The 2007-2008 season at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre, which was announced today by CTG’s Artistic Director Michael Ritchie, will be a yearlong celebration of the best in musical theatre.
Center Theatre Group continues to present some of the finest theatre in America in its 41st season at the Music Center of Los Angeles with a roster of productions that represents over 50 years of musical theatre history.
The new season will include recent Broadway hits such as “The Color Purple”, “Avenue Q” and “The Drowsy Chaperone", and critically acclaimed new productions of the Broadway classics “A Chorus Line", “Sweeney Todd” and “My Fair Lady".
“I am so happy with the scope and sheer theatricality of the musicals that we will be presenting in the new season,” said Ritchie.
“From the epic staging of Alice Walker’s ‘The Color Purple’ to director John Doyle’s startling distillation of Sondheim’s masterpiece ‘Sweeney Todd,’ we have a full spectrum of musical theatre choices.”
“From a delicious deconstruction of Golden Era musicals – ‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’” Ritchie continued, “to director Bob Avian’s faithful re-creation of possibly the greatest backstage story ever told – ‘A Chorus Line,’ and from the clever, contemporary ‘Avenue Q’ to the timeless lyricism of ‘My Fair Lady’ staged by director Trevor Nunn and choreographer Matthew Bourne, the 2007-2008 season at the Ahmanson will be an essential primer extolling the boundless possibilities of musical theatre.”
“I think we’ll raise a roof or two next year,” said Ritchie. “Los Angeles audiences will have a great time with all of these productions. And I’m particularly pleased to welcome back “The Drowsy Chaperone” to the Ahmanson. It is a gem of a musical that we helped develop on its way to Broadway.”
“Avenue Q”
The opening production of the Ahmanson Theatre’s 41st season is the fresh and irreverent “Avenue Q,” the Broadway smash hit and 2004 Tony Award®-winner for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, September 7 through October 14, 2007. (Two previews will take place on September 6.)
A hilarious show full of heart and hummable tunes, “Avenue Q” has music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, and book by Jeff Whitty, based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. “Avenue Q” is directed by Jason Moore and choreographed by Ken Roberson.
“Avenue Q” tells the story of Princeton, an optimistic college grad who comes to New York with big dreams and a tiny bank account. He soon discovers that the only neighborhood he can afford is Avenue Q, but the neighbors seem nice: a cute kindergarten teaching assistant named Kate Monster; Nicky and his roommate Rod, a Republican investment banker with a secret; an out-of-work Brian and his fiancée Christmas Eve; and Trekkie Monster, an internet addict. Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates and the ever-elusive purpose in life.
Called “. . . one of the funniest shows you’re ever likely to see . . .” by Entertainment Weekly, “Avenue Q” features a cast of actors and puppets who tell the story in a smart and risqué way. Ben Brantley of The New York Times called it “. . . a breakthrough musical of a very different stripe . . . Savvy, sassy and delicious, this thoroughly infectious show is unfailingly tuneful.” The New Yorker said “Avenue Q” is “ . . . a subversive and uproarious new musical . . . wicked fun for grown-ups!” while the New York Daily News described it as “. . . wonderfully dizzy . . . keeps you laughing from the second the curtain goes up until its triumphant fall!”
“Avenue Q” is produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, Jeffrey Seller, Vineyard Theatre and The New Group.
(“Avenue Q” has not been authorized or approved by The Jim Henson Company or Sesame Workshop, which have no responsibility for its content.)
Oprah Winfrey Presents “The Color Purple”
A soul-stirring new musical and current Broadway hit, “The Color Purple,” will bring in a rousing New Year in Los Angeles as the second production of the Ahmanson’s 41st season, January 2, 2008, through March 10. (Previews begin December 27.)
Based on the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and the film by Steven Spielberg, “The Color Purple” is set in Georgia during the years 1909 through 1949 and tells the unforgettable and inspiring story of a woman named Celie, who, through love and the strength to overcome adversity, finds her unique voice in the world.
The book for “The Color Purple” is by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. Gary Griffin is the director and Donald Byrd the choreographer.
