In addition to the previously announced production of Moises Kaufman's 33 Variations starring Jane Fonda (which will play the larger Ahmanson in Los Angeles, but is technically a Taper offering), the Taper season will also include:
John Lithgow in Stories by Heart
Jan. 4-Feb. 13, 2011
Featuring the works of P.G. Wodehouse and Ring Lardner
"A special one-man theatrical memoir. Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winner Lithgow offers a touching and humorous reflection on storytelling as the tie that binds humanity. In this piece he traces his roots as an actor and storyteller, interspersing his own stories with two classic short stories that were read to him when he was a child. Lithgow imparts the wonder and joy he felt when he first heard Wodehouse's 'Uncle Fred Flits By' (1935), a funny story about a nephew taken on an afternoon's escapade by his mischievous uncle, and Lardner's 'Haircut' (1925), a darkly comic tale told by the local barber about a small-town practical joker who gets his due."
Jane Fonda in 33 Variations
Written and Directed by Moisés Kaufman
Jan. 30-March 6, 2011
"The legendary film and stage actress will reprise the role she created for the 2009 Broadway run, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. The audience is transported back and forth from present-day New York to 19th century Austria, when a musicologist (Fonda) is determined to solve the musical mystery of why Beethoven spent his last years feverishly writing 33 variations of what appeared to be a mediocre waltz. Diagnosed with a serious disease, the scholar dismisses her daughter's concerns and flies to Europe to study Beethoven’s original papers. It is here that a heartfelt and moving story unfolds of how two remarkable individuals separated by 200 years defy mortality for a short, precious time and revel in their respective passions."
Burn This
By Lanford Wilson
Directed by Nicholas Martin
March 23-May 1, 2011
"At the core of Burn This is Anna, a dancer-choreographer who, up until the unexpected death of her roommate and dancing partner, Robbie, has been consumed by her career. Now in her grief, she meets Pale, Robbie's older brother, who bursts into her apartment to retrieve Robbie's belongings, and ends up staying for a while. Pale is dangerous, sexy, raw and demanding, and he interrupts the course of Anna's existence bringing major changes in her life. Burn This had its world premiere in CTG/Mark Taper Forum in 1986-87 season and moved to Broadway in 1987."
The Novelist
By Theresa Rebeck
Sept. 7-Oct. 16, 2011
"The Novelist takes place in a rambling New England country home, where an aging novelist, his wife and his sons embark on the familiar rituals that dysfunctional families hold so dear, this time witnessed by a beautiful young assistant hired to help the novelist finish his latest book. Entering Chekhovian territory, The Novelist explores the relationships of fathers and sons, husbands and wives, artists and their enablers, and ultimately, life and art and the inability sometimes to tell the difference." A director will be announced soon. Vigil
Written and Directed by Morris Panych
Featuring Marco Barricelli and Olympia Dukakis
Nov. 2-Dec. 18, 2011
"In Vigil, a self-involved, middle-aged man hurries to the bedside of an aunt he hasn't seen in 30 years after she writes to him that she is dying. With less than humanitarian motives, he becomes impatient when she continues to live. As his brief visit stretches through days, months and seasons, her condition and their relationship evolve in unexpected ways."
CTG's 2011 Mark Taper Forum season available on subscription only. For information and to charge season tickets by phone, call the Exclusive Season Ticket Hotline at (213) 972-4444. To purchase subscriptions on-line, visit www.CenterTheatreGroup.org.
