La Jolla Playhouse Blog

Tomorrow is National “No Dirty Dishes” Day!

We’re taking a break from the washing and drying tomorrow during our food truck event Foodie Friday … and we want you to join us!

So tell us…

What is your favorite food truck?

Leave a comment below and you’ll be entered to win a pair of tickets to our delicious, dish-free Foodie Friday event, which includes tickets to our new musical Hands on a Hardbody, a complimentary microbrew tasting and access to some of San Diego’s hottest food trucks.

Put down those plates and start commenting!

• Hands on a Hardbody was featured on NPR this week! Listen to the station’s interview with the show’s creative team here.

• San Diego loves Hands on a Hardbody! Find out what audiences had to say about our new American musical in this exclusive video.

• The Hands on a Hardbody cast knocked it out of the park when they sang the national anthem at the Padres game. Plus, co-composer and Phish front man Trey Anastasio threw out the first pitch. Check out the photos here.

• Over on Twitter, we asked a few of the Hands on a Hardbody cast members to tell us about their first cars. Find out what they drove here. Plus enter to win tickets by telling us about your first ride.

• We’re thrilled to welcome the cast of Blood and Gifts to La Jolla Playhouse! Click here to check out photos from their first rehearsal this week.

• This week An Iliad (which opens at the Playhouse in August) and Tonya Pinkins from Milk Like Sugar both won Lucille Lortel Awards. Plus Josh Young from Jesus Christ Superstar and Jeremy Jordan from Bonnie and Clyde both received Theatre World Awards.

• The new musical Chaplin, which opened here at the Playhouse as Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin, is heading to Broadway in August. Get the details from Playbill.

• Who’s hungry? Tonight we’re bringing the Hands on a Hardbody truck down to Food Fest Friday in La Mesa. Come grab dinner from a few of San Diego’s hottest food trucks, plus spin our prize wheel! Details here from San Diego Food Trucks.

Co-composer Amanda Green with the HANDS ON A HARDBODY company during a sound check at Petco Park. Photo courtesy of Jay A. Johnson

**This contest is now closed. Thanks for sharing your stories about your first car!  A winner has been randomly selected. Congratulations to Christie P. – you’ve won a pair of tickets to our new musical, Hands on a Hardbody!**

During Hands on a Hardbody, ten strangers push their minds and bodies to the limit as they fight to keep their hands on a brand new truck.

Do you remember your first car? Was it brand new or barely hangin’ on? We want to hear about it.

Tell us about your first ride in the comments below. We’ll randomly select a winner to receive a pair of tickets to our exciting world-premiere musical.

(L-R) Jay Armstrong Johnson, Keala Settle, Hunter Foster and Keith Carradine in La Jolla Playhouse’s world-premiere, commissioned musical HANDS ON A HARDBODY

Over on Twitter, we asked a few of the Hands on a Hardbody cast and crew members to tell us about their first cars. Here’s what they had to say:

“Green volkswagen bug! (my mamas )” – Allison Case (Kelli Mangrum)

“A white ’96 Mazda Protege. That’s right, I can drive a standard #booya” – Jay Armstrong Johnson (Greg Wilhote)

“Jeep Wrangler Baby! I thought I was REALLY cool.” – Kathleen Elizabeth Monteleone (Heather Stovall)

“3 cylinder Geo Metro w/yellow donut – NO OIL!” -Jon Rua (Jesus Peña)

“Used Chevy Beretta. Had to pour coolant in at every stoplight so it wouldn’t overheat.” – Keala Settle (Norma Valverde)

“My first car was a ’92 geo prizm…with faded red paint. Loved that car!” -Laura Zingle (Stage Management Assistant)

“’89 red Honda accord with a sunroof!” – Emily Hayes (Second Assistant stage Manager)

Join in on the conversation by sending out a tweet with the hash tag #1stRide.

• What a thrill to be honored for the art we produce and the way we produce it! A few shows developed right here at La Jolla Playhouse received 13 Tony Award nominations, plus the institution received the highest rating (4 stars) from Charity Navigator. UT San Diego has a re-cap of the Tony Award nominations here. Click here to see a full list of nominees.

• Hands on! We posted production photos from our exciting, world-premiere musical Hands on a Hardbody. Check them out on our Facebook page or on Playbill.

• San Diego is excited about Hands on a Hardbody!  Check out this video feature from NBC San Diego, Jazz 88‘s radio interview with playwright Doug Wright and this feature in Relix Magazine, featuring an interview with co-composer Amanda Green.

• Play ball! This Monday, the Hands on a Hardbody cast will be performing the national anthem at the Padres game. Plus, co-composer and Phish front man Trey Anastasio will be throwing the first pitch. Learn more here.

