Main Stage at the Geffen Playhouse
Originally constructed in 1929, the building that is now the Geffen Playhouse was one of the first twelve structures in Westwood. It was built as a Masonic clubhouse to serve UCLA students and alumni, and remained as such for nearly four decades until the Masons sold it in the early 1970s to local business owners Donald & Kristen Combs. The Combs family restored many of the building’s original design elements, including the central courtyard and tile fountain, and reopened the building, which included a new location of their furniture store Contempo, an Italian restaurant and a theater they dubbed the Westwood Playhouse.
In 1995 the Combs family donated the theater to UCLA under the premise that it would remain a theater in perpetuity, and that Gilbert Cates (founder of the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television) assumed development. Thanks in part to a founding gift by David Geffen, the theater began its first season under new leadership in 1999 and was renamed the Geffen Playhouse. Now in its 12th season under Cates’ leadership, the organization has produced over 60 productions and received numerous dramatic and architectural awards across both the local and national spectrums
In 2001, the organization embarked upon a $17 million capital campaign to upgrade the facility to a state-of-the-art theater capable of providing world-class productions, while restoring the building’s original craftsmanship and beauty. In September 2005 the entirely renovated main stage re-opened in Westwood, along with the newly added Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater. Currently, our main stage seats 525 patrons comfortably and features plush wide seats, newly crafted acoustics and upgraded lighting that highlights the stunning elegance of the theater’s historic setting.