The six productions include the Old Vic mounting of A View from the Bridge, which recently played a limited engagement on Broadway; the Broadway-aimed new musical Amélie, which made its world premiere at Berkeley Rep; the Tony-winning musical Fun Home; Fiasco Theater's acclaimed, pared-down staging of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods; the long-running Broadway hit Jersey Boys; and the Tony-winning Best Play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
The season kicks off September 7, 2016, with Arthur Miller's Bridge and continues through September 10, 2017.
“We’ll celebrate this rich history with a stimulating roster of award-winning plays and musicals for the 2016-2017 season, our golden anniversary season, at the Ahmanson Theatre,” stated Michael Ritchie, Center Theatre Group’s artistic director, “and we will set our sights for an equally stellar future.
“The season begins with an intensity and a singularity that marks much of the year ahead. We’re presenting Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge in a striking interpretation by director Ivo van Hove. It’s both beautiful and gut-wrenching and no wonder it won the Olivier Award last year.
“Amélie, A New Musical is next and it’s guaranteed to weave its magic with our audiences,” said Ritchie. “The creative team is Craig Lucas, Daniel Messé, Nathan Tysen, Sam Pinkleton and director Pam MacKinnon, and the musical is pure joy.
“I’m very happy that we will be bringing the 2015 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Fun Home, to Los Angeles. Created by Jeanine Tesori, Lisa Kron, Alison Bechdel and director Sam Gold, it is a particularly intimate and revealing coming of age story that is both funny, intelligent and crushing.”
“For pure entertainment,” added Ritchie, “we’re bringing back two Tony Award-winning musicals: Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods in the acclaimed Fiasco Theater’s streamlined production directed by Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld and loaded with irreverence and wit and insight; and the ever popular Jersey Boys, which tells the rags-to-riches story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and their infectious music, created by Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice, Bob Gaudio, Bob Crew, Sergio Trujillo and Des McAnuff.
“We close the season with the 2015 Tony Award winner for Best Play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, written by Simon Stephens, adapted from Mark Haddon’s book and directed by Marianne Elliott. This new play is a compelling mix of mystery and self-discovery, and it has exactly what I love about theatre – it is inventive and it expands the boundaries of theatricality.”
“As you can see,” said Ritchie, “we have a 50th season that is bursting with works that make us laugh, bring tears to our eyes, gasp, ponder new ideas and experience a sense of wonder. It’s a great way to spend a year at the Ahmanson, and a great start to the next 50 years.”
Tickets for the 50th anniversary season are currently available by subscription only. Call (213) 972-4444. For more information visit Centertheatregroup.org.
