La Jolla Playhouse

Excellent venue; no bad seats; great acoustics; Broadway quality production at lower than Broadway prices!

Best theater in San Diego. I would highly recommend a season subscription. They always have a wonderful mix of shows and many of them have Broadway players and/​or go to Broadway. Some recent highlights include: Hunchback of Notre Dame, Yoshimi, Glengarry Glenn Ross, and of course, Jersey Boys!
The theaters are intimate and the staff is always very helpful. 5 stars for great theater!

To be fair, I’m sort of biased because I get a under 30 (and used to get a student) discount but I’m sure that the LJ playhouse is one of my favorite venues. Not only does it encourage young people to support the arts by offering these discounts but the venue is beautiful and intimate. I was enamored with their revival of Side Show. I’ll admit the first time I saw it, it didn’t immediately amaze me. But it did intrigue me so I saw it again… and again. The leads-​Emily Padgett and Erin Davie-​brought the characters of Daisy and Violet into new life. Their portrayals of the twins were quite different from the OBC and yet still true to heart of the original production. The company was particularly stellar and ensemble numbers that I would normally overlook were some of my favorites in the show.
Don’t even get me started on their production of Hunchback. Michael Arden, Ciara Renée, and Patrick Page? Thank the theater gods that there’s going to be cast recording & bigger thanks to the LJ playhouse for bringing such quality theater to SoCal.
I’m willing to admit that some of the experimental shows haven’t really been my cup of tea but variety exists to appeal to a wide audience. And there has always been a show or two per season that I’ve really enjoyed.

I liked this venue — it has a state-​of-​the-​art production system. I saw Up Here over the Summer. I wasn’t thrilled by Up Here, but it helped to see it at this theater.

I love this theater! Every seat is a great seat! It’s definitely a more intimate setting than the theater downtown. I am definitely coming back to the La Jolla Playhouse because the experience was awesome!

Performance par Excellence…
Plus if you spend time nearby, and happen to have two adorable 4pawed buddies – you get to know the cast and crew etc. — and they are always kind and gracious. Must be something to do with San Diegian’s (is that a word)? Native charm. Or fur balls. Whatever it is, they give it their all. Bravo! Hats off! We are damn lucky to have them here!

The BF brought me to see Coming From Away… It was Fabulous! Absolutely amazing! Love the show! Love the cast! Love the venue!

My first time on a Theater in San Diego and I enjoyed it veryyy much! The place was super clean, a lot of staff helping the people accommodating to their place, paying for parking lot and distributing flyers.
The act we saw was Coming From Away and was fantastic!!!
Definitely will come to see more shows.

I just saw «Come From Away» man was I impressed! I will have to say this is by far one of the top 3 productions I have seen at this venue. We sat at the balcony, which was an interesting (bird’s eye view perspective). The actors were outstanding performers and all parts of production: music, lyrics, direction, action were entirely spectacular.

I loooove this venue. Any time I’ve been here I’ve had a great time! The theater is much smaller than the civic center downtown or even the old globe theater in balboa park, ensuring that even the cheap seats in the back give you a feeling of being ~intimately close with the production.
The musicals I’ve seen here are great! I also love grabbing the $ 20 for under 30 year olds tickets if they’re available, it’s a great deal & a perfect date night!

Went to see the Hunchback of Notre Dame at the LJ Playhouse the other day. Evidently (according the the LA Times critic, I must have terrible taste in musicals)
cause I LOVED IT!!! Yes, you can see some of a Les Mis, Wicked theme… but now-​a-​days what isn’t? It has some fabulous acting and singing… the choir is out of the world… don’t walk but run and buy a ticket!

Artists collaborate at the highest level to engage an audience and deliver thought provoking messages for theatre productions. The La Jolla Playhouse delivers highly sophisticated performances right here in San Diego.
I was fortunate enough to work behind the scenes at this world class playhouse in the early 1990’s through the UCSD Theatre program. Let me tell you, a lot of time is spent planning, rehearsing, collaborating and refining every detail of a play. Set designers work with tools and art supplies to create elaborate, eye catching sets. The lighting designers have precise control of their tools and are able to set the mood with their craft.
The costume designers transform bought, borrowed and re purposed materials into stunning attire that the actors use to deliver their magic. And that is not all, a live orchestra’s live performances in this acoustically engineered playhouse borders on sensory overload.
The explosive performances at the la Jolla Playhouse showcase the mastery of the craft of theatre. Raw theater is always evolving, no two shows are identical.
Before showtime audiences arrive and many have educated discussions about their conception of the relevant play over a glass or two of wine.
The La Jolla Playhouse is a fantastic venue for a cultural and educational experience that will leave you pondering your conceived reality.

This 3 star review is my way of objecting to the LJ Playhouse’s ticket fee policy. I went to the box office today to buy tickets to one of their performances because I wanted to avoid the $ 5 online ticketing fee.
But lo and behold, there is a $ 2 per ticket fee to buy a ticket at the box office! RU kidding me.
I said no thank you. Keep your ticket.

