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{{Short description|American non-profit theatre company}}{{use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}

factoids

| architect = | owner = UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television| tenant = | operator = Geffen Playhouse Inc.| capacity = Gil Cates Theater: 512Audrey Skirball Kenis Theatre:149Regional theater in the United States>Regional theater| opened = 1970s| reopened = 1995| yearsactive = | rebuilt = 2005| closed = | demolished = | othernames = | production = | currentuse = weblink}}}}The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhouse is located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named for donor David Geffen. The current executive director is Gil Cates Jr.WEB, Geffen Playhouse,weblink dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170816064032weblink">weblink August 16, 2017, 16 August 2017, Geffen Playhouse Press Release,

Venues, performances

The Geffen Playhouse offers five plays per season in the Gil Cates Theater and three plays per season in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, as well as producing special events in both venues. The Playhouse is known for performances by film and television actors, including Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Idina Menzel, Andy Garcia, Dulé Hill, Jason Alexander, Debbie Allen, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Dana Delany, Roma Downey, Peter Falk, Ginnifer Goodwin, Neil Patrick Harris, David Hyde Pierce, Carrie Fisher, Jane Kaczmarek, Alfred Molina, Rebecca Pidgeon, Amber Chardae Robinson, George Segal, Martin Short, Alicia Silverstone, Rita Wilson, James Van Der Beek, and Bryan Cranston.

History

The Geffen Playhouse was built in 1929 as the Masonic Affiliates Club, or the MAC, for students and alumni at UCLA. One of the first 12 structures built in Westwood Village, it was designed by architect Stiles O. Clements.{{Citation | title = Geffen Playhouse - Westwood | url=http://www.calendarlive.com/stage/78725,0,975041.location?coll=cl-stage-util | access-date = 2007-02-22 }} Its courtyard fountain is a piece from Malibu Potteries; the two patterns can be seen on and in Malibu Potteries founder Rhoda May Knight Rindge's daughter's house, the Adamson House, which Clements designedWEB,weblink Welcome to Adamson House, www.adamsonhouse.org, (the same year he designed the Geffen) and for which Rindge provided the tile. The pattern on the lower tier of the Geffen's fountain appears in the Adamson House dining room, while the pattern on the upper tier can be seen on the east exterior face of the dining room, bordering a Moorish arch window.Originally named the Contempo Theatre, and later the Westwood Playhouse,NEWS, Loynd, Ray, STAGE REVIEW : 'Pad': Strong Execution of Inge Drama,weblink 26 June 2020, Los Angeles Times, 17 October 1990, the property was purchased by UCLA in 1993. UCLA's then-chancellor, Charles E. Young, appointed Gil Cates, founder and former president of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, as its producing director. The theater was renamed in 1995 after media mogul David Geffen donated $5 million, one of the largest philanthropic donations ever made to an already constructed theater.{{Citation | last = Torres | first = Jesse | title = Geffen Playhouse | url =weblink | access-date = 2007-02-22 }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{Citation | last = Padilla | first = Jessica | title = New Geffen gift benefits playhouse | url=http://www.today.ucla.edu/2002/020625geffen.html | access-date = 2007-02-22 |archive-url =weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060901085654weblink">weblink |archive-date = September 1, 2006|url-status=dead}}In 2002, the David Geffen Foundation made a $5-million lead gift towards an eventual $17-million capital campaign to renovate the theater, which was originally a Masonic lodge. The renovation gutted the theater while keeping its historical character. The Geffen reopened on November 16, 2005 with the main 500-seat theater retained and a new 125-seat Audrey Skirball-Kenis Theater added.WEB, Diem, Erica, Oct 5, 2005, Geffen nearly set to reopen its doors,weblink live,weblink 2024-02-15, 2024-02-15, Daily Bruin, UCLA students, In March 2010, the Playhouse's board of directors named the main stage the Gil Cates Theater.WEB, Geffen's Mainstage Is Now the Gil Cates Theater,weblink 2015-06-02, March 23, 2010, Jones, Kenneth, Playbill, Geffen Playhouse founder Gil Cates Sr. died in October 2011.WEB,weblink Gil Cates dies at 77; producer, director and showman, 2011-11-02, Los Angeles Times, en-US, 2020-02-25, Gil Cates, Jr. was appointed executive director in 2004. Two funding drives followed, the Geffen Playhouse Legacy Fund and the Innovation Fund.WEB,weblink Gil Cates Jr. named executive director of Geffen Playhouse, 2015-06-12, Los Angeles Times, en-US, 2020-02-25, Matt Shakman was appointed artistic director in August 2017, followed by Tarell Alvin McCraney in September 2023.WEB, 2023-09-12, Playwright and 'Moonlight' screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney to lead Geffen Playhouse,weblink 2023-09-12, Los Angeles Times, en-US,

Awards and nominations

{|class="sortable wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"! style="background:#EEDD82;"|Awards! style="background:#EEDD82;"|Production! style="background:#EEDD82;"|Nominations! style="background:#EEDD82;"|Wins! style="background:#EEDD82;" class="unsortable"|NotesLouis & Keely, Live at the Sahara| 5| 3| Won for Best Production, Lead Actor, and Lead ActressBeethoven As I Knew Him| 2| 1| Won for Sound Design (Erik Carstensen)Farragut North (play)>Farragut North| 2| 0| Time Stands Still (play)>Time Stands Still| 2| 0| Equivocation (play)>Equivocation| 8| 3| Won for Best Production, Featured Actor, and Lighting DesignThrough the Night| 5| 2| Won for Lead Actor and Sound DesignExtraordinary Chambers| 5| 0| Superior Donuts| 4| 0| Good People (play)>Good People| 8| 0| The Jacksonian| 1| 0| Radiance: The Passion Of Marie Curie| 1| 0| The Pianist Of Willesden Lane| 1| 0| American Buffalo (play)>American Buffalo| 2| 0| Yes, Prime Minister| 1| 0| Miss Julie| 1| 0| |Ovation Awards|Geffen Playhouse|1|0DATE=NOVEMBER 2, 2017, |Ovation Awards|Actually|6|1|Award for Best Playwriting for an Original Play|Ovation Awards|The Legend of Georgia McBride|8|3|Awards for Best Choreography, Lighting Design and Costume Design|Ovation Awards|Icebergs|1|0|Lucas Verbrugghe nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Play|Ovation Awards|Barbecue|1|0||Ovation Awards|Long Day's Journey Into Night|2|0||Ovation Awards|Geffen Playhouse|1|0DATE=NOVEMBER 19, 2018, |Ovation Awards|Ironbound|4|1DATE=JANUARY 28, 2019, |Ovation Awards|Sell/Buy/Date|1|1|Award for Best Presented Production|Ovation Awards|Significant Other|1|0||Ovation Awards|Skeleton Crew|7|1|Award for Best Scenic Design|Ovation Awards|Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole |7|1DATE=JANUARY 14, 2020, Los Angeles Times, |Ovation Awards|Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol|8|8|Award for Best Production, Direction, Lead Actor in a Play, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Scenic Design, Sound Design|Ovation Awards|Black Super Hero Magic Mama|1|0|Nominated for Best Costume Design|Ovation Awards|Mysterious Circumstances|2|0|Nominated for Best Lighting Design, Scenic Design

References

External links

• Geffen Playhouse website
• UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television website
• Ronald Frink Architects - weblink

{{UCLA}}{{Westwood, Los Angeles}}