October Sky

The beloved film is now a triumphant new American musical that will send you heart soaring and inspire your whole family to reach for the stars! In the small town of Coalwood, West Virginia, every young man’s future is in the coal mines, but after the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the world’s race to space inspires local highschooler Homer Hickam to dream of a different life. Against the wishes of his practical-minded father, he sets out on an unlikely quest to build his own rockets and light up the night sky. October Sky is an uplifting musical portrait of small-town Americana packed with youthful exuberance, and a sweeping, unforgettable new score.

The Lion

A good storyteller uses everything he has. So Benjamin Scheuer uses his guitar—actually, six guitars—in The Lion, a wholly original musical experience that tells one man’s gripping coming-of-age story. The award-winning songwriter inspires and disarms with his raw wit and emotional depth as he leads you on a rock ’n’ roll journey from boyhood to manhood, through pain and healing, to discover the redemptive power of music. The New York Daily News called The Lion “an irresistible winner!”

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

America’s favorite holiday fable returns for its 19th joyous year, and we’ve added a week! 

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a wonderful, whimsical musical based upon the classic Dr. Seuss book. Back for its 19th incredible year, the family favorite features the songs “This Time of Year,” “Santa for a Day” and “Fah Who Doraze,” the delightful carol from the popular animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Celebrate the holidays as the Old Globe Theatre is once again transformed into the snow-covered Whoville, right down to the last can of Who-hash.

As in years past, The Grinch will be performed on Saturday December 10th for children on the autism spectrum and their families, as well as other families with special needs that may appreciate the welcoming and supportive environment this performance provides.

Picasso at the Lapin Agile

Steve Martin continues his creative relationship with The Old Globe, returning for the third time with this clever and crowd-pleasing comedy hit. Paris, 1904: The Lapin Agile, beloved watering hole to struggling artists and would-be geniuses, welcomes two soon-to-be legends for one extraordinary night. Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein, whose egos are as big as their intellects, spar with the regulars and each other about art, science, inspiration, love, and the promise of the 20th century. Throw into this mix a mysterious visitor with a penchant for blue suede shoes, and you’re in for a brilliant and witty evening in the theatre.

The Blameless

Developed in The Old Globe’s 2016 New Voices Festival, The Blameless is a compassionate and moving look at the power of familial bonds in the most extraordinary of circumstances. The boisterous Garcia family has always tackled their days with warmth, humor, and tough love. But today is no ordinary day. Struggling to recover from a painful event in their past, they must find a way to hold everything together as they welcome to dinner the one man who might help them heal—or reopen their wounds. Gaye Taylor Upchurch (Bethany and The Last Match) returns to the Globe to helm this world premiere look at love, family, and hope.

Red Velvet

This stirring drama transports audiences to the turbulent backstage world of London’s Theatre Royal in the early 1800s. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, can’t go on tonight as Othello, and his company is in disarray. A young American actor named Ira Aldridge arrives to step into the role—but no black man has ever played Othello on the English stage. His groundbreaking performance upends stage tradition and changes the lives of everyone involved. Lolita Chakrabarti’s multi-award-winning play uncovers the fascinating true story of a pivotal figure in theatre history. In-demand director Stafford Arima (Allegiance) returns to The Old Globe with a stunningly theatrical production of a play that the London Telegraph called “informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking.”

Skeleton Crew

Times are tough in 2008 Detroit, but there’s still one working auto plant. The long hours and demanding shifts have turned the line workers into a family. The firm, compassionate Faye holds them together, and she’s only months away from retiring with her full pension. But when she discovers that management has a new plan, she’s torn between self-preservation and allegiance to her coworkers. Ben Brantley of The New York Times called Skeleton Crew “a deeply moral and deeply American play ... squarely in the tradition of Arthur Miller.” 2015 Craig Noel Award winner for Director of the Year Delicia Turner Sonnenberg makes her Globe debut.

The Old Man and The Old Moon

After award-winning runs in New York, Chicago, and Boston, the endlessly imaginative PigPen Theatre Co. arrives in San Diego with The Old Man and The Old Moon. Combining their signature cinematic shadow puppetry, wonderfully melodic indie-folk music, exuberant energy, and rollicking array of ever-changing characters, PigPen spins a fantastical fable for all ages. The Old Man tends to The Old Moon, refilling the light that spills out every night. When his wife unexpectedly leaves home, The Old Man abandons his post and plunges the world into darkness. His eventful journey across land, air, and sea to find her reminds them—and us—of the unwavering power of love. The New York Times declared that PigPen “asks us to appreciate the finer arts of wild storytelling while speaking to the childish mind in all of us,” and New York magazine said PigPen shows us “how unapologetically and unpretentiously playful theater can be.”

The Imaginary Invalid

The acclaimed artists of Fiasco Theater are back! Fiasco delighted Globe audiences with their reinvented Into the Woods, and now they take on one of the greatest comedy writers of all time: Molière. In the outrageously funny masterpiece The Imaginary Invalid, the hypochondriac Argan wants his daughter to marry a doctor so he can save on his medical bills. But she’s in love with someone else. Soon the whole household joins in her madcap scheme to save true love and give Argan’s doctors a dose of their own medicine. This Globe-commissioned world premiere adaptation will have you in stitches. The New York Times called Fiasco “a force to reckon with in American theater.”

Globe For All - Measure for Measure

Globe for All returns this year with Measure for Measure! Globe for All presents professional Shakespeare to diverse, multigenerational audiences in locations around San Diego County. Over the past two years, Globe for All has performed in military bases, homeless shelters, centers for the elderly, prisons, and other community venues for nearly 2,200 audience members, many seeing theatre—and Shakespeare—for the first time. In addition to this year’s 20-stop tour, Globe for All will play at The Old Globe for two low-cost performances.

The searing comedy Measure for Measure is set in a decadent Vienna, where strict Angelo wants to rid the city of moral decay. When he meets a young nun pleading for the life of her brother, things get complicated. Justice, lust, hypocrisy, and redemption take center stage along with a wild cast of characters in a bold staging of this timely classic. Acclaimed director Patricia McGregor makes her Globe debut.

The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Best friends Valentine and Proteus find themselves both madly in love with the same woman. Will their friendship survive? One of Shakespeare’s most delightful comedies, The Two Gentlemen of Verona is an exuberant tale of friendship, young love, and secret identities, featuring a band of outlaws, two bumbling servants, and one unforgettable dog.

A joint venture of The Old Globe and the University of San Diego, the Shiley Graduate Theatre Program trains seven select students in an intensive two-year course of graduate study in classical theatre. Private funding for the Master of Fine Arts in Theatre program has been contributed through a generous endowment established by Donald and Darlene Shiley. Additional support for the program is provided by the Dorothy Brown Endowment Fund and the Louis Yager Cantwell Foundation.