More musicals may be on tap at Laguna Playhouse, says its new managing director

Laguna Playhouse recently welcomed a new leading lady, as Adele Adkins joined the theater over the summer as its managing director.

The decision to hire Adkins was announced in July, and she completed a cross-country relocation earlier this month.

Adkins previously served as managing director at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Penn. She has also held positions as executive director of the Clark State Performing Arts Center in Ohio and as associate director of the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine.

A trained cellist with a performance diploma from the Juilliard School, Adkins has experience on the artistic and business side of the industry.

Adele Adkins was named the managing director of the Laguna Playhouse in July.

(Amy Leon)

Adkins notes that regional theaters faced financial difficulties even before the pandemic.

“The organizations that became reflective and made changes are the ones that are really getting back on track,” she said Wednesday in a phone interview. “Nobody did anything wrong. It’s just that’s our reality. … Everybody’s been in the same bucket...and struggling to figure out what do we do now to be financially stable for the longevity of the institution. I come from a background of running performing arts centers, so I have the artistic and the business background.

“My job immediately at Bucks County, as well as here, is revenue enhancement. That’s a big swath of what we need to do. That includes raised contributed income, finding ways to bring in new donors, more donors [and] level up the donors we already have.”

David Ellenstein, who signed on as the theater’s interim artistic director in September 2022 and assumed the position in May 2023, has announced his resignation, effective Nov. 16. He has been concurrently serving as the artistic director at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach, where he has worked since 2003.

“I have truly enjoyed my time leading this historic institution and remain committed to supporting the organization, but it was time for me to step away to pursue other life opportunities,” Ellenstein said in a statement released on Monday. “I remain artistic director of North Coast Repertory Theatre.”

David Ellenstein announced his resignation as artistic director of Laguna Playhouse on Monday, Sept. 15.

(Aaron Rumley)

“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” opened this week at the playhouse and runs through Oct. 5. Ellenstein will then direct the theater’s next stage production, “Beside Myself,” a world-premiere comedy that just opened at North Coast Repertory Theatre on Sept. 10. It will be at Laguna Playhouse from Oct. 29 to Nov. 16.

Adkins called Ellenstein’s departure “a loss” and characterized him as “a lovely human being.”

The playhouse is not launching a search for a new artistic director, said Adkins, adding that she intends to consult with the marketing team in programming beyond the current season.

“What I can say absolutely is we have data from 2019, and there’s national data, current data, people like musicals,” Adkins said. “I mean, data doesn’t lie, which is why I love that, because if you use data to inform your decisions, it’s not as risky. That being a fact, the community will definitely see more musicals in the season than they have, at least in the last three years. …

“There will be a new musical as part of that, which is really excellent, and just kind of using directors that I’ve worked with and really love their vision and their work to curate next season. Directors who take popular titles, perhaps, and really put an artistic, unique spin on it. That’s really powerful for an audience because you’re giving them a recognizable title, you’re giving them a score they know and love, but they’re seeing it in a different way.”

Community engagement is a core tenet of how Adkins is planning for the future success of the Laguna Playhouse. Those opportunities may soon extend beyond a post-show chat between audience and cast.

“One idea is for donors [to] have the opportunity to have a fireside chat, as I call them, with the artistic team of a production,” Adkins said. “They’ll do Q-and-A for an hour, and then they’ll get to go in the theater and watch the production tech go through their technical rehearsal.

“We’re going to bring in some ‘behind-the-scenes’ activity, because people love that. I was one of those kids. I grew up backstage on Broadway. My grandmother was a performer. You never found me interested in being on the stage. I was at the fly rail, looking at how they did that, or watching the stage manager call the show.”