The Playhouse offers special student matinees of selected mainstage productions throughout the school year. Virtual Study guides, pre-matinee Educator Nights, post-performance workshops and post-show talkbacks are available to prepare students for these productions as well as debrief after. Please note that all student matinees for our 2025/26 season are for high school students in grades 9-12.
ALL THE MEN WHO’VE FRIGHTENED ME
Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 10:30 am
By Noah Diaz
Directed by Kat Yen
Young married couple Ty and Nora are preparing to move into Ty’s childhood home to start a family. While they are busy choosing paint colors, lamps and throw pillows, they learn that Nora is unable to carry the child they so desperately want. So Ty, a trans man, makes the impulsive decision to carry the baby himself.
Ty and Nora’s preparations for parenthood begin to collapse when three mysterious men from Ty’s past inexplicably begin appearing in their new home.
Noah Diaz’s rich, multi-layered, magical drama is full of shrewd insights and humor. Helmed by the Playhouse’s Directing Fellow Kat Yen, All The Men Who’ve Frightened Me is the 12th play to make the jump from our DNA New Work Series to the main stage. Expect the unexpected in this wildly surprising family story with a huge heart.
Important Dates
Application Deadline: August 28, 2025
Schools Notified of Acceptance: September 1, 2025
Educator Night: Tuesday, September 16th, 5:30-9:30 pm
To Apply: Please follow the directions linked here.
WORKING GIRL
Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 10:30 am
Music and Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper
Book by Theresa Rebeck
Based on the Twentieth Century Fox Motion Picture written by Kevin Wade
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Tess McGill is a Staten Island secretary with big dreams and even bigger ideas, but when her scheming boss Katharine Parker steals one, Tess decides to take matters into her own hands. With Katharine unexpectedly out of town, Tess seizes the chance to prove herself, making a bold business move that could change her life forever. With some help from her savvy friends and a charming businessman, she’s got one shot to pull it off – before the boss returns!
This sharp and hilarious adaptation of the iconic 1988 film features an exhilarating original score by the legendary Cyndi Lauper, a smart, fresh book from award-winning playwright Theresa Rebeck, and direction by our own Tony Award-winning Christopher Ashley.
Working Girl is the ultimate corporate Cinderella story that’s just as much about the power of friendship as it is about chasing ambition and success.
Important Dates
Application Deadline: September 19, 2025
Schools Notified of Acceptance: September 23, 2025
Educator Night: Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 5:30-10:00 pm
To Apply: Please follow the directions linked here.
THE RECIPE
Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 10:30 am
Written by Claudia Shear
Based on the book DEARIE by Bob Spitz
Directed by Lisa Peterson
Before Julia Child became the TV personality that we all know, she was a rambunctious rebel against the privileged but bland Pasadena life expected of her.
Directionless but driven, careening from Pasadena to New York to Washington D.C. to Ceylon and finally to Paris’s famed Cordon Bleu cooking school, she battled long odds, too short sleeves, and her own self doubt before finding both her calling and her true love, her husband, Paul Child.
Two-time Tony Award nominee Claudia Shear and two-time Obie Award winner Lisa Peterson return to the Playhouse with a funny, colorful and delicious new play about the early life of an endlessly fascinating character – Julia, a girl from Pasadena – and her path from confusion to discovery, fear to strength, failure to success.
Important Dates
Application Deadline: December 1, 2025
Schools Notified of Acceptance: December 4, 2025
Educator Night: Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 5:30-10:00 pm
To Apply: Please follow the directions linked here.
To be added to our educator list to be notified of our matinee program, please email: [email protected] with your Name, School Name, Grades/Subjects, and email address.
One of La Jolla Playhouse’s signature Education programs, the Performance Outreach Program (POP) Tour is an annual world-premiere, Playhouse-commissioned production that brings the magic of theatre to San Diego classrooms. Launched in 1987, the POP Tour can be accessed by schools, libraries and community centers. Prior to each performance, a Playhouse teaching artist visits each school, either in person or virtually, to engage students in an interactive workshop that explores issues and themes at the core of the play. The Playhouse also provides schools with an interactive standards-based engagement guide that enables educators to integrate the play into their curriculum, including exciting interviews with the cast and the creative team. Ideal for students in grades 3 – 6.
The Weather Busters of Beachcastle
By Christin Eve Cato
Directed by Kat Yen
Touring schools in March and April 2025
Public performances at La Jolla Playhouse’s WOW Festival at UCSD on April 26 and 27, 2025
In the California town of Beachcastle, unsettling and bizarre weather patterns have forced residents to grapple with questions and heartache. When 12-year-old Jayce and their tech-savvy best friend, Kori, meet a mysterious explorer from beyond the stars, they discover their own extraordinary talents can impact the fate of their community forever. Together, they embark on a journey that blends curiosity with courage, uncovering their power to make a meaningful difference.
The following recorded performances from our Digital WOW series are a great way for high school-age students to enjoy theatre. Plus, they’re all FREE!
The Society of Wonder
The Totally Fake Latino News with Culture Clash
Walks of Life
Banner photo credit: (L-R) Shaun Tuazon, Jyl Kaneshiro and Rachael VanWormer in La Jolla Playhouse’s 2017 Performance Outreach Program (POP) Tour production of #SuperShinySara; photo by Jamie Lytle.
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