la jolla playhouse was founded in 1947 by gregory peck, dorothy mcguire, and mel ferrer. in 1983, it was revived under the leadership of des mcanuff. since then, the playhouse's repertoire has included eighty-four world premieres, thirty-two west coast premieres, and eight american premieres, and has won more than three hundred honors, including the 1993 tony award as america's outstanding regional theatre. it is supported, in part, by grants from the national endowment for the arts, the california arts council, the city of san diego, and the county of san diego. it was announced on april 10, 2007 that christopher ashley would succeed mcanuff as artistic director.