News And Blogs

Creating a new benchmark for Broadway, Hadestown demanded that theater make space for diverse voices. The show’s modern premise reflects the values of our changing culture through a transformative musical experience that reimagines Greek mythology. In 2019, it garnered 14 TONY nominations, winning eight of them, including Best New Musical. Critic...

Diversity and the Dynamic Women Behind 'Hadestown'

Could Hadestown writer and composer, Anaïs Mitchell have subconsciously predicted key elements of the world’s most devastating global crisis? The show’s world is one of suffering. Power and wealth reign supreme; the poor go hungry; seasons are unstable, and love is lost. In the real world, COVID-19 wreaks havoc, systematic racism forces persis...

'Hadestown’s' Hope and Healing Powers

From musicals to stage plays to miniseries and films, adaptations of A Christmas Carol continue to be produced, performed, and patronized. During Christmastime, homes are decorated, specialty dishes are made, carolers sing, photos are taken with Santa, gifts are purchased, and A Christmas Carol is enjoyed. Charles Dickens’ classic story of a co...

The Magic of 'A Christmas Carol' Lives On

Actor Gregg Daniel (HBO’s Insecure) currently appears in The Duat by playwright Roger Q. Mason and director Taibi Magar as part of our series Not a Moment, But a Movement, in collaboration with Watts Village Theater Company and The Fire This Time Festival. Filmed live at the Kirk Douglas Theatre and available on demand through August 12, 2021, T...

Meet Gregg Daniel of 'The Duat'

When Alex Alpharaoh was two months old, he and his 15-year-old mother were almost killed in a bomb blast in La Limonada, a shantytown in Guatemala City. To escape the violence, they began their journey to the United States, where they would start their lives anew in Los Angeles, albeit in the shadows, undocumented.

Out of the Shadows and onto the Stage

“It was great because it wasn’t just for me–this is for us. This is for Black people. I hear a story that I see myself reflected in, and it’s right here. And that’s really special.” —Bruce Lemon, Co-Artistic Director of Watts Village Theater Company

In Not a Moment, But a Movement, 3 Theatres Join in the Pursuit of Elevating Black Artists

For Kemp Powers, 2021 has already been quite the year—and it’s only February. After over two decades of writing, Powers has finally had the chance to experience what so many aspiring creatives can only dream about with the celebration of two debut screenplays. “It’s been surreal, to be honest. It’s weird to have your work out there in th...

Playwright Kemp Powers takes Hollywood by storm before turning to our Digital Stage

In Elephant Room: Dust from the Stars, an eclectic triad of magicians turned astro-nots take you on a virtual trip through time and space. You’ll arrive in the distant year 2020 against a dystopian backdrop of near total planetary collapse—a mysterious plague ravages the earth, temperatures are heating up, chaos rules the streets, democracy han...

The Journey to the Elephant Room

“I’m trying to hook up my headphones. They’re being a little testy,” says actress Sabina Zúñiga Varela during the first virtual rehearsal of Mojada, one of the three Greek plays Chicanx playwright Luis Alfaro has adapted. “This is going to be part of the process,” replied Juliette Carillo, the director. “Dealing with our little tech...

From the Streets of L.A. to the Digital Stage

Happy National Hispanic Heritage Month! Throughout the years, Center Theatre Group has produced many shows that celebrate Hispanic, Latinx, and Chicano history in California, including Zoot Suit (1978, 2017), Chavez Ravine (2003, 2015), Valley of the Heart (2018), and more. These particular productions were presented in partnership with our artisti...

Scenes From the Vault—Popol Vuh: Heart of Heaven

Before its Academy Award-nominated film adaptation in 1984 and its Broadway debut in February this year, A Soldier’s Play by Charles Fuller opened the Mark Taper Forum’s 16th season in 1982....

Scenes From the Vault—A Soldier's Play