GRIM World Premiere and More Set for La Jolla Playhouse 2026/2027 Season

La Jolla Playhouse has unveiled its 2026/2027 season, featuring three world-premiere musicals: The Family Album, a Playhouse-commissioned work with a book by Sam Chanse, music and lyrics by MILCK (aka Connie K. Lim) and AG (aka Adrianne Gonzalez), directed by Jess McLeod; GRIM, book by Joey Orton and Brad Silnutzer, music and lyrics by Petro AP, Scott Hoying, Joey Orton and Brad Silnutzer, directed by Sammi Cannold; and Particle Fever, book by Tony Award winner David Henry Hwang, music and lyrics by Bear McCreary and Zoe Sarnak, directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman. 

The season will also include the West Coast premiere of the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Purpose, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg; the West Coast premiere of The Monsters, by UC San Diego graduate Ngozi Anyanwu, directed by Tamilla Woodard, in a co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre; and the world premiere of A Black-billed Cuckoo, by UC San Diego graduate Mat Smart, directed by Shelley Butler, marking the 13th piece to make the jump from the Playhouse’s DNA New Work Series to the subscription slate.

Prior to the start of the subscription season, La Jolla Playhouse will mount its annual WOW Festival, presented in partnership with UC San Diego, taking place April 23 – 26, 2026 on the UC San Diego campus.

The 2026/2027 subscription slate marks the final season curated by Christopher Ashley, the Playhouse’s Rich Family Artistic Director, who will depart the organization in January 2026 after nearly two decades, to lead New York’s Roundabout Theatre.

About the 2026/2027 Season:

Purpose
West Coast Premiere
By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg
May/June 2026

Fresh from winning the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Purpose is “a thumping, riveting, guns-blazing, major new American play” (NY Daily News). For decades, the influential Jasper family has been a pillar of Black American Politics: civil rights leaders, celebrity pastors and congressmen. When the youngest son returns home with an uninvited friend, long-buried secrets and tensions threaten to topple their empire. As The New York Times said: “Purpose showcases Jacobs-Jenkins’ vivid language, spitfire dialogue and sweeping sense of American history...you may have trouble catching your breath from laughing so hard.”

The Monsters
West Coast Premiere
By Ngozi Anyanwu
Directed by Tamilla Woodard
Co-Production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
June 2026

Lil is obsessed with the art, strength and beauty of Mixed Martial Arts, inspired by her older brother Big, a star of the local MMA circuit. But they haven’t spoken in years — until she suddenly appears at his door. Ngozi Anyanwu’s searing new play explores sibling bonds, reunions and the fight to build a life you can be proud of. Through the propulsive lens of MMA, Big and Lil’s story fuses the poetry of words and symphony of movement into a stylish, gritty and action-charged love story between estranged siblings.

The Family Album

World Premiere

La Jolla Playhouse Commission

Book by Sam Chanse

Music and lyrics by MILCK (aka Connie K. Lim) and AG (aka Adrianne Gonzalez)

Conceived by MILCK and Jess McLeod

Story by Sam Chanse, MILCK, and Jess McLeod
Directed by Jess McLeod

July/August 2026

Singer-songwriter Mia Bing has been hustling and is desperate to break through in the music industry. Just as she receives the call that could change her career, she’s pulled back to her childhood home where she’s once again the “disappointing” daughter of her Asian immigrant parents, still haunted by an unresolved secret. In 2017, MILCK and AG’s “Quiet,” a song about MILCK’s survivor journey, became a viral sensation. That same spirit inspired them and acclaimed playwright Sam Chanse to draw on each of their personal stories to create The Family Album, a humorous and poignant original musical about finding your voice and using it for change.

A Black-billed Cuckoo

World Premiere

By Mat Smart

Directed by Shelley Butler

September/October 2026

The elusive black-billed Cuckoo is notoriously hard to find, and it’s exactly what Ruth has been searching for. Over 24 hours in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, a close-knit birding group is thrown into chaos when some members glimpse the rare bird and others don’t. Award-winning playwright and UC San Diego MFA graduate Mat Smart introduces us to a fascinating community of people who revel in the idea that any given day might bring something they’ve never seen before. The 13th play to leap from the DNA New Work Series to the stage, A Black-billed Cuckoo is a comedy about healing, wonder and how to move on after missing out.

GRIM

World Premiere

Book by Joey Orton and Brad Silnutzer 

Music and Lyrics by Petro AP, Scott Hoying, Joey Orton and Brad Silnutzer 

Directed by Sammi Cannold

October/November 2026

GRIM is an irreverent, hilarious and heartbreaking world-premiere musical that celebrates life…and death. After 300,000 years collecting souls, the Grim Reaper is retiring, and his daughter Diana must pass a simple test to take over. That is, until she unexpectedly falls for dorky human Josh, and the beautiful chaos of humanity, planet Earth…and the DMV. If she loves life, can Diana be in charge of ending it? With an all-star creative team, an infectious score and sharp humor, GRIM will delight audiences with a bold and original theatrical experience.

Particle Fever

World Premiere

A musical based on the documentary film by Mark Levinson and David Kaplan

Book by David Henry Hwang

Music and lyrics by Bear McCreary and Zoe Sarnak

Story by David Henry Hwang, Bear McCreary and Zoe Sarnak

Directed by Leigh Silverman

February/March 2027

Based on the acclaimed documentary, Particle Fever hurtles audiences into the most ambitious experiment ever attempted. More than 10,000 scientists from around the world joined forces to build the Large Hadron Collider and solve one of the universe’s greatest mysteries. With epic, high-voltage music and lyrics by Bear McCreary and Zoe Sarnak, and a book by David Henry Hwang, Particle Fever captures the thrill of discovery and the hearts of those who make it possible. Leigh Silverman leads this high-stakes adventure to the stage. Expect a love letter to curiosity itself — a roller coaster of ambition, resilience and hope, and a tribute to what humankind is capable of when we work together.

WOW Festival

April 23 – 26, 2026