After 18 years, Christopher Ashley is stepping down as La Jolla Playhouse's Rich Family Artistic Director at the end of the month to take on the role of artistic director at New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company.
Ashley's departure was announced last September to allow for a well-planned transition to a new artistic director. During that 15-month period, Ashley helped lead a search for a replacement and programmed the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. He also spent that time directing the world premieres of "3 Summers of Lincoln," "The Heart" and "Working Girl."
Ashley did not want to discuss his legacy because he said that should be left to others to define, but he is proud of things that have happened during his tenure.
"I'm really proud of the way that the San Diego theatrical community has grown in the last two decades," Ashley said. "Really amazing training programs are broadening and deepening the talent pool here constantly. I think the impact between the Playhouse and The Globe and many of much of the amazing work at San Diego Rep, and many of the small and mid-size theaters — the impact that we're having on the American theatrical conversation is enormous. If you think about how many important new American shows started in San Diego, it's enormous, and I'm really proud to have been part of that."
During his almost two decades at the Playhouse, Ashley directed more than 20 productions, encouraged the development of 50 world premieres and oversaw the transition of 20 shows to Broadway, including the musicals "The Outsiders" and "Come From Away," for which he won the 2017 Tony Award for best director.
Earlier this week, Ashley reflected on his career at the Playhouse, which began in 2007.
"Do you remember the enormous fires?" Ashley asked. "So San Diego was on fire. And I did wonder, is that what it's going to be like here? Making theater in the middle of flames. But it wasn't a bad metaphor. I think San Diego is on fire and remains. It's a third of my life that I've been here, and it will always be a real cornerstone of my life in the theater."
A board member recently pulled out Ashley's original job application with his thoughts about what he wanted to do in his time at the Playhouse.
"And we actually did what I said we were going to do, which doesn't happen that often in my life," Ashley said. "I really wanted to do a festival. I love festivals and the way people experience them. And you're in line for one show, and you hear about another show, and you run over and get tickets. And there's food, and there's drink, and it feels like a big party. So I'm really glad that the WOW Festival came to be."
WOW, or Without Walls, is a program of immersive and site-inspired work. Next month, one of the hits from this year's WOW Festival, "Burnout Paradise," will return for an encore.
"We've always done standalone WOW shows," Ashley explained. "Think about 'El Henry,' which we did downtown together with San Diego Rep and Sam Woodhouse. 'Burnout Paradise' had such an audience demand that there was just no way to get everybody in during the festival. But it's a show like no other."
Ashley also launched the Playhouse’s DNA New Work Series, creating an incubator for playwrights and directors to develop their works, some of which evolved into full-blown productions at the Playhouse. And he established the Resident Theatre Program in 2010 to provide a home and resources to an itinerant local theatre company each year.
When pressed to pick a key work from his career — he avoids saying favorite — he lands on "Come From Away."
"Just in the shows that I've directed here, definitely 'Come From Away' is one of the most passion projects," Ashley noted. "But definitely offering people an opportunity to think about how generosity works in our current world and what it's like to take care of strangers seems to me like a great story to tell."
He also noted that one of the most experimental projects outside of the WOW festival — which is ALL experimental — was a dance piece.
"I was really excited that the Playhouse audience was all in for 'Is It Thursday Yet?'" Ashley said. "A single dancer on stage, telling a story of her own diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in the middle of her life and how that changed so many things about how she understood what her life was. She didn't speak until the very last 20 seconds of the show. It was unconventional in every possible way for a theatergoer, and the audience flocked to it with incredible warmth."
For what is likely my final interview with Ashley, we sat in the library under a quote I love from the Playhouse's mission statement that reads: "a safe harbor for the unsafe and surprising."
"So that sentence in our mission statement was already in place when I arrived," Ashley recalled. "And it was part of what I was so excited about coming to La Jolla. I think our mission is bold, and it very much centers the art. I think this theater has an amazing history. A theater is the people who make and experience the art there. And this has been an amazing group of people. The board is, I think, the envy of nonprofits in America. Our staff is top-notch. I walk down in the prop shop every day and see these artists making these unbelievable things and responding to these shows day in, day out. And the adventurousness of our audience I value incredibly."
Ashley leaves the Playhouse in a strong and healthy position for his successor, who will be announced on Nov. 18. You have until Dec. 14 to see his final world premiere musical, "Working Girl."