Jeannette Bayardelle, who has played Celie in the Broadway production, will perform the role at the Ahmanson Theatre, along with Felicia P. Fields, who originated the role of Sofia on Broadway. Michelle Williams, former member of Destiny’s Child, will play Shug Avery, and LaToya London, who was a favorite of several of the judges in season three of “American Idol” on Fox TV, will play Nettie. Also joining the tour are Rufus Bonds, Jr. as Mister, Stu James as Harpo and Stephanie St. James as Squeak.
With a moving book and a joyous Grammy®-nominated score featuring jazz, gospel and blues, “The Color Purple” is a celebration of life and a testament to the healing power of love. It was nominated for 11 Tony Awards® in 2006 including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score.
Ben Brantley of The New York Times called “The Color Purple” “. . . a bright odyssey of survival and triumph with a fairy-tale sense of wonder . . .” Michael Kuchwara of A.P. said the musical is “. . . a roof-raising story of triumph,” while Richard Corliss of Time added, “It’s fabulous! . . . a soaring, joyful Broadway musical.” Elysa Gardner of USA Today wrote that “The Color Purple” is “. . . pure heart . . . It celebrates inspiring relationships of faith and love.”
The first North American tour of “The Color Purple” is produced by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman, Quincy Jones, Creative Battery, Anna Fantaci and Cheryl Lachowicz, Independent Presenters Network, Lowy Family Group, Stephanie McClelland, Gary Winnick, Jan Kallish, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Andrew Asnes and Adam Zotovich, and Todd Johnson and is produced in special association with AEG Live.
“Sweeney Todd” (Bonus Option)
An irresistible and inventive new production of “Sweeney Todd,” The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which originated in London and dazzled Broadway audiences last year, will be presented as a bonus option for Ahmanson Theatre subscribers, March 12 through April 6, 2008. (A preview performance will be held on March 11.)
The musical thriller, which is considered to be one of Stephen Sondheim’s masterpieces, has music and lyrics by Sondheim, and book by Hugh Wheeler, from an adaptation by Christopher Bond. Music orchestration for “Sweeney Todd” is by Sarah Travis, and it is directed and designed by John Doyle, who received the 2006 Tony Award® for Best Direction of a Musical for his work on “Sweeney Todd.”
The legendary demon barber, who had been wrongly imprisoned, is hell-bent on seeking revenge. He teams up with his enterprising neighbor in a delicious plot to slice their way through London’s upper crust society. Justice will be served, along with a blend of Grand Guignol, sly humor, musical and lyrical eloquence, and the tastiest meat pies in all of London.
In Doyle’s spare and hypnotic interpretation, 10 cast members are assembled on a single set and do double duty as actors and orchestra, most of them playing multiple instruments.
Ben Brantley of The New York Times called “Sweeney Todd” “. . . one helluva show . . . [This] thrilling new revival . . . burrows into your thoughts with the poisoned seductiveness of a campfire storyteller who knows what really scares you.” The Wall St. Journal said, “The greatest musical of the past half-century has returned in a staging of the utmost force and originality!” while Roma Torre of NY1 News exclaimed that the musical is a “. . . theatre-lover’s feast . . . a riveting experience that grabs you by the throat and holds you awestruck till the end.”
Doyle first presented this version of “Sweeney Todd” in 2004 at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, outside of London. The production was subsequently transferred to London’s West End, and then, with American actors, it opened on Broadway in November 2005, receiving six Tony Award® nominations.
“Sweeney Todd” originally opened on Broadway in 1979 and received eight Tony Awards® including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book of a Musical.
The tour for “Sweeney Todd” is produced by Tom Viertel, Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel and Live Nation.
“Sweeney Todd” is being presented at the Ahmanson Theatre as part of the Mark Taper Forum 2007-2008 subscription season, while the Taper undergoes a major interior renovation. Ahmanson Theatre subscribers can select “Sweeney Todd” as a bonus option when they subscribe to the regular Ahmanson season.
