ESTHER PEREL RUINED MY LIFE is Coming to IAMA Theatre Company
The show is a fierce, funny, sex-soaked dramedy that dives into the complications of growing up, aging out, and turning on in more ways than one.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Nov. 10, 2025
IAMA Theatre Company will present a workshop production of Mathilde Dratwa’s biting, tender, and tragically modern new play Esther Perel Ruined My Life. The glossy veneer of marriage, monogamy, and motherhood gets stripped away when Andrea and Aaron decide to open their marriage, nudged by the provocative gospel of celebrity sex and intimacy expert Esther Perel. The couple hopes to reignite desire, but what begins as an erotic experiment quickly spirals into a deeper and messier unraveling. Andrea, alienated from her own body after childbirth, and Aaron, chasing pleasure beyond their shared bed, find themselves reckoning with the widening gap between being loved and being desired.
Directed by acclaimed new-work developer and Ojai Playwrights Conference Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen, Esther Perel Ruined My Life is a fierce, funny, sex-soaked dramedy that dives into the complications of growing up, aging out, and turning on in more ways than one. Esther Perel Ruined My Life will play December 6-15, 2025 at Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave, Los Angeles.
Esther Perel Ruined My Life began with a developmental reading at the Playwrights’ Center’s PlayLabs Festival, where the piece was featured as a workshop reading and was also commissioned by Off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre. IAMA Theatre Company, known for its commitment to developing new work, will now stage this workshop production as a vital step in the play’s creative evolution, inviting audience feedback to help shape its next phase.
IAMA Theatre Company’s production of Esther Perel Ruined My Life will feature Sarah Utterback* as Andrea, Adrián Javier* and Josh Bywater* as Aaron, and Trace Guzmán as Ty. The standbys for this production are Brea bee and Shiv Nadkarni. (* denotes IAMA Theatre Company Ensemble Member)
The production team bringing Esther Perel Ruined My Life to the stage includes Brandon Baruch (Lighting Design), Jordan Bass (Casting Director), Nikki DiLoreto (Associate Director), Rebecca Hsia-Palma (Production Stage Manager), Lindsay Jones (Sound Design), Carolyn Mazuca (Costume Design), Zachary Phaneuf (Technical Director), Scene Shift (Scenic Design), Celina Surniak (Intimacy Director), and Lanae Wilks (Assistant Stage Manager).
Los Angeles Awards - Live Stats
Best Musical - Top 3
1.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Hollywood Bowl)
5.9% of votes
2.
HEATHERS (Backyard Playhouse: Treetop Production)
5.7% of votes
3.
HAIR (Conundrum Theatre)
5.5% of votes
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