The 17th Season at the Kirk Douglas Theatre will re-open the beloved local venue on March 6, 2022. The plays of the new season will includes “Alma,” “Tambo & Bones” and Block Party: Celebrating Los Angeles Theatre.
Center Theatre Group Artistic Director Michael Ritchie and Managing Director / CEO Meghan Pressman are announcing the upcoming seasons for the Mark Taper Forum and Kirk Douglas Theatre. Presenting a rich variety of work on all three of CTG’s physical venues plus an offering on the Digital Stage, this season draws on a range of playwrights from emerging voices to acclaimed artists.
“The shows that Michael and our team of Associate Artistic Directors—Luis Alfaro, Lindsay Allbaugh, Tyrone Davis, Neel Keller and Kelley Kirkpatrick—have selected are a result of their deep and thoughtful work. These are seasons that celebrate the artists and diverse voices who have inspired us. On behalf of the Board and staff of Center Theatre Group, we are so proud to share Michael’s final season as artistic leader of Center Theatre Group with L.A. audiences.”
With the Ahmanson, the Mark Taper Forum and the Kirk Douglas all re-opening – the Ahmanson will be the first theater to open its doors with ‘Christmas Carol’ featuring Bradley Whitford – the Center Theatre Group will be firing on even more cylinders than before. Multiple works that premiered on the digital platform will be included in live shows, and digital will continue on as an additional venue for great work.
“When we closed the theatres at the start of the pandemic, I didn’t realize that [we] would be closed for almost two years,” shares Ritchie. “But I did know that this unprecedented intermission would require a big return.”
“The Kirk Douglas Theatre we will premiere another Southern California story from an exciting young writer, L.A.-native Benjamin Benne. His new play, ‘Alma,’ tells a humorous yet deeply human story of a mother and daughter and the wishes they hold for each other. We follow that with another important young writer and a voice that needs to be heard—the previously announced premiere of Dave Harris’ ‘Tambo & Bones,’” Ritchie continued. “We’ve been following his work for some time and after seeing a reading of this electric new play, we approached Dave and the director, Taylor Reynolds, to let them both know that we hoped we could be a part of their journey with this piece. It’s been a long time coming but absolutely worth the wait.”
“We conclude the season at the Douglas with Block Party: Celebrating Los Angeles Theatre. We had already selected our partner theatres and were days away from previews when the theatres closed in 2020. One of the plays, IAMA Theatre Company’s ‘Canyon’ by Jonathan Caren, was adapted for (and is currently available on) our Digital Stage. Thankfully, we are able to bring back Sacred Fools’ production of ‘The Art Couple’ by Brendan Hunt, who launched a cultural phenomenon in the interim, co-creating, performing on and winning an Emmy for ‘Ted Lasso.’ Our other production in Block Party 2022 will be The Los Angeles LGBT Center production of ‘To T or Not to T? A Comedic Trans Journey through (T)estosterone and Masculinity’ by CTG’s 2021 Dorothy and Richard Sherwood Award-winning actor/writer/comic D’Lo. This immensely talented artist tells a very funny, personal and poignant story of self-discovery.
“This is a time like no other. And for me, this season is a season unlike any other. We normally announce the next season when we are in the midst of the last; one rolls into the next. But after a year and a half with our theatres sitting empty, I look at the theatre pieces with a new perspective—I see what I missed when it was gone. There is the electricity of a crowd waiting to be transported. For those of us who work in the theatre, there is always an excitement as we wait to see how the special alchemy of each performance reveals itself as the most vital element, the audience, is added.
For more information and ticket sales, go to CenterTheatreGroup.org
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