Ojai Playhouse Announces David Lynch Celebration Weekend

January 7, 2025 - The historic Ojai Playhouse will present a David Lynch Celebration Weekend, a multi-day program honoring the life, legacy, and enduring influence of the visionary filmmaker. Timed to coincide with Lynch's birthday, the January 15-20 celebration brings together landmark film screenings, live performance, and immersive elements that reflect the Playhouse's longstanding devotion to Lynch's work and the creative community surrounding it.

Anchoring the weekend's live programming is Desert Films, a bold new stage work inspired by Lost Highway, presented for two nights only on January 16 and 17. Written, directed by, and starring James Franco, the work-in-progress is conceived as a surreal exploration of fame, fantasy, and myth, drawing particular inspiration from the enigmatic Lost Highway character Mystery Man portrayed by Robert Blake. Rather than a direct adaptation, Desert Films translates Lynchian themes of fractured identity and psychological tension into a live theatrical setting.

The celebration is rounded out with a curated series of film screenings, including In Cold Blood(January 15), Blue Velvet (January 16),Lost Highway (January 17), and David Lynch: The Art Life (January 20). Guests attending the January 20 screening are invited to arrive early for a prelude of David Lynch short films and freshly prepared coffee beginning at 6:00 PM.

OJAI PLAYHOUSE DAVID LYNCH WEEKEND SCHEDULE

David Lynch: Short Films Expanded - Thursday, January 15 at 4:00 PM (free screening)

In Cold Blood - Thursday, January 15 at 6:30 PM (free screening)

Desert Films - Friday, January 16 at 7:70 PM

Blue Velvet - Friday, January 16 at 9:15 PM (free screening)

Desert Films - Saturday, January 17 at 7:30 PM

Lost Highway - Saturday, January 17 at 9:15 PM (free screening)

The Elephant Man - Sunday, January 18

Mulholland Drive - Monday January 19 at 7PM (free screening)

David Lynch: The Art Life - Tuesday, January 20 at 7:00 PM (free screening)

There will also be a group meditation on January 20th in honor of David's Birthday.

Over the past year, the Ojai Playhouse has quietly emerged as a gathering place for David Lynch devotees. The venue has screened many of Lynch's most prominent works including Eraserhead, The Straight Story, Wild at Heart, Mulholland Drive, and Twin Peaks: The Return, and welcomed collaborators such as actor Laura Dern and Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost for intimate, in-person conversations about their work with the filmmaker. The Ojai Playhouse was also the west coast premiere for the 2025 documentary film I KNOW CATHERINE: THE LOG LADY with director/actor Richard Green and Twin Peaks producer Sabrina Sutherland in attendance for a post screening Q&A. With its deep blue mood lighting and hushed, immersive atmosphere, the theater itself feels attuned to Lynch's visual language, subtly recalling his evocative use of color to signal the strange and the mysterious.

Extending beyond the screen, the Ojai Playhouse offers audiences a uniquely intimate connection to Lynch himself. Alongside memorabilia, David Lynch's personal La Marzocco GS3 espresso machine resides in the Playhouse lobby, serving guests coffee made with the same beans Lynch used in his own lattes, producing a "damn fine cup of coffee." The machine stands as a tactile symbol of the Playhouse's deep ties to cinema history, inviting visitors to experience a small but meaningful piece of Lynch's daily ritual.