LA JOLLA, CALIF.: La Jolla Playhouse has announced the initial lineup for its 2017-18 season, which will feature four world premieres including two musicals and plays by Rachel Bonds and Hansol Jung. Two additional productions will be announced at a later date.
“Continuing the Playhouse’s tradition of developing and launching new works, our first four announced shows of 2017-18 are all world premieres, including two exuberant new musicals that celebrate two of America’s most beloved musical icons,” said artistic director Christopher Ashley in a statement.
The season will open with Escape to Margaritaville, featuring music and lyrics by Jimmy Buffett, and book by Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley (May/June 2017). The love story will take place on a tropical island resort and feature classic Buffett tunes. Ashley will direct.
Rachel Bonds‘s At the Old Place will follow (July/August 2017). The play follows a literature professor in her mid-40s who returns to her childhood home in Virginia only to discover two young people camped out on her lawn. Associate artistic director Jaime Castañeda will direct.
Up next will be Hansol Jung’s Wild Goose Dreams (September/October 2017). The play is about a North Korean defector who starts an online romance with a South Korean father. Leigh Silverman will direct.
Playhouse director emeritus Des McAnuff will return in the winter to helm a musical about the life of Donna Summer, currently called Untitled Donna Summer Project (November/December 2017). It will feature 20 of Summer’s hit songs. Sergio Trujillo will choreograph.
