La Jolla Playhouse Appoints Debby Buchholz Managing Director

The Board of Trustees of La Jolla Playhouse announced today the appointment of Debby Buchholz as the Playhouse's new Managing Director. Buchholz has served as the Playhouse's General Manager since 2002 and will begin her duties in this new role on May 1.

"Debby Buchholz's integrity, professionalism and visionary leadership in the field are unmatched. Her deep institutional knowledge, along with her passionate support for our artistic mission, make her the ideal partner for Artistic Director Christopher Ashley," said La Jolla Playhouse Board Chair Lynelle Lynch. "The Board looks forward to celebrating this new leadership team that will continue to strengthen La Jolla Playhouse's place at the forefront of the American theatre landscape."

"Debby's extraordinary leadership - both locally in the San Diego community and nationally through her work with LORT, the largest professional theatre association in the country - are an invaluable asset to the organization. For the past ten years I have witnessed Debby's incredible dedication to the Playhouse, as well as her unflagging enthusiasm for the work we do on stage and off, and I couldn't be more pleased to partner with her in this new role," noted Playhouse Artistic Director and Tony Award Winner Christopher Ashley.

In partnership with the Artistic Director, the Managing Director is responsible for directing overall strategic planning, financial management, marketing, development, production management and labor relations for the organization.

"I am excited and honored to be stepping into this role at La Jolla Playhouse. I've always been passionate about and proud of the Playhouse's work - from world premieres to Broadway transfers to our Without Walls and education programs that take place throughout San Diego. I look forward to collaborating with Christopher Ashley, the Board of Trustees, our exceptionally dedicated staff, and our devoted patrons and donors, to build on the Playhouse's nationally-recognized commitment to developing and producing adventurous and compelling new projects," said Buchholz.

Debby Buchholz has served as General Manager of La Jolla Playhouse for more than fifteen years, where she has overseen Playhouse business operations, human resources, board governance, and artist and production contract negotiations. She is a Vice President of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT) and a member of its Executive Committee. In 2009, she received a San Diego Women Who Mean Business Award from the San Diego Business Journal. Previously she served as Counsel to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. She was a faculty member of the Smithsonian Institution's program on Legal Problems of Museum Administration. Prior to The Kennedy Center, she served as a corporate attorney in New York City and Washington, D.C. A long-time San Diego resident, Buchholz is a graduate of UC San Diego and Harvard Law School. She and her husband, noted author and White House economic policy advisor Todd Buchholz, live in Solana Beach and are the proud parents of Victoria, Katherine and Alexia.

La Jolla Playhouse is a place where artists and audiences come together to create what's new and next in the American theatre, from Tony Award-winning productions, to imaginative programs for young audiences, to interactive experiences outside our theatre walls. Currently led by 2017 Tony Award-winning Artistic Director Christopher Ashley and Managing Director Debby Buchholz, the Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer. Playhouse artists and audiences have taken part in the development of new plays and musicals, including mounting95 world premieres, commissioning 50 new works, and sending 32 productions to Broadway, among them the currently-running hit musicals Come From Away, Escape to Margaritaville and SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical, garnering a total of 38 Tony Awards and the 1993 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. For more information, visit LaJollaPlayhouse.org

Photo: Managing Director Debby Buchholz and Artistic Director Christopher Ashley

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