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Mandell Weiss Theater and Forum
Proscenium arch
Located on the southwest end of University of California, San Diego's campus, the
Mandell Weiss Theatre was introduced in 1983, the first La Jolla Playhouse theatre.
Playhouse founders Gregory Peck, Mel Ferrer and Dorothy McGuire began the company
in 1947 because of an affinity and nostalgia for the stage and for the intimacy of live
audiences. Plays were performed at La Jolla High School auditorium, and famed actors and
celebrities drew large crowds to the company originally titled “The Actors
Company." The final season of the Playhouse's run at La Jolla High School was in 1964.
In 1983, the Playhouse reopened with the introduction of the Mandell Weiss Theatre and the
premiere of Peter Sellar's production of Bertolt Brecht's WWII-set play The Visions of
Simone Machard.
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.
Upon
his return for the opening show of the reborn Playhouse in 1983, Peck made clear his
approval to then-Artistic Director Des McAnuff: “I always hoped that our little
summer-stock theatre would evolve into something very much like what you and your
associates are doing now."
The 2012 Mandell Weiss Theatre lighting
retrofit is made possible by the generous support of Las Patronas.
P.O. Box 12039
La Jolla, CA, US | 92039
Total: 492
2 Dressing room(s)
dressing room has sinks, make-up mirrors, showers and toilets