“My Fair Lady” (Bonus Option)
Direct from its heralded 50th anniversary London production and United Kingdom tour, Cameron Mackintosh and the National Theatre of Great Britain’s new production of Lerner and Loewe’s legendary musical “My Fair Lady” will be presented at the Ahmanson Theatre for three weeks only as a season bonus option, April 10 through 27, 2008. (A preview performance will be held on April 9.)
Christopher Cazenove, one of England’s most respected stage and screen actors (best known to Americans as Ben Carrington on television’s “Dynasty”), and Lisa O’Hare, currently appearing in the title role of “Mary Poppins” in London, will star as Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, roles they played on the extended U.K. tour.
“My Fair Lady” has book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. It is adapted from Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion” and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture and features one of Broadway’s most beloved scores including “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “Get Me to the Church On Time” and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?”
Four-time Tony Award®-winner Trevor Nunn directs, with choreography and musical staging by two-time Tony Award®-winner Matthew Bourne.
In “My Fair Lady” Henry Higgins, an opinionated linguistics professor and confirmed bachelor, makes a wager with a colleague that he can transform a Cockney flower seller, Eliza Doolittle, into a lady who can take her place in high society. Higgins wins the bet but is not prepared for the profound affect Eliza has on his life.
Georgina Brown of London’s Mail on Sunday said, “I could have danced, danced, danced all night and still begged for more: this is a huge, handsome hit – don’t miss it.” “An undoubted masterpiece,” said Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph in London, “which richly deserves, and repays, all the loving care that director Trevor Nunn and his company have lavished on it.” “This is still one of the great musicals, dazzling, sophisticated, funny, sharp and generous . . .” wrote The Sunday Times in London while Michael Billington of The London Guardian stated that “. . . best of all is Matthew Bourne’s inventive staging of the big numbers.”
“My Fair Lady” opened on Broadway in 1956 and received the Tony Award® for Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical and a total of 10 Tony Award nominations.
The Cameron Mackintosh/National Theatre of Great Britain production of Lerner and Loewe’s “My Fair Lady” is produced by NETworks Presentations, David Ian for Live Nation and Cameron Mackintosh.
“A Chorus Line”
The groundbreaking musical “A Chorus Line” will come to the Ahmanson Theatre, May 22 through July 6, 2008 (with a preview performance on May 21), in a national tour sparked by the award-winning musical’s first-ever return to Broadway last October.
A stunning musical-vérité about Broadway’s gypsies, “A Chorus Line” was conceived and originally choreographed and directed by Michael Bennett, with book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Ed Kleban. Originally co-choreographed by Bob Avian, the choreography for this new production is re-staged by Baayork Lee. Bob Avian directs.
Winner of the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and nine Tony Awards® including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography, “A Chorus Line” became one of the longest running shows on Broadway playing more than 6,000 performances from its opening in 1975 through its closing in 1990.
On a bare stage in an empty theatre, 17 dancers audition for the chorus line of a new musical, and reveal their personal histories and innermost hopes and fears, praying for the opportunity to realize their lifelong dream – to dance on Broadway. The musical includes such beloved songs as “Dance: Ten; Looks: Three,” “I Hope I Get It,” “I Can Do That,” “Nothing,” “What I Did For Love” and “One.”
“‘A Chorus Line’ is back and it’s thrilling,” said John Lahr of The New Yorker. “Heaven on Broadway . . .” is what Ben Brantley of The New York Times called this new Broadway production while Michael Sommers of The Star Ledger said “Welcome back, you beautiful thing . . . how lucky we are to be able to see Michael Bennett’s masterpiece again.” Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News said “A Chorus Line” is “. . . addictively entertaining . . . there’s nothing better! . . . the show thrills from the opening number to the glittery gold finale.”
“A Chorus Line” is produced by Vienna Waits Productions.
“The Drowsy Chaperone”
Bonus Option
Broadway’s hit musical “The Drowsy Chaperone” returns to the Ahmanson Theatre as a season bonus option for two weeks only, July 9 through July 20, 2008 (with a July 8 preview performance).
