# Geffen Playhouse

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.

## 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, Bryan Cranston, 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, Rainn Wilson, Rita Wilson, and James Van Der Beek.

## 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.
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 designed (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, 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.
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.
In March 2010, the Playhouse's board of directors named the main stage the Gil Cates Theater. Geffen Playhouse founder Gil Cates Sr. died in October 2011.
Gil Cates, Jr. was appointed executive director in 2015. Two funding drives followed, the Geffen Playhouse Legacy Fund and the Innovation Fund.
Matt Shakman was appointed artistic director in August 2017, followed by Tarell Alvin McCraney in September 2023.

### Awards and nominations

| Awards | Production | Nominations | Wins | Notes |
| 2009 Ovation Awards | Louis & Keely, Live at the Sahara | 5 | 3 | Won for Best Production, Lead Actor, and Lead Actress |
| 2009 Ovation Awards | Beethoven As I Knew Him | 2 | 1 | Won for Sound Design (Erik Carstensen) |
| 2009 Ovation Awards | Farragut North | 2 | 0 | |
| 2009 Ovation Awards | Time Stands Still | 2 | 0 | |
| 2009 Ovation Awards | | 1 | 0 | Nominated for Best Season |
| 2010 Ovation Awards | Equivocation | 8 | 3 | Won for Best Production, Featured Actor, and Lighting Design |
| 2010 Ovation Awards | Through the Night | 5 | 2 | Won for Lead Actor and Sound Design |
| 2011 Ovation Awards | Extraordinary Chambers | 5 | 0 | |
| 2011 Ovation Awards | Superior Donuts | 4 | 0 | |
| 2012 Ovation Awards | Good People | 8 | 0 | |
| 2012 Ovation Awards | The Jacksonian | 1 | 0 | |
| 2012 Ovation Awards | Radiance: The Passion Of Marie Curie | 1 | 0 | |
| 2012 Ovation Awards | The Pianist Of Willesden Lane | 1 | 0 | |
| 2012 Ovation Awards | | 1 | 0 | Nominated for Best Season |
| 2013 Ovation Awards | American Buffalo | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013 Ovation Awards | Yes, Prime Minister | 1 | 0 | |
| 2013 Ovation Awards | Miss Julie | 1 | 0 | |
| Ovation Awards | Geffen Playhouse | 1 | 0 | Best Season |
| 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 | 0 | Best Season |
| Ovation Awards | Ironbound | 4 | 1 | Award for Best Production of a Play |
| 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 | 1 | Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Daniel J. Watts) |
| 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 |