Center Theatre Group News & Blogs

Center Theatre Group Offers Free Play Reading Series

Center Theatre Group — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 12:17:00 -0700

CENTER THEATRE GROUP TO OFFER FREE PLAY READING SERIES AT LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY THROUGH DECEMBER 2019

Readings Will Be Presented on Various Dates at Benjamin Franklin Library, Malabar Library and Robert Louis Stevenson Library

Center Theatre Group will continue its free library play reading series with the readings of six plays on select dates from July to December. The plays will be presented at Benjamin Franklin Library on Tuesdays, Malabar Library on Wednesdays and Robert Louis Stevenson Library on Thursdays. All readings will begin at 6 p.m.

Commissioned by Childsplay Theatre, “Chato’s Kitchen” is written by Gary Soto and adapted and directed by Mark Valdez. It will be performed in English on Tuesday, July 16, Wednesday, July 17 and Thursday, July 18.

Presented by Teatro del Barrio, “La Visión de los Vencidos” is written by Miguel Leon-Portilla and adapted and directed by Sergio Serdio. It will be performed in Spanish on Tuesday, August 13, Wednesday, August 14 and Thursday, August 15.

“The Rodriguezes: A Mariachi Story” is written by Rosalie Rodriguez with music by Los Rodriguez. It will be performed in English and Spanish on Tuesday, September 17, Wednesday, September 18 and Thursday, September 19.

Presented by Off The Tracks Theatre Company, “Cosas Pequeñas y Extraordinarias” is written by Daniela Arroia and Michaela Gramajo and is directed by Juan Parada. It will be performed in Spanish on Tuesday, October 15, Wednesday, October 16 and Thursday, October 17.

“Ring of Red, A Barrio Story” is written by Tomás Summers Sandoval and directed by Rose Portillo. It will be performed in English on Tuesday, November 12, Wednesday, November 13 and Thursday, November 14.

Presented by Group de Teatro Sinergia, “La Navidad del Mojado” is written by Rubén Amavizca-Murúa and directed by Minerva García. It will be performed in Spanish on Tuesday, December 10, Wednesday, December 11 and Thursday, December 12.

The Benjamin Franklin Library is located at 2200 East 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033; the Malabar Library is at 2801 Wabash Ave., Los Angeles, 90033; and the Robert Louis Stevenson Library is at 803 Spence St., Los Angeles, 90023.

“These productions, free of charge to everyone, have a special significance to our neighborhood because over 90% of our patrons are of Hispanic origin. While most speak both Spanish and English, many do not, so Center Theatre Group makes sure that Spanish-only speakers have the opportunity to enjoy live theatre in the language they understand,” said Benjamin Franklin Library Senior Librarian/Branch Manager Connie B. Topete. “These events foster a connection between each member of the community, the library and Center Theatre Group. They also cultivate pride of heritage and self-esteem in our patrons.”

For reservations to the reading, contact Jesus A. Reyes at jreyes@ctgla.org or call 213-972-8028. More information on Center Theatre Group’s community programs can be found at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org/Community.

Now in its sixth year, the 2019 library play readings are presented by Center Theatre Group’s Education, Engagement and Community Partnerships department and are supported in part by funding from the California Arts Council. Through free workshops, events, productions, discussions and other activities that take place at traditional and nontraditional venues, Center Theatre Group is working to connect with community members and artists throughout L.A. and to facilitate inclusive and thoughtful cultural conversations.

Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company, which, under Artistic Director Michael Ritchie, 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.

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June 26, 2018

'The Play That Goes Wrong' Comes to Ahmanson Theatre

Center Theatre Group — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 15:21:00 -0700

Broadway’s Tony Award-Winning Hit Comedy Prepares to Wreak Havoc at the Ahmanson Theatre

Production Will Run July 9 through August 11, 2019

“The Play That Goes Wrong,” the hilarious Tony Award-winning hit Broadway comedy, will make its Los Angeles debut at the Ahmanson Theatre on July 9 and will continue through August 11, 2019. The opening is set for Wednesday, July 10 at 8 p.m.

The national tour features Scott Cote as Dennis, Peyton Crim as Robert, Brandon J. Ellis as Trevor, Angela Grovey as Annie, Ned Noyes as Max, Jamie Ann Romero as Sandra, Evan Alexander Smith as Chris and Yaegel T. Welch as Jonathan. The cast also features Blair Baker, Jacqueline Jarrold, Sid Solomon and Michael Thatcher.

Co-written by Mischief Theatre company members Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, “The Play That Goes Wrong” is a riotous comedy about the theatre. The play introduces The ‘Cornley University Drama Society’ who are attempting to put on a 1920s murder mystery, but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong…does, as the accident-prone thespians battle on against all odds to get to their final curtain call.

Entertainment Weekly calls “The Play That Goes Wrong,” “Hilarious! Non-stop pandemonium.” The Huffington Post calls it, “The funniest play Broadway has ever seen!” And the New York Post says it’s “Broadway’s funniest and longest-running play! Nothing is as fall down funny. GO.”

