Center Theatre Group News & Blogs

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Jessica Doherty — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 17:37:00 -0800

Their trainer, William “Bill” Berloni, has been training animals to perform for over 40 years. His career began in 1977, when he was a young apprentice at the Goodspeed Opera House. To have a chance to perform and gain his Equity card all he had to do was wrangle a dog for a new musical called Annie. And the rest was paw-story. Now, he trains a variety of animals, reptiles, and insects for theatre, television, and film.

From cats to horses to parakeets to cockroaches (yes, cockroaches), Berloni said that training a live creature usually goes back to the simple concept of meeting their basic needs. He specifically trains animals that are partially domesticated, like cattle, sheep, rabbits, and birds, as opposed to “exotic” and wild animals like bears, big cats, or primates, since the latter often invite harsh techniques and loose standards. He also works alongside animal, insect, and reptile experts to ensure that the specific needs of each unique animal are met.

While meeting an animal’s needs sounds simple, it can be complicated during a production or film set. “[The animals are] sort of like Olympic athletes,” he said. “They have to be at the top of their game in order to be happy to do the things we need.”

Dogs, in particular, need about 12 to 16 hours of sleep a day. So Berloni makes sure that they are well rested before rehearsal and keeps them mentally and physically stimulated and socialized during their time awake. “When it’s time to [train], it can be the best part of their day,” he said. “They get all this attention and all these cookies—they go to a place where they’re admired not just by me, but by so many other people.”

Jethro and Reba appeared in the Broadway production of A Christmas Story, The Musical, so they are returning to their roles for this production. But there were two dogs before them, Pete and Lily, who originated the roles. To cast all of these dogs, Berloni said he needed to first assess their temperament—which dogs seemed like they could handle the stressors of traveling and being onstage. From there, they could begin to train. The dogs’ big scene involves them eating a holiday dinner straight off of the kitchen table, which Berloni said is a complicated behavior to teach. Bloodhounds in particular are known for their keen sense of smell—they can be easily distracted by the variety of new smells in a theatre on any given night. But through training, he said he was able to teach them to follow their noses to the dinner table.

^{Reba plays a Bumpus Hound in 'A Christmas Story, The Musical'}

Berloni said it is often easier to train animals for film and television. “[Movie dogs] will be looking at me off camera—and if it doesn’t work, we do another take,” he said. “In the theatre, they have to do it right once and listen to someone else.”

He also encourages artists to advocate for animal safety precautions in theatre, television, and film. “There should be more transparency about how animals are used in entertainment so we can set some standards that will protect them,” he said. “One of the biggest forms of cruelty is ignorance,” he said.

Jethro and Reba are rescue dogs, which Berloni finds to be an important part of his work. Reba was found in Boston as a stray and Jethro was found tied to a tree in Indiana. The dog who played Sandy in the original production of Annie was also a rescue dog, which sparked a lifelong dedication to animal adoption and working with rescue dogs for training. He’s pleased with how attitudes toward animal adoption have changed since he started working with animals, but he hopes that people continue to support shelters and adopt animals. “There are beautiful, wonderful animals that ended up in shelters that need homes,” Berloni said.

Arts in Action

Jessica Doherty — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 17:20:00 -0800

September 18^th & 19^th

Center Theatre Group hosted the very first Los Angeles Theatre Summit, in which approximately 50 invited theatre funders and leaders gathered at the Center Theatre Group offices in Downtown Los Angeles. During the event, presentations were made by representatives from Californians for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and various other service organizations and theatre leaders from throughout the Los Angeles community. The following night, on September 19th almost 600 people from dozens of L.A. theatres gathered at the Mark Taper Forum for a community happy hour, which included presentations from arts service organizations and community updates from members of the Los Angeles theatre community.

September 28^th

Desai joined a group of American theatre makers—including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phylicia Rashad, and Pasadena Playhouse’s Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman, and more—to advocate for congressional support for regional theatres in Washington. D.C. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) hosted the group to introduce the Supporting Theater and Generating Economic Activity Act, otherwise known as the STAGE Act, which would provide $500 million in annual assistance over the next five years.

October 24^th

At the annual Arts for LA State of the Arts Summit, Desai delivered a keynote address about the economic and social barriers that creatives face and how artists can reimagine and revitalize the creative economy through collaboration. The summit featured a range of speakers, from policymakers to artists to activists, to participate in panels and discussions throughout the day. Arts for LA, the organization behind the event, is the only cross-sector and cross-discipline arts advocacy organization in Los Angeles County that connects arts and culture stakeholders across the region.

