\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to make sure that we continue to engage L.A. artists and work with other L.A. theaters to really make sure you all feel like you\u2019re coming home and having a conversation with your community when you come into the Geffen,\u201d said Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney. <\/p>\n
(Jay L. Clendenin \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
Beyond thematic inspirations, McCraney said his picks for the forthcoming season also fit the traditional Geffen season structure: one brand-new play, one classic (or a middle-aged, classic contender) and a few contemporary hits to round things out. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to make sure that folks are able to see plays that maybe they didn\u2019t catch in other parts of the world,\u201d he said, adding that the core concept of the Geffen is \u201cyou\u2019re getting world-class theater at your friendly neighborhood playhouse.\u201d <\/p>\n
This season, the shiny new thing is \u201cClosing Costs,\u201d which is being produced in association with L.A.\u2019s IAMA Theatre Company. As witty as it is wise, McLeod\u2019s play dives into the farcical realm of L.A.\u2019s wildly overpriced real estate market while delivering genuine commentary about the sociopolitical dynamics that made it that way. <\/p>\n
\u201cNothing knocked the wind out of my chest [more] than when the play started with people trying to sell or buy a house,\u201d McCraney said. \u201cAs a person who has now reached an age where I should own a home \u2014 and [with] every news article, including in the L.A. Times, telling us how perilous it is \u2014 it\u2019s one of those things where I\u2019m like, \u2018Good God, what have we done?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best thing we could do is laugh about it,\u201d McCraney said. <\/p>\n
Since McCraney was appointed as the Geffen\u2019s artistic director in 2023, he\u2019s sought to platform timely stage productions like \u201cClosing Costs,\u201d with themes that feel relevant to Angelenos. McCraney even picked \u201cThe Monsters,\u201d which is set in the world of local mixed martial arts, with the 2028 L.A. Olympics in mind. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s also had to learn to quit setting expectations for audiences, which are inherently fickle. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bittersweet surrender that you cannot predict anything,\u201d McCraney said, adding that the best he can do is follow his instincts toward scripts that stir something within himself. <\/p>\n
In addition to its show programming, McCraney said the Geffen this season will also extend invitations to L.A. community members with audience-facing workshops geared toward diverse ages and demographics. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have some things up our sleeves,\u201d he said, teasing the possibilities. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Times theater critic Charles McNulty declared Branden Jacobs-Jenkins\u2019 Tony Award-winning play \u201cPurpose\u201d the best new drama of 2025, he wrote, \u201cI won\u2019t hold my breath for an L.A. production.\u201d As it turns out, he didn\u2019t have to. The L.A. premiere of \u201cPurpose,\u201d featuring its original Broadway cast, will lead Geffen Playhouse\u2019s 2026-27 season with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2333084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2333083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Geffen-Playhouse-2026-27-season-world-and-LA-premieres.com2F1d2F1c2F9d03567b4ab286b1677cc0bf.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2333083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2333083"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2333083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2333085,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2333083\/revisions\/2333085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2333084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2333083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2333083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2333083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}