• Tickets are now on sale for our exciting spy thriller Blood and Gifts, re-imagined classic An Iliad and the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross. Get your tickets here.

• Mark your calendars! Out & About, our pre-show mixer for the LGBT community, will now be held on Friday, June 1. Details here.

• We had a fantastic time at Art Walk in Little Italy last week. Here are photos of some of the folks who stopped by to get their hands on our Hands on a Hardbody truck.

Allison Case (seated on truck) and the cast of La Jolla Playhouse’s world-premiere, commissioned musical HANDS ON A HARDBODY

• Our world premiere musical Hands on a Hardbody hits the stage for the very first time next week. Check out this exclusive video about the music from the creative team and sketches from rehearsal.

• Want to learn more about our new American musical?  Check out these feature stories from UT San Diego, North County Times, La Jolla Light and La Jolla Patch.

• We’re hitting the road with the Hands on a Hardbody truck! Come find the truck at one of our events and try your luck at our prize wheel. The first event is tonight during the Food Truck Extravaganza at 57 Degrees. Details here. (Click the “Events” tab)

• Peter and the Starcatcher opened last weekend to rave reviews. Check out this write-up from the New York Times. UT San Diego rounded up the rest of the reviews here.

• Want to win tickets to Hands on a Hardbody? Head over to our Facebook page for your chance to score tickets. (Make sure you like our page first!)

• On May 4, sip on delicious cocktails and mingle with the LGBT community during Out & About for Hands on a Hardbody.  Tickets available here.

Jay Armstrong Johnson (on truck, left) and Allison Case work through a scene for Hands on a Hardbody. Photo by Dana Holliday

• We released two exclusive videos from Hands on a Hardbody. Find out what inspired our new American musical in this video with the creative team. Then check out this video interview with one of the contestants, Greg Wilhote.

• Want to win tickets to Hands on a Hardbody? We just launched a new Facebook contest for tickets. Click here for your chance to win (just make sure you like our page first!)

• This Saturday at 1pm, we’ll be hosting a special workshop on our Summer Conservatory program. Stop by the Playhouse to find out how you can become a part of the same acting program that was also home to James Maslow from Big Time Rush and Bridget Regan from Legend of the Seeker.

• Rage Monthly Magazine did an interview with playwright Doug Wright on Hands on a Hardbody. Read the whole article on page 20 of this month’s issue.

• Celebrate the world premiere of Hands on a Hardbody with the LGBT community during Out & About on Friday, May 4. The event also features a pre-show mixer which includes cocktails and appetizers. Tickets available here.

• Memphis just became one of the top 100 longest running shows on Broadway.

• Get a behind-the-scenes look at Hands on A Hardbody! We posted photos of the first rehearsal and pictures of one of the show’s stars, our shiny new truck.

• Meet the creative team behind our exciting new Page To Stage musical The Nightingale -Moisés Kaufman (Director), Steven Sater (Author and Lyricist) and Duncan Sheik (Composer). Details here.

• This year’s Tony Awards will be hosted by La Jolla Playhouse gala honoree and actor Neil Patrick Harris. Here are the details from TheaterMania and a picture of NPH as “Mark” when he was starred in the Playhouse’s 1997 production of Rent.

• UT San Diego did a story on San Diego-linked shows that are hoping to take home a Tony Award. This includes 3 productions that have ties to the Playhouse – Jesus Christ Superstar, Peter and the Starcatcher and Leap of Faith. Read more.

• Ruined, our co-production with Huntington Theatre Company and Berkeley Repertory Theatre,  just won 5 Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards, including one for “Best Production.” Check out the results.

• The work of Playhouse Props Artist, Ryan Lewis, was featured at the US Institute for Theatre Technology’s conference. Check out a photo from the event here.

• Interested in volunteering at La Jolla Playhouse? The Playhouse Partners are having an informational meeting tomorrow (Saturday, April 7) in the Potiker Theatre at 10am. Learn more about the Playhouse Partners here.

Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green at the first rehearsal for the Playhouse's new musical, Hands on a Hardbody.

• This morning the cast of Recipe for Disaster took their final bows after bringing the POP Tour to dozens of schools across San Diego. Check out the photos from their adventures on our Facebook page.

• Today’s a big day for our favorite boys from Jersey! Tonight Jersey Boys will celebrate 2,643 performances, surpassing Hairspray’s record and making it the 20th longest running show on Broadway. Get the scoop from TheaterMania.

• The Playhouse developed Peter and the Starcatcher started previews on Broadway this week. Here are the details from Playbill.

• The Potiker Theatre was rockin’ all week with the sounds of The Aggrolites and Nikka Costa. Check out SoundDiego’s photos of our concert series.