November 2^nd

Center Theatre Group welcomed Little Amal, a 12-foot-tall puppet of a young Syrian refugee, to The Music Center on November 2nd for Amal’s Wish. This performance was a part of Amal Walks Across America, a nationwide journey spanning more than 35 cities and towns, 6,000 miles, and over 300 partners. Organizations dedicated to supporting refugees in Los Angeles, like Miry’s List, Newcomers Access Center, Welcome Blanket, Refugee Children Center, and Interfaith Refugee & Immigration Service, joined CTG in Amal’s arrival as well. Throughout the performance, a variety of performers, dancers, and other artists, took to the plaza to share in making wishes with Amal.

November 18^th & 19^th

REDCAT Los Angeles and KCRW brought a group of experts, activists, cultural organizers, and artists together for two days of performances, conversations, and interventions about the role of art during times of crisis. Desai was once again a featured speaker and continued to give voice to and support for the arts and arts funding in Los Angeles, throughout the state of California, and across the country.

And this is only the beginning of CTG’s next act. Stay tuned for how CTG moves forward in the year to come.

Flying Fish, Cop Dogs, and Evil Skyscrapers, Oh My!

Jessica Doherty — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0800

Dog Man: The Musical is a hilarious and heartwarming new production following the chronicles of Dog Man, who, with the head of a dog and the body of a policeman, loves to fight crime and chew on the furniture. But while trying his best to be a good boy, can he save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and his army of Beasty Buildings? And will George and Harold finish their show before lunchtime?

“It’s very swashbuckling,” said Brad Alexander, the composer of Dog Man: The Musical, of the show. “It never stops moving and I think that is a refreshing thing for a musical.”

Alexander and Lyricist Kevin Del Aguila approached Dog Man: The Musical with a variety of styles in mind to create a contemporary pop-rock score. One particular challenge, Del Aguila said, was that the creator of the Dog Man series, Dav Pilkey, insisted that the titular character not speak or sing—he has the head of a dog, after all.

Alexander and Del Aguila have collaborated before, writing the scores for the adaptations of Click, Clack, Moo; the Emmy Award-winning PBS show Peg+Cat; and, most recently, Pilkey’s Cat Kid Comic Club. But the two have their own musical careers as well, with Alexander writing music for See Rock City & Other Destinations and Misty Makes it Better, and Del Aguila writing Altar Boyz and musical adaptations of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Madagascar.

“[Del Aguila] is a masterful architect,” Alexander said of his colleague. “He laid a blueprint that we really followed for Dog Man: The Musical.” The duo was joined by Dog Man: The Musical Director and Choreographer Jen Wineman, who, Alexander said was the “captain of the Dog Man ship.”

Wineman said she often finds herself directing and choreographing work that some people might consider unproducible. “When I learned I would have to stage a scene in which a tiny kitten in a robot suit fights a bunch of skyscrapers...brought to life by an evil fish...that made complete sense to my creative brain.”

Pilkey is known for his zany illustrated children’s books filled with humor and heart. The creators behind the musical adaptation hoped to bring the same spirit when telling the story onstage. Wineman said that she didn’t simply want to recreate the books on stage, but rather, to use her theatrical toolkit to make a production that would truly feel as though George and Harold, the musical’s main characters, had created it.

Wineman also feels Pilkey’s values as a writer are in line with her own creative philosophy. “His whole goal as a writer is to spread both literacy and kindness. I resonated immediately with those values because part of my purpose as a theatre maker is to encourage curiosity, and to spread love and kindness through comedy,” she said.

This energy radiates beyond the theatre’s walls as well. Wineman was surprised to learn just how expansive and dedicated the Dog Man community is after the musical debuted. In almost every city Dog Man: The Musical has played, she has been tagged in many social media posts of fan art celebrating the specific production and casts—from all ages.

All three creatives feel that family-friendly theatre is not that different from any other show. “You can’t curse as much,” Del Aguila said. “I never aim to write a show for children, I just try to write a good show.”

Wineman had a similar approach as a director and choreographer. “I wanted to create something that was an awesome show that kids and adults alike will love,” she said.

