New Production of SOUND OF MUSIC, 'BRIDGES', 'GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE' and 'TITANIC' Set for the Ahmanson's 2015-16 Season

By: Mar. 09, 2015
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Four Tony Award-winning musicals will be presented in Center Theatre Group's 2015-2016 season at the Ahmanson Theatre of the Music Center of Los Angeles, it was announced today by CTG Artistic Director Michael Ritchie.

"This is our 49th season," said Ritchie, "and it is a season bursting with works that have earned Broadway's highest stamp of approval: these musicals come to us overflowing with Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score, and for the creative teams, the directors and the designers.

"The season is a true celebration of the musical theatre art form we all love.

"We begin with the launch of the national tour of a brand new production of the timeless 'The Sound of Music,'" said Ritchie, "and continue with a great love story now complete with glorious music and songs, 'The Bridges of Madison County,' and then the hottest musical comedy currently on Broadway, 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder.' We close with the haunting story of 'Titanic The Musical' in a poignant new production.

"It's a season of lush musical scores, re-imagined classics, daring new comedies and gripping theatrical experiences," said Ritchie.

"In addition, we will have an exciting fifth production in the season that we will announce at a later date."

"The Sound of Music"

A brand new, lavish production of one of the world's most popular musicals, "The Sound of Music," opens the new season at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre, September 20 through October 31, 2015. The opening night is scheduled for September 30.

"The Sound of Music" features music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by "The Trapp Family Singers" by Maria Augusta Trapp.

This new production is directed by Jack O'Brien (three-time Tony Award winner whose credits include "Hairspray," "The Full Monty," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," "The Coast of Utopia"), and choreographed by Danny Mefford (Broadway's "Fun House," "The Bridges of Madison County" and "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson"). The design team includes sets by Tony Award-nominee Douglas Schmidt ("42nd Street," "Into the Woods"), costumes by Jane Greenwood (2014 recipient of a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre), lighting by four-time Tony Award-winner Natasha Katz ("Once," "Aida," "The Coast of Utopia," "The Glass Menagerie") and sound by Ken Travis ("Aladdin," "Newsies," "Memphis").

The spirited, romantic and beloved musical story of Maria and the von Trapp family, which features such songs as "My Favorite Things," "Do-Re-Mi," "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," "Edelweiss" and the title song, was first produced on Broadway in 1959. It won five Tony Awards including Best Musical and its cast album won the Grammy Award. In 1965 the film of "The Sound of Music" was released, winning five Academy Awards including Best Musical. The film became the most successful movie musical in history and one of the top-grossing films of all time.

Director Jack O'Brien said of this new stage production, "'The Sound of Music" has been in our ears for decades, as it deserves to be, but it might be time to look once more, and more closely, at this remarkable work which, I feel, begins to reveal itself as deeper, richer and more powerful than ever before."

The North American tour of "The Sound of Music," produced by Ken Gentry for NETworks Presentations, in collaboration with Ted Chapin, President and Executive Director of Rodgers & Hammerstein: An Imagem Company, launches at the Ahmanson Theatre and tours North America for multiple seasons.

Casting will be announced at a later date.

"The Bridges of Madison County"

The irresistible, two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway musical based on one of the most romantic stories ever written, "The Bridges of Madison County," is the second production in the 49th season at the Ahmanson Theatre, December 8, 2015, through January 17, 2016. The opening is set for December 9.

"The Bridges of Madison County" has book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman ("The Secret Garden," "The Color Purple," "'night, Mother"), music and lyrics by Tony Award- winning composer Jason Robert Brown ("The Last Five Years," "Parade") and is based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller.

Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher ("South Pacific," "The Light in the Piazza") will direct. As a special treat for Los Angeles audiences, Jason Robert Brown will conduct the entire run at the Ahmanson.

"The Bridges of Madison County" tells the story of Iowa housewife Francesca Johnson and her life-changing, four-day whirlwind romance with traveling photographer Robert Kincaid. It's an unforgettable story of two people caught between decision and desire, as a chance encounter becomes a second chance at so much more.

"The Bridges of Madison County" has scenic design by two-time Tony Award-winner Michael Yeargan ("The Light in the Piazza," "South Pacific"), costume design by five-time Tony Award-winner Catherine Zuber ("South Pacific," "The Light in the Piazza," "The Coast of Utopia," "Awake and Sing!," "The Royal Family"), lighting by two-time Tony Award-winner Donald Holder ("South Pacific," "The Lion King"), sound design by Jon Weston, orchestrations by Jason Robert Brown and movement by Danny Mefford.

