julie d’Aubigny, a 17th century queer French opera singer and swordsman. Robert Ross Parker will direct.
Geffen Playhouse, founded in 1995, features world premieres, adaptations of classic productions, and award winning plays.
