Redwood

FEB - MAR 2024 | Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre

Book by Tina Landau

Music by Kate Diaz

Lyrics by Kate Diaz and Tina Landau

With additional contributions by Idina Menzel

Directed by Tina Landau

I hear my great escape calling

Broadway icon Idina Menzel makes her La Jolla Playhouse debut in the world premiere of Redwood, a one-of-a-kind theatrical event about one woman’s journey into the precious and precarious world of the redwoods.

Idina plays Jesse, a successful businesswoman, mother and wife. She seems to have it all, but inside, her heart is broken. Finding herself at a turning point, Jesse leaves everyone and everything behind, gets in her car and drives… and drives. Thousands of miles later, she hits the ancient forests of Northern California, where a chance meeting and a leap of faith change her life forever. In the presence of the magnificent, towering redwoods, Jesse finds strange and powerful connections, an unexpected sense of community, and a chance at healing.

Acclaimed writer and director Tina Landau (Beauty) brings this immersive and cinematic new work to life with lush visuals and a soaring score from Kate Diaz. You will travel with Jesse into an intoxicating environment of dense greenery, fractured light and dizzying heights – a place where nature can help us heal, if only we don’t destroy her first.

An exhilarating new musical featuring one of Broadway’s greatest stars, Redwood will awaken your sense of adventure and lift you higher than the treetops.

“Now underneath a canopy of stars, I call out to the night. Please keep me safe and show me this is right. I’m scared of letting go of everyone I know.” Jesse, Redwood