Center Theater Group

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:39pm

rather interesting piece on the budget challenges of Center Theater Group that just posted in LA TIMES.

The accomplishments of some of the past seasons; getting LA specific Broadway productions of FOLLIES and GOD OF CARNAGE wasn't illuminated. I feel this was a huge coup on part of the CTG - also not discussed was the less than stellar season they have coming up at The Ahmanson. Barry Manilow? We Will Rock You? Really? Where are the great shows?






Updated On: 6/12/13 at 08:39 PM

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:40pm

link?

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:40pm

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-center-theatre-group-finances-20130613,0,7282087.story?track=rss

here is the link

[DAME]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:45pm

Vernon; Do you have a link with info on the upcoming season? BARRY MANILOW? Really? He can't even sell out 3 days at the Greek this weekend.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:46pm

It's his musical HARMONY. I mean...eeeks. We Will Rock You?

[DAME]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:50pm

Oh. Anything else?

[DAME]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:51pm

I guess a lot of the tours have been going into the Pantages. Which is a shame.

[logan2]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:53pm

Maybe they can convince that couch-sitter Midler to take her sit-in to L.A. You know it would do well.

[DAME]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:55pm

One could wish. But both of those theaters are way too big for that.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 8:56pm

If they could get Bette do LA to do that show it would be amazing.

They need to do something over there. They brought back FELA almost a year after it had already been performed.

Could they partner with Donmar again like they did with RED and PARADE?

They need to do something...

And I fully support the work that they have done at the Taper and the success of shows like BRING IT ON (i loved it) and even LEAP OF FAITH....

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 9:02pm

If they brought Bette's show to the Mark Taper that could be great. They'll probably launch the tour of CINDERELLA at the Ahmanson since CTG is one of the producers. Also, with the rumors of MATILDA not touring, the producers would be smart to do a 3-4 month run here that they could later move to San Francisco or Seattle.

The pre-Broadway runs have always done pretty well. Do we know anything about a replacement for SUNSHINE BOYS? Or do they have a replacement actor?

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 9:10pm

maybe the problems the artistic director.... just saying.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 9:15pm

You're just saying what?

[ABB2357]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 10:09pm

CTG's biggest problem is that the Ahmanson is a cavern, and most of their discount ticket options have you seated in the rear mezz or balcony, where you might as well be watching the show from Siberia. I'd love to see THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS again, but after seeing it in NY I'd rather not pay Broadway caliber prices to sit in the back of a much bigger house.

The Taper is a great space, but in the past few years they've been putting most high-profile productions in the Ahmanson (even SEMINAR with Jeff Goldblum, which would have been a much better fit for the Taper).

[jwsel]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 11:00pm

I don't get the complaint about next season. Yes, We Will Rock You is a rather silly show to bring, but other than that, we are getting two productions that recently had major Broadway runs - Peter and the Starcatcher and Porgy & Bess. We also are getting the Sunshine Boys, which was acclaimed in London and had a great cast (and still has DeVito). There also is a play called The Last Confession, which stars David Suchet.

As for the Barry Manilow show, it is not a jukebox musical. It is a musical about the Comedian Harmonists, an internationally acclaimed German singing group in the 1920s and 1930s. Half the members were Jewish and they split up when the Jewish members fled Germany. Manilow wrote the music; Bruce Sussman wrote the book and lyrics. As I understand it, the show was originally written in 1997 and was going to play on Broadway in 2004, but that never happened. It has since been significantly overhauled. The subject matter could play very well in Los Angeles and New York. I have no idea what the music is like, but if it is good, the show could be a major hit.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 11:05pm

Thanks, jwsel, that's a sizable bunch of shows for us to look forward to again! Peter and Porgy are both shows I'd revisit in a heartbeat, and I'd heard about the Harmonists show before (the movie about them was exceptional) and am excited to get a chance to see it finally.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 11:09pm

I must admit I ave seen nothing this season, the one thing I was looking forward to was cancel.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 6/12/13 at 11:18pm

I agree with jwsel. I don't think the quality of the shows are nearly as bad as the OP would lead you to believe. In fact I think they've done a decent job keeping the quality up in spite of their challenges. Even WE WILL ROCK YOU though a bit cheesy, has been playing in London since 2002 so someone's been going to see it. I'm sure they can manage 6 weeks at the Ahmanson. And they only brought FELA back for 12 or 13 performances so I'm not sure I'd get too worked up about that. What I have noticed is the number of shows each season is clearly down, 6 or 7 shows at the Ahmanson which almost always had an 8 show season. The Ahmanson will be dark after Scottsboro Boys closes for almost 3 months, the entire summer. In the past they almost always had a summer show for 4-6 weeks. Same thing with the Taper and Kirk Douglas Theater. They hardly ever use the Douglas now. The Taper and Douglas have not announced their next season yet so once they do, I think we'll have a better picture of what things looks like.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 1:09pm

of course the selection of shows, and caliber of shows, is highly subjective and I give props to CTG for an excellent Taper season

and the description of HARMONY provided by jwsel is indeed a bit more intriguing.

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER might get swallowed up at The Ahmanson but looking forward to seeing it.

THE LAST CONFESSION looks very excting as well - again not sure if makes sense on that big Ahmanson stage.

[iamjwk]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 2:59pm

I saw the original cast of We Will Rock You in London and thought it was a blast! It is not art by any means, but as entertainment it was a fun night at the theatre! My mother and I both loved it and still talk about it to this day as being a favorite memory. I revisited it a few years ago and still enjoyed it. Not sure what the quality of the production/cast will be at CTG, but I think it should get a little more credit than you are giving it. It is still running over 10 years later, and that is an incredibly long run. The music is great and the script is very funny. Give it a chance.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 8:54pm

Side note: the Ahmanson is much taller but narrower than the Pantages. I'm fine with the Pantages until row Z then NN-ZZ are horrible. Never sat in the mezzanine for either, but doesn't the Ahmanson have a mezzanine and a balcony.

[ABB2357]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 8:57pm

Yes. The front mezz is fine, rear mezz is questionable depending on the production, but the balcony is universally awful. Being up that high gives you instant vertigo like Liza Minnelli on ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 9:01pm

I bring binoculars to anything I see at the Ahmanson further back than the mid-cross aisle in the orchestra. And pretty much EVERYTIME I go to the Pantages. (But I bring 'em to Times Square houses too.)

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 9:06pm

I think for every major tour they bring in, they should bring in a niche production. I'd love it if they did more home-grown musicals, so they could do major revivals at a regional setting. Plus, the LA location could appeal to A-List actors doing limited runs. I'm still hoping for Emma Stone in SWEET CHARITY or Audra and John Barrowman in KISS ME, KATE.

Just a thought.

[ABB2357]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 11:11pm

That's a good point. Most of the new musicals they've brought in have been tryouts that either don't make it to Broadway (MINSKY'S) and or hardly make it at all (LEAP OF FAITH, albeit a revised production). I think the last bona fide hit they shepherded was THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, although CURTAINS performed respectably.