I had a great time at a recent showing of «Chasing the Song» — an original musical at the La Jolla Playhouse. I was impressed on many counts. The first being the «Foodie Friday» YPC event that was going on that night. We enjoyed beer tasting from Stone Brewery and my only complaint was that my favorite two Stone beers (Go-​to and Saison) ran out before the end of the event — the remaining two being their hoppier IPAs. Classic Rock was playing and we could sit at the tables or stand at the belly bars and enjoy our beers along with food from the two foodtrucks that were parked just outside the Playhouse entrance. Great food, great beer, great company.
After the YPC pre-​event, we went into the show. Great theater, didnt seem like their was a bad seat in the house. Seats were clean and comfortable and aisles big enough to move around in. A Small snack bar was convenient, and I was pleasantly surprised that they let us bring our Stone beers in and gave us a lid for our cups.
The musical itself was FANTASTIC. Great actors, amazing music that is STILL stuck in my head, and very entertaining dancing. I enjoyed the story line and the entire performance. This show is going to make it far, hopefully to a long run on Broadway!

i was floored at the recent production of Chasing The Song– the talent, the inventive sets, the intimate environment, and helpful staff-​it was all top notch. I have to say I didn’t quite expect it, I think I made small time community theater assumptions and my apologies to this Broadway level production: I was oh so wrong! Fantastic show and you should go and see it now, before it costs you an arm and a leg on The Great White Way.
There is multiple theaters and forums onsite-​as well as some fun rooftop patios and lounges (We got to hang out on one for a Foodie Friday night-​I totally suggest going on a Friday if you can! Food trucks onsite and a great social atmosphere)
The behind the scenes crew handles the lighting and sets with perfect timing-​although the actors deserved every moment of applause-​a little virtual love for the boys (and girls) in the back!
Parking till 11 is 2 $-Just park, remember your stall number, pay at the station near the theater entrance, no need to return your ticket to your dash.

I had the wonderful privilege of viewing the Playhouse POP production of ‘Suzette Who Set to Sea’ at the school I teach at. I was impressed with hearing that we received the POP tour show as a grant. The acting, props, and scenes were extremely well done. In addition, the performance was creative, humorous, and enjoyable. The elementary students loved Suzette and all of the characters! I appreciated the actors’ dialogue with the students after the performance, too.

I’ve been here a few times and I love how it’s at UCSD with easy parking and they had some people that were pretty friendly.
My main gripe is the same person that manages the hearing impaired headphones. I go up there with my ID and She tells me «oh this is for deaf people, it’s really loud» Girl would I really take the time to find you if I wasn’t partially hearing impaired? Just because I’m young does not give you a right to question me on my reasons for seeking hearing assistance.
And fyi, I’m deaf in my left ear and 25% deaf in my right.
Other than that, they put on great shows! And it’s cool cause there’s options on the headphones that a narrator that tells you what’s going on or switch to a station that just plays what’s singing on stage. Very helpful. The sound on it can be better though.

Saw Sideshow here, and was sooo pleased! What a great show, and a great venue!
The staff was sweet, the show was amazing, the playhouse was lovely… what else can I say?
I’ll be back for sure!

Can I give five stars to the theater and two stars to the program they use for purchasing tickets on the website?
We’ve been to LJPH four times in the past year. I think that makes us pretty regular customers. The theaters are well designed, the shows are interesting and the ticket folks are great in person or over the phone.
So I thought I’d take my son to see Second City. (They were great!!! Here through September 1. Don’t miss it.)
So I figure I’ll just buy the tix on-​line. What a headache. There are different prices for different categories of people. Standard issue, students (my son), under 30, military, senior (me). You with me?
You’d think the computer program would accommodate people buying different tickets in the same purchase. Bottom line: I wasted time trying to figure it out, was completely frustrated and just ended up buying two standard tickets.
Four nights later they called. Aha! They’re calling to apologize (I had sent an irate email).
But no-​o-​o-​o. Some poor guy is calling to get me to subscribe to the upcoming season.
Jeez guys. Can’t you get one of those UCSD computer science wizards to write a program that is user friendly?

Dear production staff of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots:
I realize you are very super duper important and that you think it is necessary to TALK through the ENTIRE EFFING PLAY to make changes and make sure it’s exactly what you want… But when I (and the entire second-​to-​last-​row) pay $ 75 for a ticket I’m (we’re) paying to hear the actors singing, not your chit chatting. I don’t care if you’re a famous musician (Wayne Coyne) or a famous director (Des McAnuff) or a lacky MFA student at UCSD. It’s srsly rude and distracting.
Dear House Manager of the La Jolla Playhouse John Craft:
Thank you for listening to and hearing my complaint during intermission and thank you for promptly moving my friend and I away from the noisemakers in the back row. I have never experienced anything other than amazing customer service at the La Jolla Playhouse and — besides the world class production and artistic vision of the playhouse — it keeps me coming back year after year.
Kindly yours,
A longtime patron who will continue to hold you in highest regards. :-)