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Contact: Becky Biegelsen PRESS RELEASE (858) 228-3092 | [email protected] LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES 2020/2021 SEASON SLATE TO FEATURE TWO WORLD PREMIERES, A WIDELY-ACCLAIMED PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST AND A BROADWAY-BOUND MUSICAL Bhangin’ It World Premiere Book by Mike Lew and Rehana Lew Mirza Music and Lyrics by Sam Willmott Directed by Amy Anders Corcoran Mother Russia World Premiere By Lauren Yee Directed by Tyne Rafaeli What the Constitution Means to Me By Heidi Schreck Directed by Oliver Butler Lempicka Book and Lyrics by Carson Kreitzer Music by Matt Gould Directed by Rachel Chavkin Announced for Broadway in 2020/21 La Jolla, CA — La Jolla Playhouse announces four of six productions for its 2020/2021 season: the world premieres of Bhangin’ It, book by Mike Lew (Tiger Style!) and Rehana Lew Mirza (DNA New Work Series’ Child of Colonialism), music and lyrics by Sam Willmott, directed by Amy Anders Corcoran, co-produced with McCarter Theatre Center; and Mother Russia, by UC San Diego MFA alumna Lauren Yee (Cambodian Rock Band), directed by Tyne Rafaeli (The Coast Starlight); along with What the Constitution Means to Me, the acclaimed work by Pulitzer Prize finalist Heidi Schreck, directed by Oliver Butler; and the previously-announced, Broadway-bound musical Lempicka, book and lyrics by Carson Kreitzer, music by Matt Gould, directed by 2019 Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin (Broadway’s Hadestown). The season will also include a new show directed by Christopher Ashley, the Rich Family Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse, and a sixth production to be announced shortly. Tickets for the Playhouse’s 2020/2021 season are currently available only by subscription at LaJollaPlayhouse.org or by calling (858) 550-1010. --more-- (858) 550-1070 | 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037 | LaJollaPlayhouse.org “I couldn’t be more proud of this exceptional season, featuring two vibrant new musicals and a pair of plays by two of the most decorated playwrights working today,” said Ashley. “Bhangin’ It explores the competitive world of intercollegiate Bhangra dance in a charming and infectious musical comedy, while Lempicka is a riveting new piece about one of the 20th century’s most compelling artists. We’re also delighted to welcome back UC San Diego graduate Lauren Yee with her latest work, a comedy about dealing with new-found freedoms in 1990s Russia, and to share with audiences Heidi Schreck’s celebrated Broadway hit – a deeply personal and incredibly moving play about the defining document of our country.” About the 2020/2021 Season Bhangin’ It Book by Mike Lew and Rehana Lew Mirza Music and Lyrics by Sam Willmott Directed by Amy Anders Corcoran Co-Production with McCarter Theatre Center Winner of the 2019 Richard Rodgers Award, Bhangin’ It is an exhilarating new musical set in the high stakes world of intercollegiate competitive Bhangra: a traditional Punjabi folk dance morphed into a good ol' American dance-off. Mary, a biracial college student, thinks she's got all the right moves on the Bengal Tigers Bhangra team – but to teammate Preeti, she is just not “Indian enough.” When Mary is abruptly booted off the Tigers, she and her roommate Sunita put together a team whose only criteria for joining is a desire to dance. With Nationals coming up, can Mary whip this eclectic, ragtag group into shape to take on the competition? Brash, intoxicating and joyous, Bhangin' It is a celebration of the traditions we inherit from yesterday and those we create for tomorrow. Mother Russia By Lauren Yee Directed by Tyne Rafaeli Welcome to St. Petersburg in the 1990s – the Berlin Wall has fallen, the Soviet Union has dissolved and opportunity abounds. But barely-competent government surveillance workers Euvgeny and Dmitri find themselves lost in their strange new world of glasnost, perestroika and McDonald’s. When they’re assigned to track Katya, a fallen pop-star with international allure, a love triangle, mistaken identities and some really shoddy espionage tactics are set in motion. It’s possible they might just make it out of this mess and find happiness – if only they could make a decision. A world-premiere comedy about the curse of freedom and having to choose between the Filet-o-Fish and the Big Mac. --more-- (858) 550-1070 | 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037 | LaJollaPlayhouse.org What the Constitution Means to Me By Heidi Schreck Directed by Oliver Butler Direct from Broadway, the 2019 Tony-nominated Best Play and Pulitzer Prize finalist What the Constitution Means to Me, by famed writer Heidi Schreck, arrives at La Jolla Playhouse for a strictly limited engagement. This boundary-breaking play breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful and achingly-human new play, she resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives. Schreck’s timely and galvanizing play, directed by