{"id":388416,"date":"2025-11-18T21:23:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T21:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/388416\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T21:23:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T21:23:20","slug":"meet-la-jolla-playhouses-next-artistic-director-jessica-stone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/388416\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet La Jolla Playhouse’s next artistic director: Jessica Stone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jessica Stone, a Tony-nominated director (\u201cKimberly Akimbo,\u201d<\/a> \u201cWater for Elephants\u201d), has been named the new artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse, succeeding Christopher Ashley at the helm of one of the nation\u2019s preeminent regional theaters. The Board of Trustees of La Jolla Playhouse made the announcement on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Her appointment ends the monopoly of male artistic directors at peer institutions in Southern California. In a region that boasts some of the country\u2019s most important nonprofit theaters (the Old Globe, South Coast Repertory, Center Theatre Group, Pasadena Playhouse and the Geffen Playhouse), La Jolla Playhouse will be the only one of this elite group with a woman calling the artistic shots.<\/p>\n

Stone had a flourishing career as an actor, racking up numerous Broadway credits before she transitioned to directing. Her last outing on a Broadway stage as a performer came in Kathleen Marshall\u2019s 2011 Tony-winning revival of \u201cAnything Goes,\u201d starring Sutton Foster.<\/p>\n

The next time Stone worked on Broadway was in 2022 as the director of the Tony-winning musical \u201cKimberly Akimbo.\u201d The show is based on David Lindsay-Abaire\u2019s 2000 offbeat play about a teenager with a condition that causes rapid aging. While still in high school, she transforms physically into an elderly woman.<\/p>\n

Not the stuff of ordinary musicals, but Lindsay-Abaire, who wrote the book and lyrics, and Jeanine Tesori, who wrote the score, nailed the eccentric humor along with the lyrical poignancy. And Stone seamlessly balanced these elements in a production that was as tonally assured as a John Ashbery poem.<\/p>\n

\u201cKimberly Akimbo\u201d has no connection to La Jolla Playhouse. It began at New York\u2019s Atlantic Theater Company before moving to Broadway. But this quirky musical with a dramatic soul might serve as the platonic ideal of a La Jolla Playhouse show. <\/p>\n

The official mission<\/a> of the theater is to tell \u201cstories that inspire empathy and create dialogue toward a more just future\u201d by cultivating \u201ca local, national and global following with an insatiable appetite for audacious work.\u201d In a video call interview that included managing director Debby Buchholz, Stone seized on the word \u201caudacious\u201d as a key reason for her interest in the job. <\/p>\n

\"Jessica <\/p>\n

Jessica Stone, left, La Jolla Playhouse\u2019s newly named artistic director, stands with Debby Buchholz, the theater\u2019s managing director. <\/p>\n

(Erica Joan Productions)<\/p>\n

Stone admitted that she was initially resistant. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t necessarily something that I had on a bucket list,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m a creature of habit. And a mother and a daughter and a wife. I had worked all over the country as a director, but I had been working in New York for quite a few years, and that was my artistic home.\u201d<\/p>\n

She credits her friend, \u201cJersey Boys\u201d book writer Rick Elice, who also wrote the book for the musical \u201cWater for Elephants,\u201d with opening her eyes. He asked her if she ever had an artistic home. Stone thought back to her formative period at Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Elice\u2019s words about not dismissing such a gift stayed with her. <\/p>\n

But what really turned things around, she said, was \u201cthe opportunity to be a part of making an artistic home for others.\u201d In doing her due diligence, she discovered that audacious creativity really does lie at the core of La Jolla Playhouse\u2019s commitment to new work. And she felt confident it was a match of sensibilities. <\/p>\n

In describing her aesthetic, Stone said, \u201cI love a bold choice and a big swing, and I want to push the boundaries.\u201d She compared her work in \u201cKimberly Akimbo,\u201d an intimate scale musical, and \u201cWater for Elephants,\u201d a grander offering with epic themes and circus-style theatrics, and concluded: \u201cI like to zoom in and I like to zoom out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buchholz shared that in the course of the search process, a number of trustees saw \u201cKimberly Akimbo\u201d when it was on tour in Southern California. \u201cAnd the whole conversation afterwards was why didn\u2019t that start with us?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Carolee <\/p>\n