The witty love letter to the madcap musicals of the 1920s had its U.S. premiere at the Ahmanson in November 2005 and later moved to Broadway in May 2006, where it was the recipient of 13 major awards and received more Tony Awards than any other musical of the 2006 season, including Best Book of a Musical, Best Score, Costume Design and Scenic Design.
“The Drowsy Chaperone,” which has music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison and book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, is directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw.
In “The Drowsy Chaperone” the curtain rises on a man in a chair, a present-day musical theatre fanatic eager to share his favorite Broadway musical with the audience. As he begins to play a rare cast recording on his hi-fi, “The Drowsy Chaperone” blooms to life on stage, telling the tale of a pampered Broadway starlet who wants to give up show business to marry her debonair fiancé.
Add to the plot the producer who tries to sabotage the nuptials, the starlet’s world-weary and scene-stealing chaperone, the nervous best man, the dotty dowager, the sardonic servant, the dizzy chorine, a Latin lover, a pair of gangsters posing as pastry chefs and an aviatrix. In no time the hi-jinks begin and the fun spins completely out of control.
John Lahr of The New Yorker calls “The Drowsy Chaperone” “. . . the most original musical of the season.” “This refreshing cocktail of a show gets the audience on its side in the opening minutes and keeps them there . . . this is superior, smartly-crafted pastiche . . .” said David Rooney of Variety while Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter called “The Drowsy Chaperone” “. . . a consistent delight . . . a dead-on spoof that perfectly captures the conventions of the old-fashioned musicals that it is sending up . . . the happiest surprise of the Broadway season.”
The tour of “Drowsy Chaperone” is produced by Kevin McCollum, Roy Miller, Boyett Ostar Productions, Stephanie McClelland, Barbara Freitag and Jill Furman.
CTG’s 2007-2008 Ahmanson Theatre Season Available on Subscription Only
Tickets for the Ahmanson Theatre’s 41st season are currently available by subscription only.
For information and to charge subscriptions by phone, call Audience Services at (213) 628-2772. To purchase subscriptions on-line, visit CenterTheatreGroup.org. For information regarding audio description and Project D.A.T.E. (sign language interpreted performances) and discount subscriptions for the deaf and hard of hearing, call TDD/Voice (213) 680-4017.
First Season Production
September 7 – October 14, 2007 “Avenue Q”
(Preview September 6.) Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez
and Jeff Marx
Book by Jeff Whitty
Based on an Original Concept
by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx
Directed by Jason Moore
Choreography by Ken Roberson
Second Season Production
January 2 – March 10, 2008 Oprah Winfrey Presents
(Previews Begin December 27, 2007.) “The Color Purple”
The Musical About Love
Based on the Novel by Alice Walker
Book by Marsha Norman
Music and Lyrics by Brenda Russell,
Allee Willis and Stephen Bray
Directed by Gary Griffin
Choreography by Donald Byrd
Season Bonus Option
March 12 – April 6, 2008 “Sweeney Todd”
(Preview March 11.) The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Music and Lyrics by
Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
From An Adaptation by
Christopher Bond
Music Orchestrated by Sarah Travis
Directed and Designed
by John Doyle
Season Bonus Option
April 10 – April 27, 2008 The Cameron Mackintosh/National
(Preview April 9.) Theatre of Great Britain production of Lerner and Loewe’s
“My Fair Lady”
Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Frederick Loewe
Directed by Trevor Nunn
Choreography and Musical Staging by Matthew Bourne
Third Season Production
May 22 – July 6, 2008 “A Chorus Line”
(Preview May 21.) Conceived and Originally Choreographed by Michael Bennett
Book by James Kirkwood and
Nicholas Dante
Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics by Ed Kleban
Originally Co-Choreographed
by Bob Avian
Choreography Re-Staged
by Baayork Lee
Directed by Bob Avian
Season Bonus Option
July 9 – July 20, 2008 “The Drowsy Chaperone”
(Preview July 8.) Music and Lyrics by
Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
Book by Bob Martin and
Don McKellar
Directed and Choreographed
by Casey Nicholaw
The 2007-2008 Season Begins September 6, 2007, and Runs Through July 20, 2008
