2015 | Center Theatre Group

Straight White Men playwright and director Young Jean Lee talks with Center Theatre Group Associate Artistic Director Diane Rodriguez and UCLA Center for the Art of Performance Executive and Artistic Director Kristy Edmunds about how their theatres came to co-present her show at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. “You guys were sort of lying in wait [to g...

Young Jean Lee on Bringing 'Straight White Men' to L.A.

With Straight White Men playing the Kirk Douglas Theatre through December 20, 2015, Center Theatre Group took to the streets of Culver City to find out what ideas and images the show’s title brings to mind, and how Angelenos define privilege. We also asked playwright Young Jean Lee to explain why she chose this provocative identifier for her play...

When I Say 'Straight White Men,' L.A. Says...

Playwright. Director. Singer. Filmmaker. Korean-American. Feminist. Experimental. Adventurous. Provocative. Young Jean Lee and her boundary-pushing, genre-bending, radically inclusive work is impossible to place in any one box. So who is the playwright and director behind Straight White Men, which plays the Kirk Douglas Theatre November 20 through...

Who is Young Jean Lee?

Rock ’n’ roll and musical theatre, Kansas City and Los Angeles, the Pacific Palisades and “Malibu,” and Center Theatre Group donors and artists came together for an unforgettable evening under a 100-plus-year-old oak tree on a Saturday night this fall. The occasion: a CTG benefit to celebrate and support the opening of Todd Almond’s Kansa...

Courtney Love and Todd Almond Rock Out for Donors

What does it mean to be successful—as a man, a father, or a son? Male playwrights have grappled with this question for over 2,000 years, ever since Sophocles dramatized Oedipus’ murder of his father, King Laius in Oedipus Rex. Young Jean Lee’s Straight White Men, which plays the Kirk Douglas Theatre November 20 to December 20, 2015, carves ou...

'Straight White Men' Takes Aims at Father-Son Drama

Last year, Americans spent over $27 billion to rent the 2.5 billion square feet of self-storage that blanket the nation—that’s more cash than the NFL, NBA, and MLB made last year, and enough square footage to cover Downtown Los Angeles 15 times over. But how many of us feel like we have what we need? And need what we have? These are the qu...

Do Your Objects Own You, Or Do You Own Your Objects?

I didn’t really know anything about Girlfriend before seeing the show at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Based off of the poster, my presumption was that Girlfriend narrated a “bromance” between two college-aged guys whose relationship was rooted in video games and Domino’s pizza. I figured that the mentioning of one’s girlfriend was someh...

I have never considered myself much of a writer. For most of my life, I focused my time on the performance side of art, never really considering trying out a different medium to express my voice. As artists, we are told to use our work to express what we have trouble saying, to help heal society, and to make people talk about and face the trou...

Remember the summer when you had no responsibilities to fulfill, no bills to pay, and no deadlines to meet (besides your curfew)? For a lot of us, the summer after high school graduation just might be the first and last totally free stretch of time we have in our adult lives—which is why it’s the stuff so many stories we love are made from...

How did Lucy Alibar get from the bayous of northern Florida to the stage of the Kirk Douglas Theatre (and the Oscars, for that matter)?

Maybe you found yourselves singing along to "Girlfriend" on the radio in unison.

News:

Young Jean Lee on Bringing 'Straight White Men' to L.A.

When I Say 'Straight White Men,' L.A. Says...

Who is Young Jean Lee?

Courtney Love and Todd Almond Rock Out for Donors

'Straight White Men' Takes Aims at Father-Son Drama

Do Your Objects Own You, Or Do You Own Your Objects?

Art, Inspiration, and Awkwardness at Your Story Onstage

Writing My Own Story at Your Story Onstage

18 Movies and Novels That Will Take You Back to the Summer After High School Graduation

Inner Circle Donors Get a Glimpse Into the Making of ‘Throw Me On the Burnpile and Light Me Up'

Matthew Sweet & more: a selection of songs from 1990–1995