Christopher Ashley. (Photo by Emilio Madrid)
NEW YORK CITY: The board of Roundabout Theatre Company today announced that Christopher Ashley, a Tony-winning director who’s headed up California’s La Jolla Playhouse for 17 years, will be the theatre’s new artistic director. He won’t start in the position until July 2026, and the first season he’ll fully program will be the 2027-28 season. In the meantime, interim artistic director Scott Ellis, who took the helm after producing artistic director Todd Haimes died last year, will hold down the fort.
“I am honored and exhilarated to step into the role of artistic director at Roundabout Theatre Company,” said Ashley in a statement. “Under Todd Haimes’s leadership, Roundabout has become a home for an extraordinary array of artists, working in five beautiful theatres on and Off-Broadway. I look forward to collaborating with Scott Ellis on programming the 2026-27 season, and joining Sydney Beers, Chris Nave, and the superb staff full time in July 2026. As we navigate this moment of immense change in the American theatre, I hope that Roundabout can be a town square where urgent questions can be investigated, the joy of live theatre can be shared, and we can together find community and hope.”
Ashley won a Tony for his direction of Come From Away, which had its premiere at La Jolla Playhouse, and has been known for premiering new works at the $23 million theatre, including The Outsiders, Here There Are Blueberries, Diana, Escape to Margaritaville, Wild Goose Dreams, Miss You Like Hell, Indecent, Little Miss Sunshine, and Hands on a Hardbody. As that list of titles hints, La Jolla has had a strong record of Broadway transfers under Ashley’s leadership, with no fewer than 22 shows moving there after their California premieres. Under his leadership La Jolla Playhouse also created space for new immersive and site-specific experiences through the Without Walls (WOW) program he launched in 2015. Ashley recently directed Come From Away for AppleTV+ and Diana: The Musical for Netflix. Ashley is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award, the Drama League Director Fellowship, and an NEA/TCG Director Fellowship. He was recently announced as the upcoming recipient of the SDCF “Mr. Abbott” Award.
The yearlong international search was conducted by the board in collaboration with Management Consultants for the Arts. The search committee included the theatre’s board of directors: Kitty Patterson Kempner, Thomas E. Tuft, Lawrence Kaplen, Stephanie Kramer, Johannes Worsoe, LaChanze, and Mary C. Solomon.
Said Kempner, the board chair, in a statement, “As our country’s largest and most influential not-for-profit theatre company, we understand how important this decision is to the cultural landscape of New York City and to the future of theatre. On behalf of our board of directors, we are proud of the thoughtful process we took to name Christopher as our incoming artistic director. Christopher impressed us with his appreciation for Roundabout’s history and for our potential as a theatrical community with many unique voices—and as a national theatre for America. He also leads with kindness and compassion, two qualities Todd treasured most. As a long-time leader of La Jolla Playhouse, he is also well suited to lead our complex network of offstage activities including education, workforce development, and industry innovation.”
In collaboration with Ashley, Ellis, Beers, and Nave, the board’s next step is to find a managing director to work with Ashley to lead Roundabout forward.
Founded in 1965, Roundabout Theatre Company aims to celebrate the power of theatre by spotlighting classics from the past, cultivating new works of the present, and educating minds for the future. As of 2023, the theatre had a budget of around $72 million.
