Shows & Tickets
“BACKSTAGE AT THE GEFFEN” RAISES VITAL FUNDS TO BENEFIT ARTS AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT
MATT BOMER, FRANK MARSHALL AND DANIELLE PINNOCK WERE HONORED AT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE ANNUAL FUNDRAISER
SURPRISE CELEBRITY GUEST APPEARANCES INCLUDED UTKARSH AMBUDKAR, GREG BERLANTI, CALISTA FLOCKHART, HELDER GUIMARÃES, SEAN HAYES, WENDIE MALICK AND HEATHER ALICIA SIMMS
LOS ANGELES (October 20, 2025) – Geffen Playhouse raised vital funds for the theater’s education, community engagement and artistic initiatives at its signature Backstage at the Geffen annual fundraiser held October 19, it was announced today. Greg Berlanti presented the Artistic Impact Award to Matt Bomer (White Collar, Fellow Travelers), Sean Hayes presented the Founders Award to Frank Marshall (Indiana Jones, The Hope Theory), and Heather Alicia Simms and Utkarsh Ambudkar presented the Trailblazers Award to Danielle Pinnock (Ghosts, Candy Cane Lane).
The evening of unscripted, unannounced storytellers and performers was hosted by Daniel K. Isaac and featured personal behind-the-scenes anecdotes from a lineup of surprise celebrity guests including Calista Flockhart, Helder Guimarães and Wendie Malick. Geffen Playhouse Executive Director/CEO Gil Cates, Jr. and Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney welcomed the crowd and thanked the audience for their ongoing support of the arts and helping to keep storytelling alive on the Geffen stages for years to come.
The evening opened with a powerful, bespoke dance performance choreographed by Juel D. Lane exclusively for Backstage at the Geffen. Juel made his return to the Geffen after serving as choreographer for the 2024/2025 Geffen Playhouse season opener, The Brothers Size, in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater. Next up was an original song composed and performed by Jake Brasch, who also wrote The Reservoir, which made its world premiere at Geffen Playhouse in June 2025 in the Gil Cates Theater. The evening’s performances concluded with a spectacular illusion by Helder Guimarães, who also served as one of the evening’s storytellers. The night ended with an original DeLorean from Back to the Future awaiting surprised guests as they exited the theater for the Backstage at the Geffen after-party on Le Conte Avenue in Westwood.
Backstage at the Geffen recognizes the accomplishments of leaders in the artistic community, supports the theater’s mission to produce original, quality work and raises funds for its education and community engagement programs, which bring live theater to more than 15,000 youth, seniors and veterans in communities across Los Angeles. Backstage at the Geffen celebrates the joy, power and community that makes theater vital.
Matt Bomer – Artistic Impact AwardMatt Bomer is a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award–winning and Emmy Award–nominated actor. Upcoming, he will costar in the dark comedy Outcome for Apple alongside Jonah Hill, Keanu Reeves, and Cameron Diaz. Matt most recently starred in and executive produced two projects: the comedy series Mid-Century Modern for Hulu alongside Nathan Lane and Linda Lavin and Showtime’s adaptation of Thomas Mallon’s novel Fellow Travelers alongside Jonathan Bailey. For his role in Fellow Travelers, Matt received nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a Critics’ Choice Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Matt was also seen in Maestro alongside director and star Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan for producers Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. The film, which premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, is nominated for Best Picture at the 96th Annual Academy Awards. With film credits ranging from starring roles in The Boys in the Band, Papi Chulo, The Nice Guys, and the Magic Mike films, to his award-winning television role in The Normal Heart, Matt has established an extremely impressive acting resume. Branching out, he made his directorial debut with a critically acclaimed episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, and starred in the Broadway production of The Boys in the Band showcasing his extensive background in theatre.
Frank Marshall – Founders AwardFrank Marshall is a producer/director and one of the few people to have received an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). His film producing career is marked by five Academy Award nominations and classic series like Indiana Jones, Jason Bourne, and Jurassic World. Marshall also directs, having helmed several successful films, including the Grammy–winning Best Music Film, Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story and several projects for the Geffen Playhouse. An amateur magician since he was ten, 2024’s The Hope Theory at Geffen Playhouse was his fourth collaboration with Helder Guimarães, following Invisible Tango, and the Geffen Stayhouse shows The Present and The Future. He most recently produced this summer’s Jurassic World Rebirth and is currently directing documentaries about Fleetwood Mac and Barbra Streisand, with several Broadway projects also in development.