The Broadway production of “The Play That Goes Wrong” opened at the Lyceum Theatre on April 2, 2017 and by its closing on January 6, 2019 the Broadway production played 27 previews and 745 performances, making it the 2nd longest running show in the history of the Lyceum Theatre. Not yet done with New York, “The Play That Goes Wrong” officially opened Off-Broadway on February 20 at New World Stages – Stage 4. “The Play That Goes Wrong” received a Tony Award for Best Set Design, Broadway.com’s Audience Choice Award for Best Play and the Theater Fans Choice Award for Best Play.

Awarded the 2015 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, 2014 WhatsOnStage Best New Comedy and 2015 UK BroadwayWorld Best New Play Awards, “The Play That Goes Wrong” is now in its fourth year in the West End and is currently on a 30-week UK tour and playing on six continents. The producers have avoided Antarctica for fear of a frosty reception.

It is a remarkable rags-to-riches story for a play which started its life at a London fringe venue with only four paying members of the public at the first performance, and has gone on to play to an audience of over two million people around the world.

Mischief Theatre, the Olivier Award-winning theatre company led by Artistic Director Henry Lewis and Company Director Jonathan Sayer, was founded in 2008 by a group of graduates of The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and began as an improvised comedy group. Mischief Theatre performs across the UK and internationally with improvised and original scripted work.

“The Play That Goes Wrong” tour is directed by Matt DiCarlo with original Broadway direction by Mark Bell, featuring set design by Nigel Hook, lighting design by Ric Mountjoy, sound design by Andy Johnson and costume design by Roberto Surace.

“The Play That Goes Wrong” is produced on Broadway by Kevin McCollum, J.J. Abrams, Kenny Wax, Stage Presence Ltd., Catherine Schreiber, Ken Davenport, Double Gemini Productions / deRoy-Brunish, Damian Arnold / TC Beech, Greenleaf Productions / Bard-Roth, Martian Entertainment / Jack Lane / John Yonover, and Lucas McMahon.

For more information, visit www.BroadwayGoesWrong.com or follow “The Play That Goes Wrong” on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram: @BwayGoesWrong.

Bank of America is the season sponsor for Center Theatre Group’s 2018-2019 season the Ahmanson Theatre and Delta Air Lines is the official airline sponsor.

Tickets for “The Play That Goes Wrong” are available by calling (213) 972-4400, online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, or by visiting the Center Theatre Group Box Office located at the Ahmanson Theatre. Tickets range from $30 – $135 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Ahmanson Theatre is located at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, 90012.

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June 10, 2019

'Indecent' Opens at Ahmanson

Center Theatre Group — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 15:53:00 -0700

“INDECENT” OPENS AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Paula Vogel’s Play Will Continue Through July 7, 2019

Currently in previews, “Indecent,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, will open on June 9 at 2 p.m. at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. Directed by Rebecca Taichman in a co-production with Huntington Theatre Company, the Tony Award-nominated “Indecent” will run through July 7, 2019.

Vogel and Taichman (who won a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for “Indecent”) have reassembled the Broadway creative team for this production, including choreography by David Dorfman, set design by Tony nominee Riccardo Hernandez, costume design by Emily Rebholz, sound design by Matt Hubbs, projection design by Tal Yarden and lighting design by Tony Award winner Christopher Akerlind.

This production features members of the original Broadway cast including Mimi Lieber (“Act One” and “I’m Not Rappaport” on Broadway), Steven Rattazzi (“Henry V” at The Public Theater and “The Venture Bros.”), Richard Topol (“The Normal Heart” and “The Merchant of Venice” both on Broadway) and Adina Verson (“Mozart in the Jungle,” “The Strain”) joined by Tony Award nominee Harry Groener (“Oklahoma!,” “Cats,” “Crazy For You”), Tony Award nominee Elizabeth A. Davis (“Once”) and Joby Earle (“War Horse”). Original musicians Matt Darriau and Grammy Award winner Lisa Gutkin (who also co-composed the music in “Indecent” with Aaron Halva) will be joined by Patrick Farrell. Gutkin is also the music supervisor.

“Indecent” is a deeply moving play inspired by the true events surrounding the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s “God of Vengeance” — a play seen by some as a seminal work of Jewish culture, and by others as an act of traitorous libel. “Indecent” follows the history of an incendiary drama and the path of the artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it.

Infused with klezmer music, “Indecent” was uniformly praised by critics when it debuted Off-Broadway where Charles Isherwood in The New York Times called it “a powerful new play.” It would go on to Broadway where it was nominated for three Tony Awards, winning Best Direction and Best Lighting Design.

“Indecent” marked the Broadway debut of Ms. Vogel, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1998 for her unforgettable play “How I Learned to Drive,” which received the NY Drama Critics Circle Award, Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Obie Awards for Best Play. Ms. Vogel’s numerous works, which have been widely produced in the U.S. and around the world, include “Baltimore Waltz,” “The Long Christmas Ride Home,” “A Civil War Christmas” and “And Baby Makes Seven.”

Rebecca Taichman won the Tony Award for Best Direction for “Indecent” in 2017. Most recently she directed “School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play” at MCC and at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre. She has directed at Lincoln Center, Roundabout and Playwrights Horizons, among others.

Tickets for “Indecent” are available by calling (213) 972-4400, online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org or at the Center Theatre Group Box Office located at the Ahmanson Theatre. Tickets range from $30 – $155 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Ahmanson Theatre is located at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012.

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June 6, 2019