TheaterWorksUSA, the producer of the production, is known for approaching onstage storytelling for families in this way. The company hopes to “produce high caliber, engaging theatre that fosters an appreciation for the art form amongst expansive audiences, giving all generations something to enjoy.”

Wineman also echoed this sentiment when speaking of the company’s work. “TheaterWorks doesn’t talk down to kids in their productions, and we needed to reflect that,” she said. “Kids are smart—if you respect them and their imaginations, they will feel it.”

The creatives hope audiences will walk away feeling inspired and joyful. “If [audiences] can walk out [feeling] tickled emotionally and feeling free to be themselves... then mission accomplished,” Alexander said.

Wineman hopes it also inspires young audiences to be creative on their own. “The fact that George and Harold...create the musical as its unfolding, hopefully, [audiences] will go home and feel like they can be creative and make their own imaginary worlds.”

Del Aguila agrees, “Just as the Dog Man books help get kids excited about reading, I hope the musical inspires them to become life-long theatergoers. Maybe they’ll even go home and perform the show for their cats.”

Miry’s List—New Beginnings

Center Theatre Group — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 18:26:00 -0800

Little Amal’s message of peace and hope for refugees resonated with various organizations, which inspired them to participate in the event. Among them was Miry Whitehill, the Founder and Executive Director of Miry’s List.

For the last seven years, the organization has famously worked on supporting families in the United States who are in need of practical and emotional support through an online platform. Their website allows people to directly support new families all across the country with requested items that ease their move and major life events.

Whitehill hadn’t always worked in the nonprofit industry. Before founding Miry’s List, she was a marketing executive who specialized in digital advertising. She had every intention of returning to work after her maternity leave, but she met a resettling family in her community that needed support and shifted her focus to community outreach and aid.

The family Whitehill had met were unable to purchase a mattress for their baby’s crib, which resulted in the family being unable to rest peacefully. Whitehill had a spare mattress in her garage and was able to help the family overcome this challenge. “That began this process of talking with them and listening to them and understanding more about the challenges that they faced and more about the opportunity that me and my friends and my neighbors had in jumping into help,” she reflected.

As a parent to two kids of her own, Whitehill was in awe of the strength these parents had despite the challenges they faced every day while resettling in a new country. “These families who have overcome the odds have faced so much danger,” she said. “The way that they prioritize the needs of their children...[I was] witnessing heroic parenting. Every single time.”

After getting to know that initial family, Whitehill began to uncover the reality resettling families face when arriving in the United States. “The system for resettling refugees, that's a 90-day system. That's the timeline under which these families get support.” she shared. “Anybody who has ever moved to a new place understands that it takes longer than 90 days even under ‘perfect circumstances.’ For folks who are fleeing violence and persecution, there is nothing perfect about this circumstance.”

For Whitehill, connecting with families on a personal level showed her how their needs are not met by the government agencies that are responsible for supporting them during their resettlement. This was the inspiration for Miry’s List, which became a tool that anyone could support to help fill in those gaps. “We are a platform that's online, where you can help out directly,” said Whitehill. “You can send a pair of sneakers to a six-year-old who's starting second grade...[or] you can volunteer and be a tutor and work with someone on developing their conversational English skills.”

The programs that Miry’s List offers were created as a direct response to conversations the organization has had with new arrival families in their homes. “When families first arrived, we noticed they were [experiencing] severe exhaustion, both physical and mental,” Whitehill reflected. “So, we gave it a name...’survive’. This is the first chapter. What can we do during ‘survive’, to help a family? We need to find a way that they can rest.”

The next step in the process is to “hive,” which is meant to support the new arrivals families by embracing them as members of the community. For Whitehill, this is the bulk of the program, which consists of meeting new individuals and creating space for community. “We’re surrounding the family, we’re listening to them and offering them support,” she commented.

The program aims to lead all participants to the “thriving” phase, where new arrival families have a support system that they can lean into while feeling like they are members of the community. But to get to that point, the organization relies on all steps of the program to build that reality. “Every single one of those touch points, that human connection, it helps to build that sense of belonging,” Whitehill notes.

Looking towards the future, Whitehill hopes that more artistic opportunities like Amal’s Wish will inspire people to learn more about the realities that new arrival families face and create change. Whitehill feels that are is incredibly valuable to these communities, as it is a way to process difficult conversations. “When art is expressed in a way to serve a specific purpose, like [Amal’s Wish] [shining a] light on the courageous kids and families that have made these worldwide journeys towards safety, we can take that curiosity and generate impact.” she shared. Throughout the evening, Miry’s List spread the word about their work and collected a variety of donations to help support current requests.