The stunning new production brought Tony Awards (Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations) to Jason Robert Brown for his gorgeous, soulful music that draws upon the rich textures of Americana and folk and the sweeping, expressive balladry of classic Broadway.

Casting will be announced at a later date.

"A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"

The 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, the hilarious "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder," will run at the Ahmanson Theatre, March 22 through May 1, 2016. The opening is set for March 23.

"A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" features book and lyrics by Tony Award- winner Robert L. Freedman and music and lyrics by Tony Award-nominee Steven Lutvak. Direction is by Tony Award-winner Darko Tresnjak, with choreography Peggy Hickey.

"Gentleman's Guide," which recently celebrated its first and record-breaking anniversary on Broadway, tells the uproarious story of Monty Navarro, a distant heir to a family fortune who sets out to jump the line of succession, by any means necessary. He is also juggling his mistress (she's after more than just love), his fiance?e (she's his cousin but who's keeping track?), and the constant threat of landing behind bars. But it will all be worth it if he can slay his way to his inheritance ... and be done in time for tea.

Scenic design for "Gentleman's Guide" is by Tony Award-nominee Alexander Dodge ("Present Laughter"), costumes by Tony Award-winner Linda Cho, lighting by Philip S. Rosenberg, sound design by Tony Award-nominee Dan Moses Schreier, projections by Aaron Rhyne and wig design by Charles LaPointe. Orchestrations are by Tony Award-winner Jonathan Tunick ("Titanic") and vocal arrangements are by Dianne Adams McDowell and Steven Lutvak. Paul Staroba serves as music director.

"Gentleman's Guide" opened at Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre to critical acclaim in November 2013, following smash-hit runs at The Hartford Stage and San Diego's Old Globe Theatre. It went on to become the most nominated and honored production of the 2013-14 Broadway season, winning the Tony, the Drama Desk, the Drama League and the Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical. "Gentleman's Guide" is the winner of four 2014 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Direction of a Musical (Darko Tresnjak), Book of a Musical (Robert L. Freedman), and Costume Design of a Musical (Linda Cho). It also received a 2015 Grammy Award nomination for Original Cast Recording.

Joey Parnes is the producer of the tour of "Gentleman's Guide." Casting will be announced at a later date.

"Titanic The Musical"

The Tony Award-winning Best Musical "Titanic The Musical," with its poignant story of the sinking of the "ship of dreams," will be presented in a brand new production at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre, May 14 through June 26, 2016. The opening is set for May 18.

"Titanic The Musical" has music and lyrics by Tony Award-winner Maury Yeston ("Nine," "Grand Hotel") and book by Tony Award-winner Peter Stone ("Woman of the Year," "1776"). Thom Southerland will direct.

In the final hour of April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, collided with an iceberg and "the unsinkable ship" slowly sank. It was one of the most tragic disasters of the 20th century.

Based on actual characters aboard the greatest ship in the world, the stunning musical focuses on their hopes and aspirations. Unaware of the fate that awaits them, the Third Class immigrants dream of a better life in America, the newly-enfranchised Second Class dream of achieving the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and the millionaires of the First Class dream of their gilded world lasting forever.

Southerland, one of the most exciting new directors currently working in Britain, directed "Titanic" in London in 2013 to wide acclaim.

The original production of "Titanic" opened in 1997 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and ran for 804 performances. The production won five Tony Awards in 1997 including Best Musical, Book of a Musical (Peter Stone) and Score (Maury Yeston). "Titanic" also appeared at the Ahmanson Theatre in 1999.

"Titanic The Musical" is produced by Paul Elliott, Michael Harrison and David Mirvish.

Tickets for the Ahmanson Theatre's 49th season are currently available by subscription only. For information and to charge season tickets by phone, call the Exclusive Season Ticket Hotline at (213) 972-4444.

To purchase subscriptions online, visit CenterTheatreGroup.org/Season. For information regarding audio description and Project D.A.T.E. (sign language interpreted, open caption and audio description performances) call TDD (213) 680-4017 or voice (213) 972- 4444.

Pictured: The 2013 London cast of "Titanic The Musical."


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