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A Letter from Michael Ritchie: December 2018

Dear Community Member, This month we have two terrific productions onstage that—in very different ways—use the art of theatre to illuminate key moments in our American history.

Taking Kabuki to the Taper

In Ancient Greek and Roman theatre, there were tragedies and comedies. During the English Renaissance, there was Elizabethan theatre. During the Spanish Golden Age, secular plays called comedias emerged. And in 17th century Japan, the kabuki tradition prevailed.

Taking Kabuki to the Taper

Ten Camps, One Executive Order

On February 19, 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which imprisoned over 100,000 Japanese Americans—about two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens—in one of 10 internment camps across the country’s westernmost states.

Ten Camps, One Executive Order

‘Zoot Suit’ Creator Luis Valdez Plants New Seeds at the Taper with ‘Valley of the Heart’

It’s hard to imagine that less than a generation ago, Cupertino, California was an agricultural town. Today, it is home to Apple Inc.’s headquarters—a vast, ring-shaped structure made of glass and steel—and one of the wealthiest cities in the country. Yet for playwright, director, and El Teatro Campesino founder Luis Valdez, Cupertino will...

‘Zoot Suit’ Creator Luis Valdez Plants New Seeds at the Taper with ‘Valley of the Heart’

Different Coasts, Same Problems

It’s easy to take the cold weather attire and accents of the characters of Sweat to mean that the problems they face are endemic to industrial East Coast towns. Yet the reality for so many Angelenos is all too similar to that of the Reading, Pennsylvania working-class characters in Lynn Nottage’s searing play (onstage August 29 – October 7, 2...

Different Coasts, Same Problems

A Director Comes Home to the Taper

Director Lisa Peterson is happy to be back in Los Angeles and at the Mark Taper Forum with Sweat. The Obie Award-winning director has collaborated with some of the best playwrights in the world, including Tony Kushner, Beth Henley, David Henry Hwang, Donald Margulies, and Caryl Churchill, at regional theatres across the country. She also spent a no...

A Director Comes Home to the Taper