Center Theatre Group News & Blogs

Strong women featured on New York and London stage

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Strong women featured on New York and London stage

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella

For the first time, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, opening Sunday at the Broadway Theatre, will enchant audiences young and old live onstage. The new production, featuring Laura Osnes in the title role and Victoria Clark as Marie, the Fairy Godmother, reimagines the story originally created for Julie Andrews as a television special in 1957. With a new book by Douglas Carter Beane, _Cinderella _arrives on Broadway with a more contemporary emphasis on one's inner character.

"The last line in the original version is now the moral of our story," Beane said in an interview published on NJ.com. "Beauty is a wonderful thing to have in a woman, but it is not as powerful as kindness. With kindness, anything is possible."

Center Theatre Group is a proud co-producer of this production.

Matilda the Musical

Another show exciting New York audiences is Matilda the Musical, based on Roald Dahl's beloved book. The show broke records at the 2012 Olivier Awards, earning nominations in every category for which it was eligible and winning seven trophies.

According to the show's website, "_Matilda _is the story of an extraordinary girl who dreams of a better life. Armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, Matilda dares to take a stand and change her destiny."

The production seamlessly blends Dahl's unforgettable characters with state-of-the-art staging that captures its audience's imagination.

Helen Mirren in The Audience

Now in previews at London's Gielgud Theatre, The Audience by Peter Morgan and directed by Stephen Daldry "imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime Minister has used these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional — sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive."

Morgan was inspired to write the play after working on _The Queen, _a film that earned Helen Mirren the Academy Award for best actress. Mirren reprises her role in this new play.

The world-premiere production runs in a limited engagement until June 15.

Two naked people in a cage at City Garage Theatre

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Two naked people in a cage at City Garage Theatre

Charles A. Duncombe's provocative new play, Caged, imagines a museum exhibit with "two naked specimens in a cage. Visitors come and go, fascinated by them, arguing and wondering about these creatures."

The unsettling premise provides an ironic look at questions that have plagued human consciousness for centuries, including religion, relationships and the differences betwen men and women.

An LA Weekly pick of the week, the show plays at City Garage Theatre in Santa Monica until March 24. Click here for more information.

Steppenwolf sets stage to end youth violence

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Steppenwolf sets stage to end youth violence

Bullying has been a hot-button issue in recent years, due in part to a number of high-profile suicides resulting from youth violence.

Community leaders and policymakers are tackling the problem through awareness campaigns and programs to reform school cultures, and now, the Steppenwolf for Young Adults program is contributing to this important conversation through the art of theatre.

How Long Will I Cry?: Voices of Youth Violence, created by journalist Miles Harvey and his students at DePaul University, draws its "raw, truthful insight" from the first-person accounts of victims, families and young people. The production is presented as part of Now Is The Time, a program that aims to curb youth violence and intolerance.

The show, free to the public, will tour libraries and youth centers in Chicago throughout the month of March. To make a reservation, visit Steppenwolf's website.

Three cheers for 3 shows playing around the country

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Three cheers for 3 shows playing around the country

1. Politically charged drama 'Other Desert Cities' pits parents against kids by Rohan Preston [Star Tribune]

The Pulitzer-nominated Other Desert Cities, which recently played at the Mark Taper Forum, landed at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minn., Feb. 9. The production, featuring Sally Wingert, Michelle Barber and David Anthony Brinkley, plays through March 24.

"This play is really like an onion," said director Peter Rothstein. "The theater and entertainment business are often accused of having a liberal bias. But Jon Robin Baitz doesn't take sides. He really goes to bat for all of his characters."

2. 'Book of Mormon' says hello to San Diego by James Hebert [U-T San Diego]

Los Angeles theatre fans sampled Trey Parker and Matt Stone's uproarious musical at the Pantages Theatre in fall 2012. Southern Californian die-hards eager to feast again on the Tony winner's biting satire and raunchy lyrics need only wait until spring 2014, when Broadway/San Diego will present the touring production at San Diego's Civic Theatre.

Mormon's style is "steeped in affection for old-time musicals but with an attitude that's more 'Borat' than '42nd Street,'" says James Hebert, theatre critic for the U-T San Diego.

3. The Shape of Memory, Both Fragile and Fierce, a review of The Glass Menagerie by Ben Brantley [The New York Times]

The American Repertory Theater's "gorgeous new production" of The Glass Menagerie features a superstar cast, including Zachary Quinto as Tom, and Cherry Jones, "perhaps the greatest stage actress of her generation," as Amanda Wingfield. The classic Tennessee Williams play runs at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, Mass., through March 17.

"Memory may be a torturer in 'The Glass Menagerie,'" says Brantley. "But every so often, as this glorious production allows, it lights up the darkness like a divine benediction."

Black Women: State of the Union returns to the Company of Angels

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Black Women: State of the Union returns to the Company of Angels

Black Women: State of the Union, "a theatrical and community event that celebrates black women as complex and resilient people," returns to the Company of Angels' black box theatre in the Alexandria Hotel from Feb. 15-24. Performances take place Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.

This edition, subtitled Taking Flight, features a collection of short theatrical pieces examining motherhood, activism, definitions of beauty and survival.

Sigrid Gilmer, a member of Center Theatre Group's 2011-2012 Writers' Workshop, will present "Simulacra," which wryly mocks representations of black women in recent films.

Other featured writers include Tanya Alexander-Henderson, Kellie Dantzler, Penelope Lowder and Lisa B. Thompson. Ayana Cahrr, Nataki Garrett and Kila Kitu will direct the event.

Inspired by President Obama's election, BWSOTU formed in 2008 to empower black women. According to its website, "American society has numerous conflicting images and false ideals about Black women — we need a forum where we can understand and define our own images and the ways that we wish to be perceived."