Carolee Carmello, left, and Miguel Gil star in the national tour of \u201cKimberly Akimbo.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Joan Marcus)<\/p>\n

Mindful of her Playhouse predecessors, Stone said she wants to continue to build on their legacy. She\u2019s worked as an actor for Des McAnuff, whose tenure as artistic director transformed the Playhouse into a Tony-winning regional theater powerhouse. And she\u2019s collaborated with Ashley, both as a performer and as an associate director. (\u201cI think I was a terrible associate director,\u201d she said with self-deprecating humor, \u201cbut I have a long history with Chris.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Stone is not the first woman artistic director in La Jolla Playhouse\u2019s history. Anne Hamburger, who succeeded Michael Greif in the role in 1999, served little more than a year before leaving to become an executive vice president of creative entertainment at the Walt Disney Co. But Stone\u2019s appointment is nonetheless noteworthy for the region. Women artistic directors are not uncommon elsewhere. The two leading regional theaters in the Bay Area, American Conservatory Theater and Berkeley Rep, are led by women. But Southern California, which has made headway in other areas of leadership diversity, has lagged behind. <\/p>\n

When asked to comment on the significance, Stone said that she hopes it was her bold aesthetic that was the determining factor in her appointment and not her gender. Buchholz confirmed that indeed was the case: \u201cI can tell you absolutely that it was the bold choices and big swings that made Jessica absolutely the hands-down choice of our search committee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buchholz added that she appreciated that the board had her on the search committee, \u201cbecause this is a little bit of a marriage, a co-leadership. I do not work for Jessica and Jessica does not work for me. Both of us report directly to the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"La <\/p>\n

La Jolla Playhouse artistic director Christopher Ashley holds his Tony Award for directing \u201cCome From Away.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Lauren Radack)<\/p>\n

Stone added: \u201cI love to have a partner in crime. Our skill sets complement each other\u2019s well and I believe this scaffolding is necessary for any institution. I feel really lucky to have Debby\u2019s expertise to lean on as well as her generosity with regard to my own spreading of wings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, the Playhouse appointed Eric Keen-Louie as artistic producing director. Buchholz explained that the position came about in recognition that, given the amount of time Ashley was away with projects that were developed at La Jolla Playhouse, there was a need for \u201csomeone in place who stays and doesn\u2019t direct elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur expectation is that Jessica will develop work here and that whether it\u2019s a co-production or something moving to Broadway or commercially that she\u2019ll need to continue to work on it,\u201d Buchholz said. \u201cAnd now we have a very strong structure in place that supports the continuing work at the Playhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known Eric for a long time,\u201d Stone said, \u201cand the thing that I\u2019m excited about is he and I run in some of the same circles, but we also have different relationships with different artists. I\u2019m really excited to meet his folks and introduce him to mine. He has impeccable taste, and it\u2019s really fun already to read scripts and listen to scores together and spitball with each other. I think it\u2019s going to be a really rich partnership.\u201d <\/p>\n

Who will be determining the programming? Stone confirmed that the artistic buck will stop with her. <\/p>\n

Regional theaters have been fighting for their survival since the COVID-19 pandemic. Budgets have been slashed, layoffs have been rampant, production costs have soared and morale has plummeted as audiences have been recalibrating their entertainment options.<\/p>\n

La Jolla Playhouse isn\u2019t impervious to these headwinds, but Buchholz said that the theater is in a relatively healthy position. Both Stone and Buchholz acknowledged the benefits of a strong, supportive board, and that support is indicative that something has been working.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a pretty clear mission and we have an audience that understands what that mission is and we\u2019ve largely stuck to it,\u201d Buchholz said. \u201cAnd so our audiences came back pretty much as soon as they could come back. As a matter of fact, our subscription and single ticket numbers have grown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Has the changing political landscape had any impact on programming or on equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives? The conversation has changed and perhaps grown more intense, Buchholz acknowledged, but the values and priorities of the Playhouse remain the same. <\/p>\n