• We are celebrating Hands on a Hardbody with two Foodie Friday events. Enjoy a free microbrew tasting from Stone Brewing Company on May 18 (with food trucks Slow Cal BBQ and Chop Soo-ey) and June 8 (with food trucks Super Q and Ms. Patty Melt) Plus, dessert truck Sweets in Motion will be joining us for both events. Get the details here.

• We posted new footage of Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway. Check it out here.

• March 27 was World Theatre Day. Find out more about the event from the Theatre Communications Group.

The cast of RECIPE FOR DISASTER played their final performance today.

• Our new American musical, Hands on a Hardbody, started rehearsals this week. We got to meet the cast at our company breakfast. Check out the photos on our Facebook page.

• The Second City made its La Jolla Playhouse debut. Don’t miss the Laugh Out Loud Tour in our cabaret style theatre. There are only 3 performances left. Get tickets here.

• Jesus Christ Superstar opened on Broadway last night! Find out what critics have to say about the show here.

• Next week, we’re teaming up with NBC SoundDiego to present an exciting new concert series, featuring reggae band The Aggrolites and singer/songwriter Nikka Costa. Tickets are just $10-15. More info available here.

• We announced the dates for two new Foodie Friday events. We’ll be celebrating Hands on a Hardbody with BBQ and beer from Stone Brewing Company on May 18 (with food trucks Slow Cal BBQ and Chop Soo-ey) and June 8 (with food trucks Super Q and Ms. Patty Melt) Plus, dessert truck Sweets in Motion will be joining us for both events. Get the details here.

• UT San Diego led off its annual “Spring Arts Preview” with some new details on Hands on a Hardbody. Read the whole thing here.

Hands on a Hardbody Director Neil Pepe welcomes the cast to La Jolla Playhouse.

Jesus Christ Superstar opened on Broadway last night! Here’s what critics are saying about the show.

“The slick…production, acclaimed from Canada to Southern California, is serious, passionate and handsome in ways that seem to grow from McAnuff’s recent years directing Shakespeare and opera.”
-Linda Winer, Newsday

“As he did in Stratford last summer, McAnuff embraces one of the musical theater’s most unusual, famous, bizarre, historically audacious and, in this instance, thoroughly enjoyable properties with a production remarkably in sync with the material. The savvy set design, by Robert Brill, uses platforms, staircases and catwalks that, with the help of Paul Tazewell’s use of punky but oft-metallic attire, put one in mind of the show’s loose alignment with Deep Purple and the other British rock goliaths of its thunderous era. And then, during the spectacular crucifixion scene, he uses those ubiquitous news-crawls that fill the proscenium with text and, crucially, make you ponder the staying power of the words and persona of Jesus Christ, cutting though the very kind of noise we’ve just been enjoying. All of the classic song stylings feel like they’re in place and respectfully wailed by actors happy to sing their faces off.”
- Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

“Hearing excellent singers deliver these tunes through powerful, crisp amplification is a primal thrill.”
-Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post

“If you thought you had a bead on “Jesus Christ Superstar” — great rock score, elementary version of “the greatest story ever told” — the electric revival that opened Thursday night at the Neil Simon Theatre will induce serious second thoughts….”Jesus Christ Superstar” is indelibly a show of its time, but this production suggests that it was built to last.”
-Robert Feldberg, Bergen Record

“This Superstar made me a believer again.”
-Michael Musto, Village Voice

“A revelatory production.”
-Kelly Nestruck, Toronto Globe and Mail

“Music director Rick Fox treats the rock-symphonic score and vocals with integrity appropriate to the era in which the material was born. And McAnuff’s pedal-to-the-metal direction never precludes sincerity as it weighs the once-controversial man-or-Messiah question. That means this staging is likely to speak to ‘70s nostalgists (guilty as charged) as well as younger musical fans curious to know what the fuss was about.”
-David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

“What a divine season it is for Jesus on Broadway. On one stage, nuns make a joyful noise in Sister Act. On another, he figures highly in The Book of Mormon. Yet another has him as the central figure in Godspell. And he is now in revival – here, we’re talking Broadway more than theology – in an effusive Jesus Christ Superstar, the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that opened Thursday.  It’s full of powerful, melodic ’70s-tinged music – the show premiered in 1971 and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” broke out to become a hit. The score, with Rice’s clever lyrics and Lloyd Webber’s many fanfare songs, is great fun to hear again, or probably also for the first time.”
-Howard Shapiro, Philadelphia Inquirer

Josh Young, Chilina Kennedy and Paul Nolan arriving at the Opening Night Party for Jesus Christ Supersetar on Broadway.