Rehearsals Begin For World Premiere Of “Am I Roxie?” At Geffen Playhouse

REHEARSALS BEGIN FOR WORLD PREMIERE OF “AM I ROXIE?” AT GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE

WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY ROXANA ORTEGA AND DIRECTED BY BERNARDO CUBRÍA

PREVIEWS BEGIN SEPTEMBER 3 - OPENING NIGHT IS SEPTEMBER 11

LOS ANGELES (August 5, 2025) – Rehearsals begin today for Geffen Playhouse’s world premiere production of Am I Roxie?, written and performed by Roxana Ortega (The Casagrandes, The Groundlings) and directed by Bernardo Cubría (Crabs in a Bucket; The Giant Void In My Soul). Am I Roxie? marks the first of three world premiere productions featured in the Geffen Playhouse 2025/2026 season lineup.

Previews for Am I Roxie? begin Wednesday, September 3, 2025, in the Gil Cates Theater at Geffen Playhouse. Opening night is Thursday, September 11, 2025. Two performances of Am I Roxie? will be captioned in Spanish.

In this fiercely funny one-woman tour-de-force based on her own life, writer/actor Roxana Ortega navigates the chaos of her mother’s mental decline with outrageous humor and unbreakable spirit. Playing everything from a mermaid-obsessed aunt to a prickly sherpa, Roxie takes us on a wild ride into an opera house, up a killer mountain, and through the doomscape of her own mind. Heartfelt and hilarious, Am I Roxie? explores duty, destiny, and how facing your darkest fears can reveal who you truly are.

AM I ROXIE?
Written & Performed by Roxana Ortega
Directed by Bernardo Cubría

Previews: September 3, 2025 – September 10, 2025
Opening Night: September 11, 2025
Closing Night: October 5, 2025

CAST
Roxana Ortega as All Characters

PRODUCTION TEAM
Scenic Designer Efren Delgadillo Jr.
Costume Designer Jennifer Lynn Deck
Lighting Designer Pablo Santiago
Sound Designer Cricket S. Myers
Projection Designer Yuki Izumihara
Composer Arian Saleh
Spanish Translator Bernardo Cubría
Production Stage Manager Julian Olive
Assistant Stage Manager Rebecca K. Hsia

UNDERSTUDY
Xochitl Romero as u/s Roxie / Others

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Monday, Tuesday No performance
Wednesday, Thursday 7:30 p.m.
Friday 8:00 p.m.
Saturday 3:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Sunday 2:00 and 7:00 p.m.

*Two performances will be captioned in Spanish: Friday, September 26 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday October 5 at 2:00 p.m.

LOCATION
Gil Cates Theater at Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets currently priced at $36.00 - $139.00. Available by phone at 310.208.2028 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.org. Fees may apply.

All Geffen Playhouse productions are intended for an adult audience; children under 10 years of age will not be admitted.

Rush tickets for each day’s performance are made available to the general public one hour before showtime at the box office. $40.00 General/$20.00 Student.

COLLEGE AUDIENCES
Through a variety of events and other opportunities, Geffen Playhouse welcomes college students to experience the live storytelling presented on our stages. We are proud of our association with UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television, and open our doors to all college students throughout Los Angeles. More information is available at www.geffenplayhouse.org/college.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Roxana Ortega (Playwright & Performer)
Roxana Ortega is an award-winning actor and multi-hyphenate artist who is thrilled to be making her Geffen Playhouse debut. Her on-camera credits include Shonda Rhimes’ For the People (Apple TV+), Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix), New Girl (Fox), NCIS (CBS), Grand-Daddy Day Care opposite Danny Trejo, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous opposite Sandra Bullock, and countless national commercials. Behind the mic, her credits include the Emmy and Imagen Award–winning The Casagrandes (Nickelodeon), the Emmy–winning Monsters at Work (Disney+), Archer (FX), Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount Plus), and Call of Duty, to name a few. She studied theatre at Studio A.C.T. and has performed on San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles stages. She is a Sunday Company alumna of the prestigious Groundlings Theatre and is a current member of Ammunition Theatre Company. Her storytelling has been featured on podcasts and stages all over Los Angeles, including at the Moth GrandSLAM. Roxana was born in Los Angeles and graduated from UC Berkeley Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. She dedicates this performance to all the Carmens and all the caregivers. IG: @roxanaortegaofficial www.roxanaortega.com

Bernardo Cubría (Director & Spanish Translator)
Bernardo Cubría is a Mexican writer/director. Recent directing credits include Revenge Porn or the Story of a Body by Carla Ching and Brain Problems by Malcolm Barrett, both with Ammunition Theatre Company, and his own play The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latiné Vote at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in 2024. His play Crabs in a Bucket won the 2024 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Writing. His play The Play You Want premiered at LA’s The Road Theatre in 2022, garnering Cubría both a Stage Raw Award and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle nomination for Playwriting. In 2019, Cubría was nominated for the Ovation, Stage Raw, and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Best Playwright awards for his play The Giant Void In My Soul. Other playwriting awards include the Smith Prize for Political Theater. He was a chair for the 2024-2025 Dramatists Guild National Playwrighting Fellows. For film, he penned the feature screenplay Copa that Eva Longoria is set to direct and Guerrero which Gina Rodriguez is attached to direct and star in, and he was a 2023 Sundance Screenwriters Lab Fellow for the screenplay Kill Yr Idols which he co-wrote. He was also a writer on seasons 3 and 4 of Acapulco on Apple TV+.

2025/2026 SEASON SPONSOR
S. Mark Taper Foundation

PRODUCTION SPONSOR
UCLA Health

HOSPITALITY SPONSOR
Revel Spirits

ABOUT GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
Geffen 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