The organization is also always looking for volunteers, in addition to donations. “I want to encourage anybody that is reading this or interested in the organization and the work that we do with the families [to] please get involved,” she said.

Whitehill finds that Miry’s List is also a great channel to further education within our own homes and communities about new arrivals and refugees. Whitehill argues that newly arriving families are the future of our communities. [New arrivals] have come through some of the most difficult situations that someone can face...They are new American families,” she shared. “Within five years, those people who are over the age of 18 will be voting in our elections. Our attitude should be the exact same attitude that we would have if anybody [else] moved in next door. We should be showing up with a basket of muffins.”

Comedy Around L.A.!

Center Theatre Group — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 16:45:00 -0800

The Comedy Store

Located in West Hollywood, The Comedy Store has been a staple for developing comedians. The Comedy Store’s Paid Regulars are considered brave enough to challenge authority and hold a funhouse mirror to show us perspectives we had never considered. Unique multi-cultural voices consisting of Ali Wong, Yakob Smirnoff, Bobby Lee, Jeff Ross, Iliza Schlesinger, Theo Von, and Marc Maron, to name a few, appear on their stages examining themes common to us all, while making us laugh and think.

The Laugh Factory

From its flagship location on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Laugh Factory has sparked laughter from millions of people across the globe. It’s where LA natives and tourists alike go for a guaranteed smile, and it’s where comedy’s biggest stars go to feel like they’re a part of comedy history. From its comedy magazine to its historic stage, Laugh Factory has elevated the careers of countless comedians and continues to foster up-and-coming talent. Since 1979, Laugh Factory has opened additional locations in Chicago, Long Beach, San Diego, Las Vegas and Reno.

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre

The Upright Citizens Brigade is home for all things comedy. With shows seven nights a week, UCB has become the home for alternative comedy. Whether it’s improv comedy, sketch comedy, stand-up, or just plain UCB has you covered!

The Upright Citizens Brigade also teaches comedy classes specializing in Improv, Sketch Comedy, TV Writing, Characters, and more! Led by some of the best comedic talents working in entertainment, UCB’s unique curriculum gives students the tools they need to take their career to the next level.

The Virgil

While not exclusively a comedy venue, The Virgil is equal parts neighborhood cocktail bar & entertainment space, providing a space for members of the Los Angeles to experience different forms of live entertainment. The "Stage Side" features live music, DJs, dancing, comedy and special events on select nights, while the "B Side" hosts DJ’s and dancing every weekend. The Virgil is also one of the spaces where Edelman first presented “Just for Us” to a live audience.

Dynasty Typewriter

Since opening in 2018, Dynasty Typewriter has quickly established itself as one of LA's premier destinations for highly curated entertainment including comedy, music, live podcasts, screenings, and immersive experiences. Named “LA’s comedy clubhouse” by The NY Times, and “LA’s best alt-comedy venue” by LA Weekly, Dynasty prides itself on creating enchanting, connective experiences for artists and audiences alike.

Largo At the Coronet

Largo, also called Café Largo, Largo, darling!, or Club Largo, is a nightclub and cabaret in Los Angeles, California. Largo is known for its musical and comedy shows and for the Friday night residency of singer-songwriter Jon Brion.

Westside Comedy

This intimate comedy club & bar offers a variety of classes, open mikes & stand-up performances. They are also the official home of the YouTube sensation “Epic Rap Battles of History,” which was born out of the show Check One, Two at the theater. The owners of the theater still perform regularly every Thursday night at 10PM for free in The Grind; and you can see the home company of the show that started it all, Mission IMPROVable, every Friday and Saturday at 10PM.

Comedy GoGo! At El Cid!

Comedy GoGo! brings a party vibe with live entertainment from gogo dancers, a mix of well-known and boundary-pushing comedians, musicians, drag queens, and much more! Housed on the patio of El Cid on Sunset, the venue offers amazing drinks and delicious food for purchase. Host Samantha Jane (aka “Sam Sweets”) keeps the energy up and the party flowing with her team of gogo dancing cheerleaders. When there's live entertainment, food options, no drink minimum and all-around good vibes there's no excuse to pass up this Funhouse for your Friday night!

