After the recent announcement of the Ahmanson Theatre season, CTG artistic director Michael Ritchie announced the 2006-2007 lineups for the California company's two other venues — the Mark Taper Forum and the Kirk Douglas Theatre — which include six world premieres and one American premiere.
The CTG/Mark Taper Forum 40th season in 2006-2007 will include two previously announced productions — Cherry Jones in John Patrick Shanley's Doubt and Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands — which will play at the Ahmanson (Sept. 22-Oct. 29 and Dec. 12-31, respectively).
The new lineup (subject to change) also includes:
Following its London world premiere and a one-night performance at the Taper this February, writer-performer Lynn Redgrave returns with the American premiere of her work inspired by memories of her maternal grandmother Beatrice Kempson.
Composer Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years) pens his new musical comedy which casts thirteen 13-year-olds dealing with the perils of teens in a middle school in Indiana. Dan Elish provides the book for this world premiere which was workshopped by CTG in February.
Lisa Loomer (Living Out) explores the world of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) in her world premiere play which follows the story of a mother struggling to find a cure for her eight-year-old son's ailment.
CTG teams with New York's The Public Theater (where it plays in fall of 2007) and the East West Players to present this world premiere play by David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly). In a self-effacing move, Hwang puts himself into his work, which begins with his backstage realization (at a Broadway flop - likely inspired by 1993's Face Value) that "a white actor had been unknowingly cast in the role of an Asian, which is especially embarrassing for Hwang who had led the Asian American protest when a Welsh actor was cast as a Eurasian in the 1991 Broadway opening of Miss Saigon." At CTG's Kirk Douglas Theatre (located in Culver City), the third season will continue its tradition of presenting world premieres with three new works (two of which are musicals) debuting at the company's youngest space.
The lineup for the CTG/Kirk Douglas 2006-2007 season (subject to change) is:
In this world premiere play, artist Edward Hopper's 1942 painting — a late night glimpse into the windows at a corner diner — comes to life. "Restaurant owner and fading flower Mae, regular customer Sam, and Mae’s husband-waiter Quig ponder the identity of the diner’s new regular – the mysterious man whose back is portrayed in the famous artwork."
The Primary Stages acclaimed Off-Broadway production by writer-performers Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter. The duo delve into the problem of AIDS and African American women through the lives of two young women worlds apart — one in South Central Los Angeles and the other Harare, Zimbabwe.
CTG presents the Playwrights’ Arena and TDRZ Production, Inc. Staging of the Jessica Hagedorn work based on her novel which follows a young, movie-obsessed girl and a poor, young Afro-Filipino hustler in Manila in 1982.
Director-choreographer Jeff Calhoun (Big River) reteams with CTG and Deaf West Theatre on a new musical by Tony Award winner Rachel Sheinkin (he 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) and her previous Striking 12 collaborators Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda (of the group GrooveLily). The world premiere is a loose adaptation of the cursed young princess who falls asleep for a 100 years which poses the question "Is the heroine a fictional character from another time and place or is her story the product of fitful dreams at a real, modern sleep disorder clinic?"
The season will close with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet's first foray into musical theatre. The world premiere follows the story of the title service worker who, on the eve of her trip to the national park to celebrate her son's 10th birthday, discovers a Congressman stealing her tips and reports him to the police. Subscriptions are currently available for both the new seasons at the Taper and at the Douglas by calling Audience Services at (213) 628-2772 or online at CenterTheatreGroup.org. Single tickets will go on sale in early August.
