La Jolla Playhouse Unveils Cast and Creative Team for World-Premiere Musical The Heart
By Cesar A Reyes
La Jolla Playhouse has announced the cast and creative team for the highly anticipated world-premiere musical The Heart, running August 19 to September 21 at the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre. Adapted from the acclaimed French novel Réparer les Vivants by Maylis de Kerangal, the production features a book and additional lyrics by Kait Kerrigan (The Great Gatsby) and music and lyrics by Anne Eisendrath and Ian Eisendrath, known for their work on Come From Away. Tony Award-winning director and Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley helms the project, with choreography by Emmy winner Mandy Moore (La La Land).
The Heart follows a life-changing, 24-hour journey in San Diego after a young surfer’s life is tragically cut short, triggering a chain of events surrounding a heart transplant. With a thrilling electronic score and emotionally gripping storytelling, the show dives into the interconnected lives of strangers whose worlds are changed by one selfless act.
The all-star cast includes Broadway veterans and La Jolla favorites: Heidi Blickenstaff (Freaky Friday, Something Rotten) as Claire, Lincoln Clauss (Fly) as Thomas Driscoll, Bre Jackson as Cordelia Owl, Max McKenna as Juliette, Kenita Miller as Marianne Lamar, Paul Alexander Nolan (Escape to Margaritaville, Water for Elephants) as Dr. Breva, Zachary Noah Piser (Redwood) as Simon Lamar, Wren Rivera as Marthe, and Jason Tam as Sean Lamar. Understudies include Selena “Lena” Ceja, Cody Ingram, Brandon Keith Rogers, and Joy Yandell-Hall.
The creative team is stacked with acclaimed talent, including scenic design by Robert Brill, costumes by Sarafina Bush, lighting by Amanda Zieve, sound by Gareth Owen, and projections by Lucy Mackinnon. Music direction is by Wendy Cavett, with orchestrations and music production by Juan Ariza and Elin Sandberg. Casting is by Tara Rubin, CSA, and Hannah Reinert of The Telsey Office.
“This deeply moving new musical expertly weaves a mesmerizing story through a propulsive, EDM-infused score,” said Ashley. “I’m thrilled to bring The Heart to life with such an extraordinary team.”
A Chat with Lincoln Clauss
Can you start by telling us a bit about yourself and your background?
I’m originally from small-town Indiana—born and raised—and I studied musical theater at Ball State University, also in Indiana. I’ve been based in New York for the past eight years, but this is actually my third time working in San Diego. I was at La Jolla Playhouse back in 2020, then at the Old Globe in 2023, and now I’m back again. I can’t stay away!
How would you describe your character in The Heart?
Thomas Driscoll is such a wild mix of things: he’s an Organ Procurement Coordinator by day and an opera lover by night. I had no idea what the job of an OPC even was before this show, but basically, he’s the person who steps in when someone passes away and is eligible to be a donor. He works with the family, the hospital, and transplant teams to make sure the organs are recovered and matched quickly, but with so much care.
Then he goes home and practices sweeping arias in his apartment. And while those two parts of him probably sound unrelated, they both demand this huge emotional presence. Whether he’s navigating grief in a hospital or getting lost in music, he’s trying to make something beautiful out of something incredibly fragile.
The Heart is a deeply personal and reflective story told through music. How did you prepare for a project like this?
Well, because Thomas is an opera singer—and I am very much not—I actually started working with a classically trained countertenor before rehearsals even began. The music in the show is super dense and challenging, and while it’s a relatively short piece, it demands a lot vocally. I wanted to get that style of singing in my body early so I wasn’t playing catch-up once we got into the room. It’s such a different vocal muscle than what I’m used to, but it’s been surprisingly satisfying to unlock.
What has it been like to be part of a brand-new musical?
I love working on new musicals. It’s just this big collective brain figuring things out together. And at La Jolla Playhouse, you really feel that; everyone from the writers to the actors to the stage managers to the crew to the folks in the office are part of building this thing from the ground up. And as an actor, there’s something really electric about showing up and not knowing what the day will hold. Maybe you’ll get new script pages or an entirely new song. And you have no reference point for any of it – you’re the one helping form this character.
What fuels your passion for acting?
It’s a silly answer, but I just love playing pretend. There’s something so exhilarating about stepping into a life that’s not your own, living inside a different emotional world, and getting to do that alongside a group of other artists who are just as invested. When it’s working, it’s like we’re all locked in, moving together, listening hard, and the story just kind of pours out in a beautiful way.
The WORD is TRUTH. For me, acting is about showing up as your full self, on stage and off. It’s finding the real, human thing underneath the words and connecting to it in a way that’s honest and personal. Even when you’re playing someone else, the work still asks you to be you.
For tickets and additional information, visit lajollaplayhouse.org.