2022/2023 Season

Lempicka

West Coast Premiere

Lempicka

June 14 – July 24, 2022 | Mandell Weiss Theatre

Book, Lyrics & Original Concept by Carson Kreitzer

Book & Music by Matt Gould

Choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly

Directed by Rachel Chavkin

A BROADWAY-BOUND MUSICAL – SEE IT HERE FIRST!

Listen now to songs from the upcoming Lempicka cast EP presented by Sony Masterworks Broadway!

Listen Now

“Boldness pulses through Lempicka, a Broadway-bound musical that’s as ambitious and complex as the painter it frames onstage”
Los Angeles Times

“Ravishing…Dazzling”
“Eden Espinosa delivers a fierce and formidable acting and vocal performance”
“[Amber Iman’s] liquid amber voice has a fluidity…and a resonating richness”
“[George Abud’s] edgy performance…is one of those moments in a show where thoughts of future Tony nominations dance in the head — for him, as well as for Espinosa and Iman”
The San Diego Union-Tribune

“Dynamic and exciting, with lots of bold music, innovative staging, gorgeous costumes and projections, and powerhouse vocals”
Broadway World

Latest Press

Art Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka is a celebrity icon of modernity, famed both for her stunning portraits of jazz era society and for her unapologetic, daring lifestyle. Fleeing political upheaval in St. Petersburg to the glamour of 1920s Paris, Tamara uses her raw talent and relentless ambition to claw her way from penniless refugee to in-demand portraitist. Her world is upended 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.

Madonna and Barbra Streisand are counted among her fervent collectors – now, the Broadway-bound musical Lempicka explores Tamara’s remarkable life with a powerhouse cast, sumptuous staging and a thrilling pop-infused score. Get your tickets today for this breathtaking musical about a woman ahead of her era – and an artist whose time has finally come.

Explore Tamara de Lempicka’s Artwork
» View our gallery
(Images used courtesy of Tamaradelempickaestate.com)
The Life & Art of Tamara de Lempicka
» Watch a chat with Roxana Velázquez (Executive Director & CEO of the San Diego Museum of Art

Production Sponsors
The Paula Marie Black Endowment for Women’s Voices in the Art of Theatre


ACCESS Performance (ASL interpretation): Saturday, July 2 at 2:00 pm
ACCESS Performance (Audio Description): Saturday, July 2 at 2:00 pm

ACCESS performances offer American Sign Language interpretation for patrons who are d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing and Audio Description for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Inquire with Patron Services for available ACCESS subscription series (858) 550-1010.


Covid-19 Policy (Updated June 20, 2022)

Masks will be required indoors for all performances of Lempicka. Proof of vaccination or negative Covid-19 PCR test results are not required. For up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 safety procedures, please visit our Covid Safety Page.

Complete ticket flexibility! Purchase tickets today and if for any reason you cannot attend on your performance date, call Patron Services to discuss options such as exchange, refunds, gift certificates.

Covid-19 Safety  Parking

Onsite Dining:

La Jolla Playhouse’s on-site restaurant, James’ Place, is open for dinner service at 5:00pm on nights of performances. James’ Place offers full bar service and a selection of specialty Asian fusion, steak & coastal cuisine items, per the menu below. Reservations can be made by phone as well as OpenTable. Indoor and outdoor seating options are available. Please note, James’ Place is not open prior to matinee performances.

Click here to view the menu

Concessions
Concessions opens 90 minutes before showtime at the bar outside of the Weiss Theatre. Come early to relax outside and enjoy a selection of beer, wine, cocktails, sodas and individually wrapped snacks. All food and drinks must be consumed before entering the theatre.

» Click here to read the program online

Performance Note: For performances July 12th through July 24th, the role of Rafaela will be played by Ximone Rose.

Approximate run time: 2 hours and 50 minutes, including intermission

Content note: This production contains strobe lights, haze, prop guns, vape cigarettes/e-cigarettes and adult content.