To purchase tickets to the show, visit the Company of Angels website.

Edie Falco’s Manhattan Theatre Club debut

Center Theatre Group — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Edie Falco’s Manhattan Theatre Club debut

Four-time Emmy Award-winner and Tony Award-nominee Edie Falco debuted at the Manhattan Theatre Club Tuesday in the world premiere of The Madrid. The new comedy by Liz Flahive casts the celebrated actress as a woman who yearns for something new, despite her seemingly perfect life.

According to the Manhattan Theatre Club's website, "Falco stars as Martha, a kindergarten teacher with a life many would want: a loving husband, a devoted daughter. But when she leaves it all behind, it's up to her daughter Sarah to pick up the pieces. Two-time Obie winner Leigh Silverman (Chinglish, From Up Here, In the Wake) directs this hilarious and heartbreaking story about motherhood, freedom, and trying to see the people in your family as they really are."

Seth Clayton, John Ellison Conlee, Brooke Ashley Laine, Heidi Schreck, Frances Sternhagen, Phoebe Strole and Christopher Evan Welch round out the cast.

Check out what the cast and creative team are saying about this new play:

New Play Development: Ownership morphing into investment

Center Theatre Group — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:56:00 -0800

The last five years have been about letting go of some new work development assumptions. One primary assumption is that new work in regional/LORT theaters is only about developing single-author plays. This is not entirely true for Center Theatre Group anymore. And because this is not entirely true for us anymore, I’ve been on a curious expedition trying to figure out how to develop hybrid theater at a theater that has built its legacy on the well-made play and continues to do so.

I went up to Oregon Shakespeare Festival mid-September to see the premier production of UNIVERSES’ Party People, which is an urgent piece about the Black Panthers and the Young Lords. I wish I had stayed longer to see the show a couple of times as it had a wealth of ideas, and a form that I needed to sit with and let sink in if Center Theatre Group is going to give the work its next step. I went up on a scouting mission because most of the CTG artistic staff was traveling up in October to see it, and I felt it would be best to see it first, talk to Mildred, Steve, and William, aka Ninja (UNIVERSES), and ask them what they wanted and needed as their next step. That way I could contextualize for the CTG peeps what to expect and what was needed in the eyes of the artists to fulfill the vision of the work.

This work was an OSF commission, but CTG also gave UNIVERSES what we call a completion commission—a commission that supports an ensemble or a group of hyper-collaborators in order to finish a work. It aligns our resources to suit the needs of where the project is in its development and it helps artists at a crucial moment—when they are in the middle or near the end of a process and resources are wearing thin. Also, we as a theater know more about the piece we’re investing in and are more likely to produce it based on this knowledge while not having carried the entire brunt of the developmental budget. It’s a win for the artists—and a win for us. In exchange for the UNIVERSES’ completion commission—we are in line to produce the piece after its initial premier at OSF here in California. Coupled with this, we had the opportunity to contribute to the dramaturgy of the piece along with OSF throughout its developmental process. This project marks the third collab with the group since the late-90s, so we’ve had a long relationship. This commission was given after we conferred with OSF to let them know of our intentions, and it was wholeheartedly welcomed as the piece was epic and in need of substantial developmental resources and time. In the spring, before the group headed up to Oregon, we brought them along with director Liesl Tommy to Los Angeles to work on the text with one of our dramaturgs, Joy Meads. It proved fruitful, and they developed a genuine rapport with our developmental team—all in preparation for an easier transition once we became responsible for the next step in the process.

In order to wrap our heads around completion commissions, we had to let go of some assumptions.

One assumption was that you don’t dramaturg the work of ensembles or hyper-collaborators in the same way you develop plays. In one way, yes, the rules or non-rules of the hybrid form demand that you don’t try to make the work into a traditional play or musical. This is paramount. But having said that, you still have to assess what the artist is trying to say and ask questions and respond based on what you read or see.

Another assumption was over ownership. Who “owns” the work? Easy answer—the artists own the work and we theaters are the incubators and then the proud grandparents housing the work for the parents who are the creators. The idea of artist investment over time rather than project ownership is a notion we favor in this new developmental world.

Yes, we support the incubation, and it has to happen in Los Angeles. No, it doesn’t. This was another assumption we let go. For example, we gave Austin’s Rude Mechs a completion commission for I’ve Never Been So Happy. We had previously presented Method Gun. We gave them the commission to finish the project in Austin and to premier it at their space, The Off Center. We came to see it in rehearsal and during workshops and gave notes. Then we saw the premiere. We liked what we saw and brought the production to the Kirk Douglas Theater. The piece was developed on Austin soil in front of the company’s own audience. We maximized our investment by letting the development and initial premiere happen in Texas.

Most of the ensembles or hyper-collaborators we have worked with have knowledge of self producing and/or touring. What we found was that the completion commission helps us make our resources go farther by putting the money in the hands of the artists to use as they need instead of us controlling the expenses. In most cases, bringing an ensemble across the country to do a development process can be cost prohibitive, when in reality it’s best for the group to develop their work in front of their audience in their space or town. It’s much easier for our staff to go to them rather than the group to come to us.

What has worked in tandem with this model is DouglasPlus, which is a producing/presenting model that allows us to do an unsubscribed run that is shorter and depends on single ticket sales. Instead of feeling that we are a “hotel” and just presenting work that we have no association with, our staff has now assumed an investment and we are presenting work that we have commissioned. Ownership morphs slowly into long-term artist investment in this more expansive world of new play development, where the focus is not only on playwrights but also on ensembles and hyper-collaborators. Photo: Diane Rodriguez. Home Page Photo: (L to R) Louie Magic, Dennis Diamond, and Daryl Hannah in Elephant Room at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Photo by Craig Schwartz.