The Geffen Playhouse is a not-for-profit theater company founded in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Gilbert Cates Gilbert Cates ( né Katz; June 6, 1934 – October 31, 2011) was an American film director and television producer, director of the Geffen Playhouse, a member of Cates/Doty Productions, and founding dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film an ...

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 Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It was named for donor David Geffen. The current executive director is Gil Cates Jr.

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.

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 twelve structures built in Westwood Village, it was designed by architect Stiles O. Clements. Its courtyard fountain is a piece from Malibu Potteries. 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 The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

arch window. Originally named the Contempo Theatre, and later the Westwood Playhouse, the property was purchased by

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

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. In 2002, the David Geffen Foundation made a $5-million lead gift towards an eventual $17-million capital campaign to renovate the theater. The Geffen reopened on November 16, 2005 with the main 500-seat theater retained and a new 125-seat Audrey Skirball-Kenis Theater added. In March 2010, the Playhouse's board of directors named the main stage the Gil Cates Theater. Cates died in October 2011. Gil Cates, Jr. was appointed executive director in 2015. Matt Shakman was appointed artistic director in August 2017, followed by Tarell Alvin McCraney in September 2023.

References

External links

Geffen Playhouse website

UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television website
{{Westwood, Los Angeles Theatres in Los Angeles University of California, Los Angeles buildings and structures University of California, Los Angeles Performing groups established in 1993 Westwood, Los Angeles 1993 establishments in California David Geffen