Dear Friends, 

Tina Landau first reached out to me about Redwood in fall 2021, not long after the Playhouse re-opened its doors following a 16-month shutdown. At the time, Tina had a story treatment, half of a first draft, a handful of songs, and a request: would we consider hosting her, her composer/co-lyricist Kate Diaz, and Idina Menzel (who, in addition to performing, co-conceived the story with Tina) for a week and a half to help them complete a full draft of the show? 

Welcoming these thrilling artists into our rehearsal room in January 2022 – even with masks on – was a glorious moment of resilience and renewal in the midst of a long (and ongoing) existential crisis for theatre. And it was especially fitting that Redwood’s story is also one of resilience and renewal. The show follows Jesse, a woman struggling with a profound personal loss that leads her to withdraw from her life in New York and journey across the country to the majestic redwoods. Through her interaction with the trees – and two of their caretakers, Finn and Becca – Jesse discovers what perseverance looks like in the face of loss, and what it takes to recommit and reconnect to her life. 

Over the course of a few more workshops in the years since, the emotional world of Redwood has deepened, as has our understanding of how to bring Tina, Kate and Idina’s ambitious vision to our stage. Our stellar design team combine to immerse us in the forest, while Melecio Estrella and his cohorts in the acclaimed “vertical dance” company BANDALOOP bring their innovative artistry to the tree-climbing sequences. 

Redwood marks Tina’s long-overdue return to the Playhouse, having last directed her play Beauty in 2003. It also represents the Playhouse debut for the wonderful Idina Menzel and the incredibly talented composer Kate Diaz, whose soaring and anthemic score combines her expertise in film/television scoring with a deeply theatrical storytelling impulse. 

Now, two and a half years after Tina’s initial email to me, we get to share this beautiful story with you. Much has changed in the world since then, but the need for strength and resilience has not. Redwood shows us that looking to our inter-connected natural world can be an inspiration for the way we choose to live. 

Christopher Ashley
The Rich Family Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse