Los Angeles TIMES - MUST READ

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 10/15/19 at 12:01am

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-10-14/center-theatre-group-commentary?fbclid=IwAR2DMUeDSe_mqq-3iIVpq4IjZO2rCA6bORSP7Xc7juUhGPq6XpaExUbY9FA

 

From LA TIMES, Scathing critique of the Center Theater Group in Los Angeles/. This is a must read

I will say that this season is beyond the pale of awful (and from my Goldstar emails they are basically giving away tickets at this point) save for 1776 next year and finally an Anne Baker play in LA - this season is a disaster.  Plus, CTG  made it VERY hard/impossible  for folks who wanted to subscribe to ensure good seats for a "design your own" season - they wouldn't do it early on.

I will say in the theater's defense that both SWEAT and LINDA VISTA were exceptional last season

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/15/19 at 12:39am

I have mixed feelings about a critic publicly taking this stance, though I can only judge CTG's work from afar. People would be calling for Jesse Green's resignation if he wrote a column like this about the Public or Roundabout.

That said, these seem like valid criticisms, and as McNulty notes there are many factors to blame:   an increasingly competitive touring market; the length of time it takes to develop new work; local competition (Geffen Playhouse); lack of imagination from the Artistic Director; and buzzy playwrights with existing partnerships elsewhere.

[Skip23]

Posted: 10/15/19 at 3:36am

I think every theatre has a hard time nowadays.

Sure, programming is one thing, but with ticket prices so high for everything, audiences are a LOT pickier. No matter what you have to offer, there’s only so much any one person can really afford.

[inception]

Posted: 10/15/19 at 11:21am

I think the comment about people not wanting to go back & sit in traffic to go to the theatre is true. It has been 20 years since I last was in LA, & am planning a trip for next spring to see Peleas at LA Opera & Sunday in the Park at LA Phil, and all everyone tells me is to watch out where I stay since the traffic has gotten so bad.

Vancouver in many ways is similar, as the theatres are spread out all over the city, & some in areas inaccessible to public transit. On a Saturday, especially a game day, the traffic can be as bad as a weekday rush hour. There is one big Equity company here (the Arts Club), with 3 theatres, and they do have a very strong subscriber base, BUT they program VERY safe material - eg this X-mas doing Sound of Music, and in the spring Kinky Boots. Similar to LA there are a lot of actors here who make a living working on all the TV shows filmed here - Riverdale, Nancy Drew, Arrow, Flash etc - and fortunately many groups of actors here put on independent productions of works Arts Club would never touch. For example, in June there was an amazing production in a community center of Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem. This weekend I saw productions of Annie Baker's Body Awareness in a little black box studio, and also Sondheim's Company in an art gallery - all with professional casts working for basically nothing.

[inception]

Posted: 10/15/19 at 11:21am

Double post

Updated On: 10/15/19 at 11:21 AM

[inception]

Posted: 10/15/19 at 11:21am

Triple post

Updated On: 10/15/19 at 11:21 AM

[theatregeeklife]

Posted: 10/15/19 at 1:57pm

This critique has allot to unpack. I have to say, I disagree with allot of it. Is the current CTGLA season not up to previous seasons, yes. But the reason for that I think differs from most of the reasons listed. Also how do you argue with booking Broadway shows when they sell, even Latin History For Morons by all accounts has been a huge success at Ahmanson. Some of the best shows I've seen at Ahmanson have been non musical transfers ( The Humans The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Nighttime). Should The Bands Visit played The Ahmanson yes of course but who is to blame for that? Should The Mark Taper take more risk maybe, but I also have an issue with local theaters who's only motivation for producing shows seems to be to transfer the show to Broadway (The Globe San Diego). The Mark Taper should have a good balance of transfers and shows with Broadway buzz which the audience wants and new work. I don't want to go on to long but I have had issues with this critic and what seem to be personal attacks  in the past and I have to say this article made me uncomfortable when I read it. 

Updated On: 10/15/19 at 01:57 PM

[Pashacar]

Posted: 10/15/19 at 2:13pm

Many on this board have said similar things about CTG in recent months, so it's not as if this critic's perspective is baseless.

I appreciate that they are encouraging more risk-taking and development of new work.

Obviously this is far from a sure thing, but I would not be surprised if in 10 years this article is looked back on as something that helped push the scene forward in a big way.

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 10/15/19 at 8:27pm

I have the utmost respect for Charles McNulty. I think he's one of the best theater critics in the country but I think he's off base here.  He makes some good points but there are also some cheap shots and his general skew towards a preference for newer, more experimental works I think really affected his objectivity. Is the current season at CTG's 3 theaters weak? Yes, of course. But we spent literally 2 months bashing them when it was announced in the spring and in my mind that was enough. Now, since obviously the season isn't going to magically become something different, continually haranguing them for it month in and month out is just beating a dead horse. I thought last season was particularly strong with Ahmanson shows like Ain't Too Proud, Evan Hansen, Come From Away, Indecent and Falsettos. McNulty's cherry picking The Play That Goes Wrong to try to make a point about shows people didn't want to see seems really unfair. The Taper had one of its strongest seasons in years including works by POC playwrights like Lynn Nottage's Sweat, Luis Valdez' Valley of the Heart and Ruben Santiago Hudson's moving Lackawanna Blues. I'm no math major but POC voices represented 60% of last year's Taper season and along with School Girls at the Douglas, McNulty's point that Ritchie is only taking a chance on lesser known works by white voices like Tracy Letts seems nonsensical.

Ritchie has a balancing act I don't envy in having to balance reaching out to younger potential customers and cultivating the next generation of theater goers by supporting new voices and edgier productions while still ensuring a healthy dose of the huge Broadway hits his core audience of older attendees wants to see. His accusations of Broadway shopping ring hollow as this isn't some experimental 99 seat theater in North Hollywood like Echo Theater Company which McNulty's been fawning over constantly because of one production they did in April. Ritchie's got 2000 seats he's got to fill at the Ahmanson every night and that ain't gonna happen with a new experimental play no one has ever heard of. 

There are some valid criticisms. The Douglas is dark way too much. Only a couple of 4 week long productions in an entire season is crazy for such a good space. That can be used more effectively to send new works on their way. And although works by August Wilson and Culture Clash show up regularly and works by Rajiv Joseph, Lynn Nottage and Tarell Alvin McCraney have been featured in recent seasons, more can be done to showcase the work of women and POC playwrights as so much good stuff is being written. Most of all, they've got to fare better in competition with the Pantages for major Broadway hits. My sense is they lost out this season on some big shows they thought they had and were caught off guard without a good back up plan. Figuring out how to be the launching site for a larger number of pre Broadway runs will also be key. I don't buy arguments about traffic or parking as being major factors. Plentiful $9 parking right below the theaters is about as convenient and cheap in downtown L.A. as you're going to find and truthfully, traffic has been "this bad" for years but people have still made the trip cause it was a show they wanted to see. Having shows people want to see will cure all ills.

Clearly, the overall premise that CTG is not achieving its full potential, is not as successful as it should be and better, more well rounded seasons at all of its theaters is required is very fair. However, on balance, I felt McNulty was excessively harsh, hitting them when they're down so to speak for a season we all agree sucks and acting like that is typical of what they've brought to the party in the last decade. 

Updated On: 10/15/19 at 08:27 PM

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 10/18/19 at 2:18pm

While I am exasperated by the mediocre programming at Center Theatre Group (CTG), I do feel that there are quire a few obstacles in improving their programming.

First of all, the typical CTG subscriber is of retirement edge and is not going to be interested in avant-garde or experimental work.  The Ahamanson's production of Soft Power didn't exactly pack them in. When Michael Richie was first hired, the LA Times asked him what his favorite play of all time was. He answered "Stones In His Pockets", a middling 1997 two-hander that enjoyed worldwide success. While I personally think the play is ****e, it fits the type of bourgeois programming that appeals to the average subscriber

Secondly, theatregoing in LA on weeknights is difficult for many people due to bumper-to-bumper traffic. 

Thirdly, LA has yet to prove itself as a tryout town-- most pre-Broadway shows coming to the Ahmnanson have been a second run (Amelie, Ain't Too Proud). San Francisco, Chicago and San Diego have proven to be go-to cities for tryouts. 

Finally, CTG is a strange hybrid between a regional theatre and a tour presenter. Much of their programming is from national tours or from productions from other theatres. Unlike other major regionals such as The Goodman (Robert Falls) or La Jolla Playhouse (Chris Ashley), CTG does not have a director with a Broadway resume at its helm but a producer.

I don't see things changing at CTG unless it gets broken up into 2 entities- a) The Ahmanson, as a house for touring productions, ballets, and pre-Broadway tryouts and b) The Mark Taper Forum & Kirk Douglas Theatres as a separate entity, run as a true regional theatre and headed by a top-notch artistic director. Since this breakup would never happen in real life, I see CTG continuing its decline.

 

 

 

 

 

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 10/22/19 at 9:21am

and the latest - CTG currently has THE NEW ONE starting performances but it was just announced yesterday  that THE NEW ONE will be going up on Netflix in November.

why would anyone want to spend money and time on a one man show that they can see for free in their living rooms?  If I were at CTG subscriber I would feel duped. 

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 10/23/19 at 5:20pm

VernonGersch said: "and the latest - CTG currently has THE NEW ONE starting performances but it was just announced yesterday that THE NEW ONE will be going up on Netflix in November.

why would anyone want to spend money and time on a one man show that they can see for free in their living rooms? If I were at CTG subscriber I would feel duped."

Vernon, I respectfully disagree. LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS is already on Netflix but it sold very well. THE NEW ONE is being heavily promoted with an Ira Glass commercial on KCRW (the local PBS station) and I predict it will sell well also.

Due to its success in selling one-man shows in its large hall, CTG will continue the trend. They have no incentive to produce a costly musical if they can sell tickets to a one person show.

I tried to do some detective work on CTG's financials. The latest available tax return I could find was from 2016. They surprisingly had a budget surplus that year but their overhead costs (especially payroll) as a percentage of income are unusually high. This is usually a symptom of a do-nothing board which is rubber stamping the high salaries of Richie and other executives while not questioning the ever deteriorating state of programming.