Meet the Grim Reaper’s Daughter in GRIM at La Jolla Playhouse

After 300,000 years on the job, the Grim Reaper is retiring. His daughter Diana is next in line, and all that stands between her and the family business is one simple test. That setup powers GRIM, a world-premiere musical opening at La Jolla Playhouse on running through December.

A Reaper’s Daughter, a Dorky Teen, and the DMV

Diana’s path to the big job goes sideways the moment she falls for Josh, a dorky human teenager, and starts noticing everything else about being alive down here. The chaos of humanity. Planet Earth. The DMV.

That leaves her with a problem the show keeps circling back to: if she loves life, can she really be the one in charge of ending it? Expect to laugh, then get quietly wrecked about 20 minutes later.

Hamilton’s Choreographer and a Voice From Pentatonix

The creative team is the reason to clear a weeknight for this one. Sammi Cannold directs, a Drama Desk winner and one of Variety’s 10 Broadway Stars to Watch. Andy Blankenbuehler handles choreography, the same person behind Hamilton and the Playhouse’s Fly.

Joey Orton and Brad Silnutzer wrote the book and share music and lyrics credit with Petro AP, who has written for Reneé Rapp and One Direction, and Scott Hoying of Pentatonix. That is a very specific collision of musical comedy and pop songwriting, and it shows up in the score.

First Look Tickets Come With the Creative Team Taking Notes

The run splits in two. First Look performances cover October 27 to the November 1 matinee, priced lower because the creative team is still making changes. Playhouse staff talk to the audience before the show starts, and the people who wrote it may be sitting a few rows away taking notes.

Weeks two through six run from the November evening performance to December . If you want the show locked in and polished, book later. If you want to watch a new musical find itself, book early.

See you there!

GRIM exists here first, and a world premiere is the kind of thing you remember being early to. Six weeks in La Jolla, then it belongs to everyone else.

📆 Tuesday, October 27 – Sunday, December 6, 2026
📍 2910 Theatre District Dr, La Jolla
🎟️ Lock in your spots here
ℹ️ Dive into the details here

See you there, San Diego!