FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

For more information, contact:

Jenni Benzaquen

Press Director

Geffen Playhouse

(310) 208-6500, ext. 126

jenni@geffenplayhouse.com

GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY SCHEDULED

TO KICK-OFF $17 MILLION RENOVATION OF GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE AND ADDITION OF NEW

125-SEAT THEATER

LOS ANGELES, CA – June 9, 2004 – A special groundbreaking ceremony to inaugurate the $17 million renovation and expansion of Geffen Playhouse is scheduled for Thursday, June 10^th at 10 a.m. City Council Member Jack Weiss, UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale, and Los Angeles philanthropists Charles Kenis and Marcia Israel Curley will be in attendance to help turn the dirt. Geffen Playhouse Producing Director Gilbert Cates will host the event.

“These are very exciting times for the Geffen Playhouse and for Los Angeles theatergoers,” said Cates. “This renovation and expansion will allow us to lift the limits on our artistic imagination by giving us the ability to examine new works in our new 125-seat theater and by increasing our options to house larger, more ambitious productions on our main stage.”

The Geffen’s current theater will be renovated to feature improved and increased seating capacity of the current auditorium, improved sight-lines and acoustics, an expanded lobby and larger restrooms. The renovation will also increase the Geffen’s ability to produce larger, more complex shows by adding wing space, a heightened proscenium, and two 20-person dressing rooms.

Among the largest scale structure changes in the renovation will be the addition of a 125-seat theater in a new building adjacent to the Geffen’s current site on Le Conte Avenue in Westwood Village. The new theater will be designed by renowned architect Ron Frink and named after Audrey Skirball Kenis, who, during the course of her life, was a major arts supporter. In the years before her death, Skirball Kenis was a board member and major contributor to the Geffen Playhouse. The Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse will be used for readings, rehearsals, and to experiment with new plays. The construction will take place over the next 15 months, scheduled for completion in August 2005.

The groundbreaking event will take place at 10 a.m. in the Geffen Playhouse auditorium. The Geffen Playhouse is located at 10886 Le Conte Avenue in Westwood, CA 90024. Coffee and breakfast foods will be served. Dress is business casual. Please note that the event will take place in a construction zone. Flat shoes are recommended. There will be no available bathrooms on the grounds.