Danielle Pinnock – Trailblazers AwardDanielle Pinnock is a dynamic actor-creator-writer who was recently honored with the 2025 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in CBS’s hit comedy series Ghosts as “Alberta.” Her credits include appearing alongside Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross in Prime Video’s Candy Cane Lane; as “Ms. Ingram,” Sheldon’s math teacher, on Young Sheldon (CBS); opposite Ray Romano and Peter Bogdanovich in Get Shorty (Epix); on the Emmy-nominated A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO); guest appearances on This Is Us, Scandal, and This Fool, among others; as well as voice work for Boss Baby: Back in Business (Netflix), Thundercats Roar (Cartoon Network), and Where’s Waldo? (Peacock). Unmentionables, an adult-aimed animated series that she co-created with Punam Patel, is being developed for television by Emmy-winning producer Anthony Hemingway and Taraji P. Henson. She and husband Jack Wallace are also developing an unscripted series based on their own personal wedding and vow-renewal story, centered around giving couples the opportunity to rewrite their wedding stories. Danielle is a classically trained stage actress and playwright, notable for her solo show, Body/Courage. She has appeared Off-Broadway and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the prize-winning play, In Conflict, and has also performed at major regional theaters including Geffen Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, and D.C.’s famed Kennedy Center, among others. She received her B.A. in Communications and Theatre from Temple University and graduated with First Distinction Honors with an M.F.A. in Acting from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in the UK.
UCLA Health and The Adi and Jerry Greenberg Foundation served as Presenting Sponsors, continuing a longstanding relationship with Geffen Playhouse.
The Honorary Host Committee included Colman Domingo, Larissa FastHorse, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Dulé Hill and Jazmyn Simon, Cindy and Alan Horn, Gloria Calderón Kellett and David Kellett, Fay and Frank Mancuso, Rita Moreno, and Madeline and Bruce Ramer.
The post-show reception featured catering by Bites and Bashes with wine and spirits sponsored by Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits.
ABOUT GEFFEN PLAYHOUSEGeffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and second productions, the not-for-profit organization continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company was founded by Gilbert Cates and is currently helmed by Executive Director/CEO Gil Cates, Jr., Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney and Board Chair Adi Greenberg. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains extensive education and community engagement programs, designed to involve underserved young people and the community at large in the arts. www.geffenplayhouse.org
ABOUT ADI AND JERRY GREENBERGAdi Greenberg joined the Geffen Playhouse Board of Directors in 2009 and currently serves as its Chair. She became a theater actress at the age of six, appearing in numerous productions regionally and in New York. After completing her B.A. in theater at Barnard College, Columbia University, she moved to Los Angeles where she pursued a successful career in television and film. In addition to the Board of the Geffen Playhouse, Ms. Greenberg serves on the Board of No Limits for Deaf Children and Families, a nonprofit that teaches underserved deaf children and their families the skills to succeed in school and in life through its after-school educational centers and distinguished theater arts program, promoting advocacy and awareness worldwide. A mother of three, Ms. Greenberg currently resides in Santa Monica, CA with her husband and children.
ABOUT UCLA HEALTHUCLA Health is among the world’s most comprehensive and advanced health care systems, with a mission to provide state-of-the-art patient care, support pioneering research and train future generations of health care professionals. UCLA Health offers an integrated network of primary and specialty care services at more than 280 clinics across Southern California and the Central Coast and at five medical centers and hospitals – Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center and UCLA West Valley Medical Center. For 36 consecutive years, UCLA Health hospitals have earned a place on the U.S. News & World Report national honor roll, a distinction reserved for only 20 hospitals or systems providing the highest-quality care across multiple medical specialties. UCLA Health also includes the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. UCLA Health is where discovery leads to world-class care. Visit uclahealth.org
