Outgoing artistic director Gordon Davidson will be among old friends in his farewell season at the California venue. Ahmanson veterans include composer Leonard Bernstein, director Sir Peter Hall, director/choreographer Matthew Bourne and director Trevor Nunn. (Williamstown Theatre Festival producer Michael Ritchie will replace Davidson.)
New York comes to Los Angeles as Kathleen Marshall's staging of Wonderful Town will kick off the season Oct. 27-Dec. 19. The musical homage to The Big Apple which follows the tales of two Ohio sisters features the music of Leonard Bernstein, lyrics of Adolph Green and Betty Comden and book by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov.
L.A. audiences — who have already sampled Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, Cinderella and The Car Man — will have the opportunity to take in the innovative director-choreographer's Nutcracker! in a special co-presentation with UCLA Live at Royce Hall, Dec. 15, 2004-Jan. 2, 2005. Bourne puts his own touch on the Tchaikovsky-scored holiday classic.
After an award-winning engagement at the Mark Taper Forum and a subsequent trip to Broadway, Deaf West Theatre's American Sign Language adaptation of Big River, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn returns to L.A., Jan. 11-23, 2005. The national tour features original L.A. star Tyrone Giordano with his Broadway co-stars Daniel Jenkins and Michael McElroy under the direction of Jeff Calhoun. The musical with music and lyrics by Roger Miller with a book by William Hauptman takes the classic Mark Twain tale from page to stage for both deaf and hearing audiences.
Sir Peter Hall’s touring production of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It comes next, Feb. 4-March 27, 2005. Hall directs his daughter Rebecca Hall as Rosalind in the production of the classic Shakespeare comedy of love and mistaken identity. Another offering from Matthew Bourne will see the L.A. stage as the American premiere of his dance theatre work Play Without Words is set for April 8-May 29, 2005. Featuring a score by Terry Davies and designed by Lez Brotherston, the new stagework takes its inspiration from the Harold Pinter-penned film based on Robin Maugham's novel "The Servant." Set in 1965's London in the Chelsea neighborhood, the 2003 Olivier Award winner finds a sophisticated master and his beautiful fiancée welcoming the new hired hand into their home.
Trevor Nunn’s National Theatre production of Anything Goes will hit the stage, June 28-Sept. 4, 2005 for the Ahmanson The musical features a score by Cole Porter and new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman based on P.G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse's original libretto. The show which made famous such tunes as "I Get A Kick Out of You," "Friendship," and "It’s De Lovely" follows the story of the madcaps happenings aboard a transatlantic steamship headed from New York to London.
Subscriptions to the Ahmanson’s 2004-2005 season are available by phone at (213) 628-2772. For more information on the Ahmanson, located at the Music Center on 135 North Grand Ave. in Los Angeles, CA, visit www.taperahmanson.com.