The world premiere of Lempicka was originally produced in July 2018 by the Williamstown Theatre Festival; Mandy Greenfield, Artistic Director.
Top banner photo credit: Eden Espinosa as “Tamara de Lempicka” with cast members (l-r) Devin L. Roberts, Joey Taranto and Morgan Nicholas Scott in La Jolla Playhouse’s production of LEMPICKA; photo by Matthew Murphy.


Cast & Creators
  • Creators
  • Cast
  • Design
Image of Carson Kreitzer Carson Kreitzer Book/Lyrics/Original Concept

is a playwright, lyricist, librettist and a recent Guggenheim, MacDowell and McKnight Fellow. Current projects include CAPITAL CRIME!, a play with songs set in Gilded Age New York, and a series of plays about the climate crisis: GREEN, TIMEBOMB and a third play inspired by her time on a ship in the Arctic, exploring the Svalbard Archipelago as part of The Arctic Circle Artist and Scientist Residency Program. Her plays include THE LOVE SONG OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER (Rosenthal New Play Prize, Steinberg New Play Citation and Stavis Award), THE SLOW DRAG (New York and London) and LASSO OF TRUTH (NNPN Rolling World Premiere). She is a Core Writer with The Playwrights’ Center, an alumna of New Dramatists and was the first Playwrights of New York (PoNY) Fellow at the Lark. Her collection SELF DEFENSE and other plays is available from No Passport Press.

Carson Kreitzer Book/Lyrics/Original Concept
Image of Raja Feather Kelly Raja Feather Kelly Choreography

is a choreographer, director, and the artistic director of the feath3r theory and New Brooklyn Theatre. A three-time winner of the Princess Grace Award, Kelly is a current fellow of HERE Arts, and a Creative Associate at The Juilliard School. Over the past decade, he has created 15 evening-length premieres with his company the feath3r theory, as well as choreographing extensively for Off-Broadway theatre. In 2019 he was nominated for the Lucille Lortel and Chita Rivera Awards for Outstanding Choreography. He also garnered a 2018 Breakout Award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, DANCE MAGAZINE's inaugural Harkness Promise Award (2018), and the Solange MacArthur Award for New Choreography (2016). Kelly was born in Fort Hood, Texas and holds a B.A. in Dance and English from Connecticut College.

Raja Feather Kelly Choreography
Image of Rachel Chavkin Rachel Chavkin Direction

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. Selected freelance work: NATASHA, PIERRE, & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 (Ars Nova, A.R.T., Broadway); THE ROYALE (Old Globe, Lincoln Center); SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS (Ars Nova, Off-Broadway, national tour) and multiple collaborations with Taylor Mac. In addition to her awards for HADESTOWN, Chavkin is a recipient of a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical, three Obie Awards, a Drama Desk Award, multiple Lortel Award nominations, two Doris Duke Impact Award nominations and the 2017 Smithsonian Award for Ingenuity along with Dave Malloy, with whom she is working on an upcoming adaptation of MOBY DICK (A.R.T., Dec 2019.)

Rachel Chavkin Direction
  • Remy KursMusic Supervisor & Arrangements
  • Cian McCarthyOrchestrator
  • Riccardo HernandezScenic Design
  • Anita YavichCostume Design
  • Bradley KingLighting Design
  • Justin StasiwSound Design
  • Peter NigriniProjection Design
  • Tom WatsonHair & Wig Design
  • Peter DuchanScript Consultant
  • Telsey + Co, Craig Burns, CSACasting
  • Jacole KitchenCasting
  • Cody Renard RichardProduction Stage Manager
  • Aaron ElgartAssistant Stage Manager
  • Emily SearlesAssistant Stage Manager
  • Bejamin SeibertSenior Production Manager
  • Becca DuhaimeProduction Manager
Venue Info

Mandell Weiss Theatre

The Mandell Weiss Theatre is a 492-seat proscenium arch theatre, with two front rows of removable seats allowing for a greater stage length. The theatre also maintains an upstairs wooden deck for parties, receptions and outdoor gatherings, and a small outdoor amphitheatre for pre-show entertainment.

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