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'Hadestown' Comes to Ahmanson as Part of Center Theatre Group's 2020-2021 Season

WINNER OF EIGHT 2019 TONY AWARDS INCLUDING BEST MUSICAL THE MOST HONORED SHOW OF THE YEAR “HADESTOWN” COMES TO LOS ANGELES’ AHMANSON THEATRE AS PART OF CENTER THEATRE GROUP’S 2020 – 2021 SEASON

“Hadestown,” the winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards including Best New Musical announced today on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the show will launch a National Tour beginning in the Fall of 2020. In its first year, the tour will visit more than 30 cities coast to coast. One of those cities is Los Angeles, where “Hadestown” will be a part of Center Theatre Group’s 2020 – 2021 season at the Ahmanson Theatre. Other cities on the tour include (alphabetically) Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Tempe and Washington, DC (with more cities to be announced shortly). The exact dates for the Ahmanson engagement will be announced at a later date.

Hailed by the Los Angeles Times’ Charles McNulty as, “Quite simply one of the most exquisite works of musical storytelling I’ve seen in my more than 25 years as a theater critic,” “Hadestown” is the most honored show of the 2018 – 2019 Broadway season. In addition to the show’s eight Tony Awards, it has been honored with four Drama Desk Awards, six Outer Critics Circle Awards including Outstanding New Broadway Musical and the Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical.

The acclaimed new musical by celebrated singer-songwriter and Tony Award winner Anaïs Mitchell and developed with innovative director and Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin. “Hadestown” marks the first time in over a decade that a woman has been the solo author of a musical: writing the music, lyrics and book, and is the fourth time in Broadway history a woman has accomplished this creative feat.

Producers Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold and Tom Kirdahy said jointly, “Throughout its development, ‘Hadestown’ has been deeply influenced by diverse audiences around the world. We have been overwhelmed by the response on Broadway and are thrilled and humbled to now share this beautiful story, written and directed by two amazingly talented women, with audiences across the country.”

“Hadestown” is already the highest-grossing musical in the history of the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway (219 West 48th Street, New York) and continues to sell out nightly with a cast led by Outer Critics Circle Award nominee Reeve Carney, Tony Award winner André De Shields, Tony Award nominee Amber Gray, two-time Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada and Tony Award nominee Patrick Page.

The show originated as Mitchell’s indie theatre project that toured Vermont which she then turned into an acclaimed album. With Chavkin, her artistic collaborator, “Hadestown” has been transformed into a genre-defying new musical that blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz to reimagine a sweeping ancient tale.

Following two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — “Hadestown” invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers and singers, “Hadestown” delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience.

The creative team for Broadway features Tony Award winner Rachel Hauck (set design); four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Krass (costume design); two-time Tony Award winner Bradley King (lighting design); Tony Award winners Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz (sound design); Chita Rivera Award winner and three-time Bessie Award winner David Neumann (choreography); Liam Robinson (music direction and vocal arrangements); Tony Award winners Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose (arrangements and orchestrations); Ken Cerniglia (dramaturgy) and Stewart/Whitley (casting).

“Hadestown” electrified audiences with its 2016 world premiere at New York Theatre Workshop, which is the longest-running show in that celebrated theatre’s 40-year history. The production then received its Canadian premiere at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre in 2017 and then a 2018 sold-out engagement at the London’s National Theatre prior to Broadway. “Hadestown” was developed with funding from the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center and was further developed by The Ground Floor at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. “Hadestown” was co-conceived by Ben t. Matchstick.

Broadway tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, by calling (877) 250-2929, or visiting the Kerr box office.

The “Hadestown” Original Broadway Cast Recording is now available digitally. The album is produced by David Lai, Sicakfoose, and Mitchell on Sing It Again Records.

Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company, which, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Ritchie, Managing Director Meghan Pressman and Producing Director Douglas C. Baker, programs seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1600 to 2100-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation’s leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics and circumstance to serve Los Angeles.

BIOGRAPHIES

ANAÏS MITCHELL (Music, Lyrics, & Book) is a singer-songwriter whose recordings include the original studio album of “Hadestown” (2010, featuring Justin Vernon and Ani Difranco) and “Young Man In America” (2012). Reinterpretations of traditional music include “Child Ballads” (2013, w/ Jefferson Hamer) and “Bonny Light Horseman” (2019, as Bonny Light Horseman). She has headlined worldwide and supported tours for Bon Iver, Josh Ritter and Punch Brothers. She received the 2019 Tony Award and 2019 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Score for “Hadestown,” and her music has featured in year-end best lists including NPR, Wall Street Journal, MOJO, Uncut, Guardian, Sunday Times and Observer.

RACHEL CHAVKIN (Director) received the 2019 Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Director of a Musical for “Hadestown.” She is a director, writer and dramaturg, as well as the founding Artistic Director of Brooklyn-based ensemble the TEAM (theteamplays.org) whose work has been seen all over London and the U.K. including the National Theatre, the Royal Court and multiple collaborations with the National Theatre of Scotland. Selected freelance work: Dave Malloy's “Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812” (Ars Nova, A.R.T., Broadway), Matt Gould and Carson Kreitzer’s “Lempicka” (Williamstown), Caryl Churchill's “Light Shining in Buckinghamshire” (New York Theatre Workshop), Marco Ramirez’s “The Royale” (Old Globe, Lincoln Center), Bess Wohl’s “Small Mouth Sounds” (Ars Nova, Off-Broadway, national tour), Sarah Gancher’s “I’ll Get You Back Again” (Round House), and multiple collaborations with Taylor Mac including “The Lily's Revenge, Act 2” (HERE). In addition to her awards for “Hadestown,” Chavkin is a recipient of a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical, three Obie Awards, a Drama Desk Award, multiple Lortel Award nominations, two Doris Duke Impact Award nominations, and the 2017 Smithsonian Award for Ingenuity along with Dave Malloy, with whom she is working on an upcoming adaptation of “Moby Dick” (A.R.T. December 2019). Her first film, “Remind Me,” was an official selection of the Venice and Beverly Hills Film Festivals. Proud NYTW Usual Suspect and Member SDC.

DAVID NEUMANN (Choreography) received the 2019 Chita Rivera Award and Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for his choreography for “Hadestown.” Neumann’s work with Advanced Beginner Group has been presented in New York at PS 122, New York Live Arts, The Kitchen, Central Park Summerstage (in collaboration with John Giorno), Symphony Space (in collaboration with Laurie Anderson), Abrons Arts Center, The Chocolate Factory and The Whitney. Advanced Beginner Group has also performed at the Walker Art Center, Jacob’s Pillow, MASS MoCA, American Dance Institute and Carolina Performing Arts, among others. Neumann has performed with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Big Dance Theater, Doug Elkins, Doug Varone and Sally Silvers. His work in theatre includes “An Octoroon” at Soho Rep, “Underground Railroad Game” at Ars Nova, directing Geoff Sobelle in “The Object Lesson” at BAM Fischer and New York Theatre Workshop. He was choreographer on both “Hagoromo” with Wendy Whelan and Jock Soto and “Home” at BAM Harvey, Sibyl Kempson's “Let Us Now Praise Susan Sontag” and “The Antipodes” at Signature Theatre. He was choreographer on “Hadestown” at NYTW; The Citadel in Edmonton, Canada; and The National Theatre in London. He is the recipient of three New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Awards (including Best Production in 2015 for “I Understand Everything Better”).

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August 13, 2019