Sweeping New Musical Lempicka to Play La Jolla Playhouse Before Broadway

Lempicka, the buzzed-about new musical which played an acclaimed 2018 world premiere run at Williamstown Theatre Festival, has scheduled a spring 2020 West Coast premiere at La Jolla Playhouse. The San Diego run will precede a Broadway premiere planned for the 2020-2021 season. Tony winner Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown), who directed the Williamstown production, will repeat her work at La Jolla and on Broadway.

Featuring a book and lyrics by Carson Kreitzer (Capital Crime!) and music by Matt Gould (Invisible Thread), Lempicka is set amid the violence of the Russian Revolution, as the young painter Tamara de Lempicka and her aristocrat husband are forced to abandon their luxurious lifestyle and flee to the dubious safety of Paris. Relying on her raw talent and relentless ambition, Tamara claws her way from penniless refugee to in-demand portraitist, earning a place among Parisian high society. Her world is upended once again when she meets Rafaela, a free spirit from the city slums, who introduces Tamara to a new world of decadence and passion. Torn between her new muse and her husband, fighting to leave her mark on an ever-changing world, Tamara must discover the depths of her own strength to survive.

The Williamstown staging boasted a cast led by Eden Espinosa (Falsettos) in the title role with Tony nominee Carmen Cusack (Flying Over Sunset) as Rafaela. Casting for the La Jolla and Broadway runs will be announced at a later date.

Joining Chavkin on the creative team are choreographer Raja Feather Kelly and music supervisor Remy Kurs, with scenic designer Riccardo Hernandez, costume designer Anita Yavich, lighting designer Bradley King, sound designer Nevin Steinberg, orchestrator Cian McCarthy and creative consultant Peter Duchan.

Look back at the Williamstown production below.