A veteran producer in both the not-for-profit and commercial theatre worlds, Rosenberg will begin full time duties in California on May 4.
Rosenberg was co-founder and executive director of Drama Dept., where he produced 21 productions, including As Bees in Honey Drown by Douglas Carter Beane, June Moon by George S. Kaufman and Ring Lardner, The Book of Liz by David and Amy Sedaris, and the Tribeca Theater Festival.
After 12 years at Drama Dept., he went on to run the theatrical arm of East of Doheny, a theatre and film production company, where he oversaw numerous projects, including the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Grey Gardens. Prior to Drama Dept., Rosenberg worked on the management teams for Broadway's The O'Neill Plays and Off-Broadway's The Real Live Brady Bunch and Stars in the Morning Sky. He also spent several years in Washington, DC, where he produced and managed educational theatre programs for the National Dance Institute at The Kennedy Center, Kaiser Permanente and the Shakespeare Theatre. Most recently he was a producer of the 2008 Broadway revival of American Buffalo, starring John Leguizamo, Cedric the Entertainer and Haley Joel Osment.
"I have been a longtime admirer of La Jolla Playhouse and am deeply honored to be joining this remarkable institution," stated Rosenberg. "Although our nation is going through a difficult economic period, the Playhouse has remained devoted to its mission of producing compelling, adventurous new work and to providing extraordinary theatre artists with a safe haven to explore their craft. I look forward to working alongside artistic director Christopher Ashley, the board of trustees and staff to help continue this legacy and to build on the Playhouse's already well-established national reputation."
Ashley stated, "I am thrilled that one of America's top theatre producers and arts administrators will be joining the Playhouse team. Michael's unique combination of passion and pragmatism, along with his extensive experience shepherding to the stage both large-scale musicals and innovative works in development, make him ideally suited for the position. I can't wait to begin our partnership." The process for recruiting the new managing director began in September 2008.
In partnership with the artistic director, the managing director is responsible for directing overall strategic planning, financial management, marketing, development, production management and labor relations for the organization.
The nationally acclaimed, Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer. Among Playhouse productions that have moved to Broadway are Big River, The Who's Tommy, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Walk in the Woods, Dracula, Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays, the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, Jersey Boys, The Farnsworth Invention, Cry-Baby and 33 Variations. Located on the UCSD campus, La Jolla Playhouse is made up of three primary performance spaces: the Mandell Weiss Theatre, the Mandell Weiss Forum and the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for La Jolla Playhouse, a theatre complex which features the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.
