To date, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s inaugural season on the helm of the Geffen Playhouse has spanned a muscular revival of “The Brothers Size,” a co-production of “Noises Off” and a starry staging of “Waiting for Godot.”
Unbeknownst to the general public, the playwright’s tenure on the metropolis’s most distinguished Westside theater has additionally included workshops of practically each manufacturing scheduled for the 2025-26 season. It’s an effort supposed to cement the Geffen as a lab for inventive improvement and a platform for artistic experimentation and improvement of recent works.
“It was a thought that became a dream that came to fruition,” the theater’s inventive director instructed The Occasions final week. “To have more time with the plays, and the writers and directors, beforehand — that may not seem unique, but so much of the development process [in the industry] has gone away, especially in the regions where theaters tend to program a play that’s already been done. They do the work in the rehearsal process, but that period of time is so focused on the production itself.
“Especially with world premieres, I was like, ‘We gotta slow down, we need time for writers to really get under the hood to the juicy part, where they can explore ideas or try things or figure out how something might work,’ “ he continued.
“We’re making sure that, for these artists, you’re feeling nourished and getting to know us as a producing entity, we’re getting to know you, and we’re creating, hopefully, lifelong relationships in this way. It’s kept us really busy but it feels very much like we’re harvesting some great things and then sharing it with our audiences and community, and we plan to keep doing that.”
The Geffen’s 2025-26 season, unveiled to the theater’s donors and subscribers on Monday night time, begins with the world premiere of “Am I Roxie?” (Sept. 3 to Oct. 5), written and carried out by Roxana Ortega. Within the one-woman present, directed by Bernardo Cubría within the Gil Cates Theater, Ortega navigates the chaos of her mom’s psychological decline with honesty, humor and energy of spirit, all whereas enjoying the whole lot from a mermaid-obsessed aunt to a prickly Sherpa.
Subsequent is the world premiere of Rudi Goblen’s “Littleboy/Littleman” (Oct. 1 to Nov. 2), a story of two Nicaraguan brothers — one a gentle telemarketer, the opposite an impulsive poet — who conflict over their visions of the American Dream. The manufacturing, directed by Nancy Medina within the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, blends poetry, reside music and ritual in its exploration of brotherhood and belonging.
“No first outing of anything should be its last, you always want it to be the start of something,” stated McCraney of the season’s world premieres. “As a writer, I know that a first production can be hampered down if it’s overproduced or if it’s pushed in a way that it doesn’t have more space to grow. These pieces [in the season] have potential for growth, so we’re putting them with directors who love new work and setting these plays up for a kind of expansion, because we want other theaters to see these first productions and then want to be part of that growth as well.”
Douglas Lyons, whose play “Table 17” will make its West Coast premiere on the Geffen subsequent season.
(Carlin Stiehl/For The Occasions)
The Gil Cates Theater then welcomes the West Coast premiere of Douglas Lyons’ “Table 17” (Nov. 5 to Dec. 7), the romantic comedy during which a beforehand engaged couple reunites at a restaurant to, casually however fastidiously, untangle the previous. Zhailon Levingston once more directs the manufacturing, having additionally helmed its twice-extended, off-Broadway world-premiere run final 12 months.
The brand new 12 months kicks off with the world premiere of Beth Hyland’s “Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia” (Feb. 4 to March 8, 2026), a couple of novelist who, grappling with author’s block and her husband’s rising fame, seeks solace within the iconic Boston residence as soon as inhabited by Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Directed by Jo Bonney within the Gil Cates Theater, the tragicomic thriller explores creativity, obsession and the price of creating artwork.
The season continues with the Los Angeles premiere of Sara Porkalob’s “Dragon Mama” (March 4 to April 12, 2026), following this season’s hit run of her tour-de-force “Dragon Lady.” Andrew Russell directs this installment of the Dragon Cycle within the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater; this time, the solo present with music facilities on Porkalob’s mom who, compelled to boost her 4 siblings, is offered with a chance to chase her personal desires.
“Sara brought a level of intimacy with our audiences with her production of ‘Dragon Lady’ that we don’t want to let go of,” stated McCraney, who stays dedicated to programming Porkalob’s total trilogy for Los Angeles. “We want our audiences to come in with a familiarity of, ‘She’s going to talk directly to us, make jokes to us and sing with us.’ ”
Sara Porkalob starring in “Dragon Lady” at Geffen Playhouse earlier this season. She is going to carry out “Dragon Mama” subsequent season.
(Jeff Lorch)
Then, a revival of Athol Fugard’s deeply private drama “ ‘Master Harold’…and the Boys” (April 8 to Could 10, 2026) takes over the Gil Cates Theater. Set in a South African tea store throughout apartheid, the Tony-nominated play facilities on the son of the store’s white proprietor, the 2 Black waiters who helped increase him and the charged conversations that problem their fragile, shared bond.
“It’s a play that I’ve loved and has been on my mind, and the moment we looked into the rights, we heard of Athol passing away,” stated McCraney of the playwright, who died final month. “It was a sign that we have to do this very important play, the moment of the play is something we need to remember, and it’ll allow us to have deep conversations about the harder questions in our society — who we are in relation to each other, and how this system of oppression made it impossible for people to be loving to each other, because you need freedom to have love.”
The season concludes with the West Coast premiere of Pearl Cleage’s “Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous” (June 10 to July 12, 2026), a sharp-witted and soulful comedy a couple of seasoned actress who, whereas launching a comeback, finds herself clashing a brand new technology of artists and activists. LaTanya Richardson Jackson directs the staging within the Gil Cates Theater, produced in affiliation with Black Rebirth Collective and made doable partially by help from Forged Iron Leisure.
“The first five to 10 minutes of the play pisses me off, tells me about myself and makes me see through another perspective in a way that I feel so nourished by,” stated McCraney. “She wrote a play that talks to us, artists who have had careers, and how we need to make room for folks who are online native, who look at the world ever so differently but have so many creative instincts that can only help us. We are a city full of artists and full of generational artists, and because it is so fun and succinct and focused on performance, we think it’ll be a delicious way to end our season.”