Oliver Butler, became a sensation off-Broadway last fall before transferring to Broadway, where it received two Tony Award nominations among countless other accolades. See the play The New York Times hails as "not just the best play on Broadway, but also the most important." Casting for What the Constitution Means to Me will be announced at a later date. Lempicka Book and Lyrics by Carson Kreitzer Music by Matt Gould Directed by Rachel Chavkin Amid the violence of the Russian Revolution, a young painter named Tamara de Lempicka and her aristocrat husband are forced to abandon their luxurious lifestyle and flee to the dubious safety of Paris. Relying on raw talent and relentless ambition, Tamara claws her way from penniless refugee to in-demand portraitist, earning a place among Parisian high society. Her world is upended once again when she meets Rafaela, a free spirit from the city slums, who introduces Tamara to a new world of decadence and passion. Torn between her new muse and her husband and fighting to leave her mark on an ever-changing world, Tamara must discover the depths of her own strength to survive. Spanning decades of political turmoil and told through a thrilling, pop-infused score, Lempicka boldly explores the contradictions of a world in crisis, a woman ahead of her era, and an artist whose time has finally come. The world premiere of Lempicka was originally produced in July 2018 by the Williamstown Theatre Festival; Mandy Greenfield, Artistic Director. --more-- (858) 550-1070 | 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037 | LaJollaPlayhouse.org Artist Biographies Christopher Ashley has served as La Jolla Playhouse’s Artistic Director since 2007. During his tenure, he has helmed the Playhouse’s productions of The Squirrels, Hollywood, The Darrell Hammond Project, His Girl Friday, Glengarry Glen Ross, A Dram of Drummhicit, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Restoration and the musicals Diana, which has been announced for a Broadway opening in March, 2020, along with Escape to Margaritaville, Freaky Friday, Chasing the Song, Xanadu, Memphis, which won four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and Come From Away, for which he won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical and the Craig Noel Award for Direction. He also spearheaded the Playhouse’s Without Walls (WOW) series and the Resident Theatre program. Prior to joining the Playhouse, he directed the Broadway productions of Xanadu (Drama Desk nomination), All Shook Up and The Rocky Horror Show (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), as well as the Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration productions of Sweeney Todd and Merrily We Roll Along. Other New York credits include: Blown Sideways Through Life, Jeffrey (Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards), The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Valhalla, Regrets Only, Wonder of the World, Communicating Doors, Bunny Bunny, The Night Hank Williams Died and Fires in the Mirror (Lucille Lortel Award), among others. Ashley also directed the feature films Jeffrey and Lucky Stiff, as well as the American Playhouse production of Blown Sideways Through Life for PBS. He is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award, Drama League Director Fellowship and NEA/TCG Director Fellowship. Oliver Butler (Director, What the Constitution Means to Me) is a founder and co-Artistic Director of The Debate Society. He recently directed the Broadway premiere of What the Constitution Means to Me (Tony, Lucille Lortel, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award nominations; finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama), the west coast Premiere of Will Eno's Thom Pain (based on nothing) starring Rainn Wilson at The Geffen Playhouse, Thom Pain (based on nothing) starring Michael C. Hall at the Signature Theatre Company and The Amateurs by Jordan Harrison at The Vineyard. Regional productions include Itamar Moses’s The Whistleblower at Denver Center, Christopher Shinn's An Opening in Time at Hartford Stage and Daniel Goldfarb's Legacy at Williamstown Theatre Festival. In Australia he directed the premiere of Timeshare by Lally Katz at The Malthouse in Melbourne. He also directed the premiere of Will Eno’s The Open House (OBIE Award for Direction; Lortel Award, Best Play) at the Signature Theatre Company. He is a Sundance Institute Fellow and a Bill Foeller Fellow (Williamstown). --more-- (858) 550-1070 | 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037 | LaJollaPlayhouse.org Rachel Chavkin (Director, Lempicka) received the 2019 Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Director of a Musical for Hadestown. She is a director, writer and dramaturg, as well as the founding Artistic Director of Brooklyn-based ensemble the TEAM (theteamplays.org), whose work has been seen all over London and the UK, including the National Theatre, Royal Court and multiple collaborations with the National Theatre of Scotland.