In the midst of overhauling their theatre, the Mark Taper Forum announces their 41st season. Beginning in November, audiences can expect to enjoy both American classics and British hits while appreciating their new surroundings in the renovated theatre.
The 2007-2008 season of The Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum at the Los Angeles Music Center was announced by CTG Artistic Director Michael Ritchie. Two American classics, John Guare’s "The House of Blue Leaves" and Stephen Sondheim’s "Sweeney Todd," and two hit British plays, Alan Bennett’s "The History Boys" and Peter Whelan’s "The School of Night," have been set for what could be described as "a moveable feast" for Taper audiences.
"As we have previously announced, the Taper will close its doors temporarily this July to receive a major interior renovation and a much-needed updating of its technical capabilities and audience amenities," said Ritchie. "I am pleased that during this year of transition, we will be able to keep the ‘family’ together and continue to present the highest quality of work for our Taper subscribers.
"To do this, we are asking Taper subscribers and other audience members to step about 125 yards next door to the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre for the first half of the season to see ‘The History Boys’ and ‘Sweeney Todd,’ then move back into the new state-of-the-art Taper for ‘The House of Blue Leaves’ and ‘The School of Night.’"
"This new season is about particularly smart work," Ritchie commented further. "The stories are rich and exceptional, the writing is lush and sophisticated, and in the case of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Sweeney Todd,’ the music and lyrics are incomparable. With Alan Bennett’s masterpiece on teaching and learning, John Guare’s shrewd and wickedly funny view of the American psyche, and Peter Whelan’s inventive sense of history, the Taper’s 41st season of four distinctive and highly theatrical productions adds up to a feast of theatre at its very best."
The History Boys
Presented at the Ahmanson Theatre
The CTG/Mark Taper Forum’s 41st season will open with the 2006 Tony Award(r)-winning "The History Boys" by Alan Bennett, directed by Paul Miller, with original direction by Nicholas Hytner. Performances of this brilliantly witty and moving play, produced by special arrangement with the National Theatre of London and the original Broadway producers, will be held at the Ahmanson Theatre, November 7 through December 9, 2007. (The opening is set for November 14.)
In "The History Boys" Bennett unleashes opposing views of life and education as he follows an unruly class of eight bright, funny, history students who, in addition to the pursuits of sex and sport, are anxious to achieve undergraduate admission to Oxford or Cambridge.
Sweeney Todd
Presented at the Ahmanson Theatre
The 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 the second production of the Taper’s new season, March 11 through April 6, 2008. (Opening is set for March 12.) As previously announced, performances of "Sweeney Todd" will be held at the Ahmanson Theatre.
In "Sweeney Todd," the legendary demon barber (played by David Hess), who had been wrongly imprisoned, is hell-bent on seeking revenge. He teams up with his enterprising neighbor, Mrs. Lovett (played by Judy Kaye), 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.
The House of Blue Leaves
Presented at the Mark Taper Forum
When the Taper re-opens its doors in 2008, the first play that Los Angeles audiences will see in the new theatre is a major revival of a modern American classic, "The House of Blue Leaves," the heartbreakingly human comedy by John Guare, directed by Nicholas Martin, September 4 through October 19. (The opening is set for September 14.)
In "The House of Blue Leaves," on the day in 1965 that the pope visits New York and masses of people line the streets in adulation, Artie, a zookeeper living in Sunnyside, Queens, thinks its time for his life to be blessed, too. He desperately wants to escape his lower middle-class existence and become a popular singer and songwriter but his life is complicated with an ambitious mistress, Bunny, a crazy wife, Bananas, and a bomb-making, teenaged son, Ronnie.
Presented at the Mark Taper Forum
A sublime and sensuous political thriller set in the 16th century, "The School of Night," written by Peter Whelan and presented by CTG in association with Mike Merrick and Edward Rissien, will have its American premiere in the Mark Taper Forum, October 30 through December 21, 2008, as the final production of the 41st season. (Opening is set for November 9.)
In "The School of Night," Whelan provides a fascinating twist to the centuries-old mystery of the sudden and tragically early death of Christopher Marlowe, who was perhaps England’s greatest dramatist before the rise of his contemporary, William Shakespeare.
Tickets for the Taper’s new season are currently available by subscription only. For information and to charge season tickets by phone, call Audience Services at (213) 628-2772 . To purchase online, visit www.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 .
