The Silver Linings Playbook musical will get a world premiere at California’s La Jolla Playhouse in 2028, part of the company’s newly announced 2027-2028 season. The musical, first revealed as in development in 2021, will perform in the company’s Mandell Weiss Theatre in February-March 2028 with newly installed LJP Artistic Director Jessica Stone (Kimberly Akimbo) directing.
The musical features a book by Rick Elice, adapting the 2012 Oscar-winning film of the same name; and original songs by pop-rock duo Ian Axel and Chad King of the band A Great Big World. Casting is to be announced.
The film, itself adapted from Matthew Quick’s novel, follows a man who, after a stint in a mental health facility, tries to win back his estranged wife by partnering with a grieving widow in a dance competition. An industry reading of the project was held in NYC last month. La Jolla Playhouse will produce by special arrangement with James D. Stern and Lionsgate.
The season will open in May-June 2027 in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre with the world premiere of Noah Haidle‘s A Magical Orange Grove in a Nightmare, an absurdist comedy about a man who is the only one in his world who is aware that his son, Elliot, is actually a character in a play that the audience is watching. Arya Shahi will direct.
Jeff Augustin’s Palm Springs will make its world premiere in the company’s Mandell Weiss Forum in June-July 2027, with Joshua Kahan Brody directing. The work follows the freshly unemployed Arnaud as he returns to the California haven where he first learned to embrace his queerness for a solitary escape to deal with some life-changing news, only to have his planned solo vacation to be joined by a group of strangers who transform the evening into an unforgettable night.
The Mandell Weiss Theatre will host the West Coast premiere of Shana Carroll‘s The Attic: Things I’ve Seen While Lying on My Back in July-August 2027. Trapeze artist Carroll has written but is also directing and choreographing the work, a production of The 7 Fingers that brings theatrical storytelling to the world of circus performance.
I think Big Cat is stealing my words, described as a “memoir with music” by singer-songwriter Daniel Zaitchik, will also get a world premiere in the company’s Potiker Theatre in September-October 2027. Shayok Misha Chowdhury will direct the work, about a retired English professor slowly losing her memories. The piece is a co-production with Roundabout Theatre Company, who commissioned the work, and is currently led by former LJP Artistic Director Christopher Ashley.
The Cutter Incident, a new work from Pulitzer- and Tony-winning I Am My Own Wife playwright Doug Wright, will also make its world premiere during the season, performing in November 2027 with two-time Tony winner Des McAnuff at the helm. The work has Wright exploring the real story of polio vaccine scientist Jonas Salk and the people, laboratory disasters, and political agendas that had to be overcome to get his life-saving creation to the world.
Dates for all productions are to be announced. Season subscriptions and tickets will be available at LaJollaPlayhouse.org.
“It is my great pleasure to officially launch my inaugural season at the Playhouse,” says Stone in a statement. “It has been such a joy to dream of new ways to define ‘audacious’ with our wonderful artistic department and staff. These stories celebrate the exhilarating balance between courage and uncertainty, resilience and fragility, ambition and connection. They follow characters daring to take the leap, discovering unexpected strength in themselves and in the people who stand beside them. It is also an honor to partner with my predecessors Chris Ashley and Des McAnuff on two shows this season, in recognition of their astounding legacy at the Playhouse. This stunning season offers a dialogue about what it means to be human, and I look forward to continuing this conversation while getting to know our adventurous audiences.”