June 24, 1983 This profile of the La Jolla Playhouse highlighted the theatre's rebirth in 1983. The playhouse originally opened in 1947 and was founded by legendary actor and San Diego native Gregory Peck along with actress Dorothy McGuire and actor-director Mel Ferrer. During News 8's visit to the playhouse in June 1983, reporter Marty Levin spoke to Werner Klemperer of the CBS sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" who was starring in "The Visions of Simone Machard" at the playhouse that summer. Klemperer had high hopes for the playhouse as a cultural arts center. The theatre's renaissance was thanks to director Des McAnuff who also spoke to News 8. He said he had spoken to Gregory Peck about the rebirth of the theatre and the vision for its future. McAnuff is known for Broadway musical theatre productions including "Big River," "The Who's Tommy" and "Jersey Boys" - which originated at the playhouse and will soon be a feature film starting Nick Jonas as Frankie Valli, according to reports in 2021. Another playhouse-born piece "Come From Away" will also get a film version in 2021 on Apple+ TV, according to a representative of the La Jolla Playhouse. More of La Jolla Playhouse: https://lajollaplayhouse.org/

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