Bourbon Room Hollywood

Located on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame, The Bourbon Room brings the best in Live Music, Nightlife, Comedy, and Theater to Hollywood with the same Edgy, Rock and Roll Attitude that Built The Sunset Strip. If Joe’s Pub and The Troubadour had a baby, it would be The Bourbon Room.

Flappers Comedy

Flappers remains one of Los Angeles’ most accessible clubs for young comedians to gain experience and actively seeks to support and nurture the next generation of talent, holding weekly auditions and daily open mics for the comedy stars of tomorrow. In partnership with A comedy Academy DBA Flappers University (where learning is a joke!), Flappers offers classes in stand-up, writing for late-night, the business of comedy, and more for all ages and skill levels.

Serious-ly Funny

Jessica Doherty — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 16:43:00 -0800

Originally from Boston, Edelman has had a broad writing career—from writing for television to producing documentaries for the U.S. State Department to writing speeches for both the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers—alongside a robust career as an award-winning stand-up comedian and performer.

Just For Us follows the central narrative of Edelman's experience at the White Nationalist meeting, but diverts from the path to share anecdotes and jokes about everything from his Jewish family celebrating Christmas to jokes about horses. Through the main story and his tangents, Edelman told The New York Times in June he tries to, "have the conversation about Jews in their place on that spectrum of whiteness without having a conversation about victimhood."

Edelman is no stranger to unpacking his Jewish identity and heritage in his work. In his solo shows, Millennial in 2015 and its sequel Everything Handed To You in 2015 and 2016, Edelman also wrote about his experiences growing up and celebrating holidays with his family. Just For Us still focuses a lot on his family but is also both more introspective and broader in its musings on his place in the world.

"America is obsessed with binaries, but there are all of these [gorgeous] spectrums that we live on," Edelman said. "The reality of conversation about identity in the United States doesn't always take ... into account that not everything is a binary." He felt this was especially important to explore through the lens of Jewish identity—he decided to visit the meeting that inspired the show because of the rise of antisemitic sentiments online and throughout the county.

Despite the seriousness of the situation at hand, Edelman brings levity to it—even when things are uncomfortable or scary, like coming face to face with a puzzle-loving, racist, old woman.

Maybe white supremacist jigsaw puzzles are harder 'cause all the faces look the same," he says in the show after learning she has spent eight months on just one corner of her 12,000-piece puzzle. "I pull out my phone and I text David, 'If I die tonight, the woman that killed me loves jigsaw puzzles."'

Though Just For Us takes place in New York City (where Edelman is currently based), Los Angeles has played a large role in the development of the show and his career. Edelman's first reading of the show was at Âu Lạc LA, a vegan Vietnamese restaurant across the street from The Music Center. The show then went on to have a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018.

But fellow comedian and solo performer Mike Birbiglia encouraged Edelman to keep the show going. The partnership makes sense, as both Edelman and Birbiglia are known for their deeply personal storytelling and humor. Birbiglia just recently performed his own one-man show, The Old Man and the Pool, at the Mark Taper in 2022. But Edelman met Birbiglia a few years prior—after a performance of The New One at the Ahmanson Theatre in 2019. The two walked to Grand Central Market, where Birbiglia encouraged Edelman to continue developing the show, rather than moving on to new material.

"I was like, '[Just For Us] was my last show,' and [Birbiglia] went, 'No, it's your next show,"' Edelman recounted. "He helped me re-figure out the show, what I should be talking about, and how to tell the story."

From there, the show went to The Virgil and the Lyric Theater on La Brea in Los Angeles in 2019. There were plans to open the show in New York in 2020, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 shutdown. But the show lived on. Just For Us opened Off-Broadway in 2021 and was extended six times before a successful run in London. The show finally opened on Broadway in 2023, playing its last performance in August. This fall, it returns to Los Angeles where it began.

"To be able to elevate the show from [a] little space to the best performance space in Los Angeles is really special to me," Edelman said.

Despite the amount of time since Edelman first performed this show, he feels Just For Us is continually changing and evolving.

"There's no script, the show winds in the direction it wants to have," Edelman said. "It can be a really fun and illuminating experience to have."

But Just For Us is, quite literally, for us-the audience. Edelman said it has also changed after every performance. He is keen to continue the conversation offstage as well—he stays to chat with audience members afterward.

Those conversations have informed the show," Edelman said. "I love being in literal dialogue with the audience and the world around me—I think it's an essential part of making something that's a living, breathing organism."