The seven plays announced for the Playhouse’s Gil Cates and Audrey Skirball Kenis Theaters include the world premiere of Big Sky, written by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros and directed by Tony Award winner John Rando; the West Coast premieres of These Paper Bullets! A Modish Ripoff of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, written by Rolin Jones, with songs by Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and direction by Jackson Gay, and co-produced with Atlantic Theater Company; Barcelona by Bess Wohl, directed by Trip Cullman; Sex with Strangers by Laura Eason and directed by Kimberly Senior; Guards at the Taj, written by Steinberg Award recipient Rajiv Joseph and directed by Giovanna Sardelli; and new Geffen Playhouse productions of Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Geffen Playhouse artistic director Randall Arney; and Stage Kiss by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Ovation Award winner Bart DeLorenzo.

One final production will be announced shortly.

Geffen Playhouse artistic director Arney issued the following statement: "For the last twenty years, Geffen Playhouse productions have been destinations for artists and audience alike – drawing from our Los Angeles roots and building national as well as international acclaim. Having the privilege of serving as artistic director for fifteen of those years, I see this season is indeed a landmark. Our two decades of prior work produced theatrical touchstones for the broad community we serve, and in that way, this coming season is no different.

"We seek plays that speak to our audience. Recently, a critic said that our plays have also begun to ‘speak to each other’ and that is the dialogue these plays celebrate. Our landmark 20th anniversary season speaks with the creative community of playwrights, directors, actors and designers that bring our theaters a vibrancy as full and rich as any I have experienced in my career. The events of one play resonate with the events of others, creating a dialogue with audience and artists that began when Gil Cates founded our theater two decades ago. The coming season adds to that conversation by introducing a new vanguard of artists and pillars of American playwriting to our ever-expanding audience."

Season details, according to the Geffen, follow: The Yale Repertory Theatre Production of
THESE PAPER BULLETS! A Modish Ripoff of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
Written by Rolin Jones
Songs by Billie Joe Armstrong
Directed by Jackson Gay
A Co-Production with Atlantic Theater Company
West Coast Premiere in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
Sept. 8 – Oct. 18, 2015
"Pulitzer Prize nominee Rolin Jones (Friday Night Lights, Weeds) joins multi-Grammy Award winner Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day, American Idiot) for, 'A Modish Ripoff of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing,' with a serious backbeat."

GUARDS AT THE TAJ
Written by Rajiv Joseph
Directed by Giovanna Sardelli
West Coast Premiere in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
Oct. 6 – Nov. 15
"Pulitzer Prize finalist and Ovation Award winner Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) brings a violently beautiful, gruesomely funny comedy to the intimate Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse."
 
OUTSIDE MULLINGAR
Written by John Patrick Shanley
Directed by Randall Arney
In the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
Nov. 10 – Dec. 20
"Pulitzer Prize, Tony and Academy Award winner John Patrick Shanley sets this modern romantic comedy in the Irish countryside. Los Angeles audiences will be treated to this heartwarming love story after a successful Broadway engagement."
 
BARCELONA
Written by Bess Wohl
Directed by Trip Cullman
West Coast Premiere in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
Feb. 2 – March 13, 2016
"This searing and seductive look at values and cultural collisions bursts through the backdrop of Gaudi’s beautifully unfinished Sagrada Familia Cathedral. This new play’s biting humor uncovers the individual tragedies and triumphs that have the power to build us up as well as tear us down."
 
SEX WITH STRANGERS
Written by Laura Eason
Directed by Kimberly Senior
West Coast Premiere in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
March 1 – April 10, 2016
"The title says it all - or does it - in this provocative new work about two writers approaching love, sex and literature in comically different ways."

STAGE KISS
Written by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Bart DeLorenzo
In the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
April 5 – May 15, 2016
"MacArthur 'Genius Grant' recipient and Pulitzer finalist Sarah Ruhl's new comedy follows former spouses and actors on and off-stage (and script) - helmed by Ovation Award winner and Geffen alumni Bart DeLorenzo."
 
BIG SKY
Written by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros
Directed by John Rando
World Premiere in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
June 7 – July 17, 2016
"Tony Award winning director and Geffen Playhouse alumnus John Rando helms this brilliant new family comedy from Pulitzer nominee Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros."
 
For more information visit www.geffenplayhouse.com.