\u201cRight now politics is front of consciousness for everyone, but we\u2019ve always been a company that has prided itself on people seeing themselves on stage and represented,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we\u2019ve never programmed on the nose. And once or twice we\u2019ve accidentally found that our programming was on the nose, and that\u2019s when our audiences didn\u2019t come. They come for diverse programming, but diverse with a smaller \u2018d\u2019 rather than a big \u2018D.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems to me that the most exciting theater comes from a multitude of voices but involves universal themes,\u201d Stone added. \u201cTo me, that is always the organizing principle.\u201d<\/p>\n

La Jolla Playhouse has a reputation for being a luxurious Broadway launching pad. The complex, which includes three primary venues (each under 500 seats) and a black box that\u2019s used mainly for readings and workshops, occupies a serene corner of UC San Diego\u2019s scenic campus. The Playhouse has not only cachet but geography. (Who wouldn\u2019t want to spend a winter developing a new show in this sun-drenched, seaside San Diego community?)<\/p>\n

During Ashley\u2019s tenure, \u201cMemphis\u201d<\/a> and \u201cThe Outsiders\u201d <\/a>won Tony Awards for best musical and \u201cCome From Away\u201d earned Ashley a directing Tony. But there has also been a good deal of commercial<\/a> dross<\/a>. There are conspicuous downsides<\/a> for a nonprofit company getting accustomed to enhancement money from outside producers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe risks are that we start to feel like a rental house and don\u2019t have our fingerprints on something that we stand by that goes to New York,\u201d Stone said. \u201cThe goal is for that not to be the case. There are benefits to the enhancement that comes with these shows that move to New York, but the goal has to first be what\u2019s right for San Diego.\u201d<\/p>\n

The producing environment has grown more challenging for serious drama. It\u2019s easier to sell tickets to a new musical than a new play. The same holds true for revivals. But Stone, who pointed to Kimberly Belflower\u2019s \u201cJohn Proctor Is the Villain\u201d<\/a> as a contemporary drama that can galvanize an audience, said that she\u2019s interested in \u201cdeepening the resources for being an incubator for new voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m also interested in expanding possibilities for later stage playwrights to develop their new work,\u201d she added, in a refreshing nod to an often overlooked area of inclusiveness. <\/p>\n

Stone is no stranger to San Diego, having directed comedies by Shakespeare, Shaw, Neil Simon and Christopher Durang (among others) at the Old Globe. In a text exchange, Old Globe artistic director Barry Edelstein <\/a>described Stone as \u201cwitty, sharp and rich in imagination.\u201d He called her \u201ca great hire, wonderful for the La Jolla Playhouse and San Diego for sure, but also for the American theater at large.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unstinting in his praise, Edelstein wrote, \u201cI\u2019ve had the privilege of producing her at The Old Globe, and she\u2019s become a friend. I know her to be warm and open, passionate, fiercely committed to artists, and also \u2014 and this really matters \u2014 truly funny. Chris Ashley did great work at the Playhouse and leaves huge shoes to fill, but Jess is poised (together with Debby, who is also brilliant) to lead the place on a huge leap forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ashley, who has been named artistic director of Roundabout Theatre Company, leaves his post at the end of the year. Stone, who is married to Tony-nominated actor Christopher Fitzgerald and has two children, will be dividing her time between New York and La Jolla when she takes the reins in early 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jessica Stone, a Tony-nominated director (\u201cKimberly Akimbo,\u201d \u201cWater for Elephants\u201d), has been named the new artistic director of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":388417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[185178,3387,185177,185173,1582,276,185175,161585,11545,125846,2961,224,5337,185172,405,185174,185176,39384,2549,15465],"class_list":{"0":"post-388416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-audacious-work","9":"tag-board","10":"tag-broadway-stage","11":"tag-buchholz","12":"tag-ca","13":"tag-california","14":"tag-christopher-ashley","15":"tag-geffen-playhouse","16":"tag-jessica","17":"tag-kimberly-akimbo","18":"tag-la","19":"tag-los-angeles","20":"tag-losangeles","21":"tag-meet-la-jolla-playhouse","22":"tag-new-york","23":"tag-next-artistic-director","24":"tag-preeminent-regional-theater","25":"tag-programming","26":"tag-southern-california","27":"tag-stone"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115572809239846122","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}