La Jolla Playhouse to Premiere FINDING NEVERLAND Musical by GREY GARDENS Team; Ashford Directs/Choeographs

La Jolla Playhouse announced the fifth production in its 2011/12 season: Finding Neverland, book by Allan Knee, with a score by the Grey Gardens writing team of Scott Frankel (music) and Michael Korie (lyrics), directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Rob Ashford (Cry-Baby, Thoroughly Modern Millie).

"The addition of this new musical enhances our already astonishing season - now featuring three world premieres," said Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. "We're delighted to bring back to The Playhouse Rob Ashford, one of the most sought-after directors on Broadway, as well as welcome this new, award-winning creative team to The Playhouse family. It gives us great pride to serve as a home for these acclaimed artists, offering the resources, support and freedom to go wherever their passion leads them, as part of our steadfast commitment to the development of new work."

In Finding Neverland, the pressure is on for Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie - his last play was an abysmal failure and his career is threatened by crippling writers block. With his deadline fast approaching and an impertinent producer hounding him, a chance meeting in a London park with a woman and her spirited young boys provides just the inspiration he needs. Based on the 2004 Academy Award-nominated film - which in turn was adapted from librettist Allan Knee's play, The Man Who Was Peter Pan - this world premiere musical tells the enchanting story of the real boys who inspired a literary masterpiece.

Subscriptions to La Jolla Playhouse's 2011/12 season (http://www.lajollaplayhouse.org/2011-2012-season) are available by calling (858) 550-1010 or by visiting lajollaplayhouse.org. 

The nationally acclaimed, Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse is known for its tradition of creating the most exciting and adventurous new work in regional theatre. Founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, The Playhouse is considered one of the most well-respected not-for-profit theatres in the country. Numerous Playhouse productions have moved to Broadway, including Big River, The Who's Tommy, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Walk in the Woods, Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays, the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, Jersey Boys, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Farnsworth Invention, 33 Variations and the 2010 Tony Award-winning musical Memphis. Located on the UC San Diego campus, La Jolla Playhouse is made up of three primary performance spaces: the Mandell Weiss Theatre, the Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre, and the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for La Jolla Playhouse, a state-of-the-Art Theatre complex which features the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre. La Jolla Playhouse is led by Artistic Director Christopher Ashley and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg.