Ahmanson Theatre News

The national tour of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, winner of the 2014 Tony Award for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations, launches in Des Moines, IA at the Des Moines Performing Arts Civic Center, officially opening tonight, December 1st.

Stars Elizabeth Stanley and Andrew Samonsky visit the novel's romantic setting.

The Fred Ebb Foundation in association with the Roundabout Theatre Company presents the eleventh annual Fred Ebb Award for aspiring musical theatre songwriters to Stacey Luftig and Phillip Palmer. The award, named in honor of the late award-winning lyricist Fred Ebb, will be presented by Karen Ziemba tonight, November 30th from 6-8pm at a by-invitation-only ceremony in the Penthouse Lounge of The American Airlines Theater.

The first national tour of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY opens at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre on December 10, 2015, and playing through January 17, 2016. (Previews on December 8 and 9.)

The national tour of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, winner of the 2014 Tony Award for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations, launches in Des Moines, IA at the Des Moines Performing Arts Civic Center with performances beginning today, November 28th and an official opening on Tuesday, December 1st.

Voting has opened for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 27th. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: The holiday season starts in earnest with A CHRISTMAS STORY and SCROOGE taking over theaters across the country, plus it's a big night for Broadway appearances on TV!

BroadwayWorld has just learned that GREY GARDENS has replaced TITANIC in the 2016 line-up at LA's Ahmanson Theatre. The production will be led by Rachel York and Betty Buckley, who both starred in a production at Bay Street Theatre earlier this year.

STRAIGHT WHITE MEN written and directed by Young Jean Lee, opened last Sunday, November 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre. The West Coast premiere of the production, presented in collaboration with Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, will run through December 20, 2015. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities below!

In what has become an annual ritual, a total of 36 established and emerging composers, lyricists, and librettists will converge on the Goodspeed campus from mid-January through mid-February 2016 to participate in the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing 19 new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration. BroadwayWorld is excited to report that Goodspeed has announced its 2016 participants. Scroll down for details!

Highlights from this week include MISERY opens on Broadway, BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY gets ready to hit the road, THE WIZ LIVE gets ready to hit TV screens, LAURA BENANTI ties the knot and SO much more!

Young Jean Lee's STRAIGHT WHITE MEN will have its West Coast premiere November 20 - December 20, 2015, at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre, directed by Lee and presented in collaboration with the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA. The first U.S. performances of the play since The Public Theater presented its New York premiere last fall will feature a cast of Frank Boyd, Richard Riehle, Brian Slaten and Gary Wilmes.

Below, check out photo coverage from the National Tour Media Day for the production, held yesterday at New York City's New 42nd Street Studios!

Below, check out photo coverage from the National Tour Media Day for the production, held yesterday at New York City's New 42nd Street Studios!

The New Group presents the world premiere of STEVE, a new play by Mark Gerrard. Directed by Cynthia Nixon, this production features Ashlie Atkinson and Francisco Pryor Garat, and as announced, Mario Cantone, Jerry Dixon, Malcolm Gets and Matt McGrath. A limited Off-Broadway engagement plays now through December 27 at The Pershing Square Signature Center (The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre, 480 West 42nd Street), with Official Opening Night set for tonight, November 18.

STRAIGHT WHITE MEN written and directed by Young Jean Lee, opens this Sunday, November 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre. The West Coast premiere of the production, presented in collaboration with Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, will have two previews on Friday, November 20 and Saturday, November 21 at 8 p.m. and will run through December 20, 2015. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley celebrates the holidays - and the 200th anniversary of the novel's publication - with a limited return engagement of Jane Austen's Emma, the musical adaption which originated at TheatreWorks and became the most popular show in the company's 46 year history.

The 2015 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, celebrating theatrical excellence and achievement during the past 12 months, were presented on Monday, November 9 at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center. Among the many winners were the stars and creative team of Deaf West's SPRING AWAKENING, now on Broadway. Scroll down for photos from the arrivals, ceremony and after-party!

The 2015 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, celebrating theatrical excellence and achievement during the past 12 months, were presented on Monday, November 9 at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center. Among the many winners were the stars and creative team of Deaf West's SPRING AWAKENING, now on Broadway. Scroll down for the full list of winners!

Center Theatre Group is seeking a diverse group of singers from across the greater Los Angeles community to perform as members of the church choir in the West Coast premiere of THE CHRISTIANS, written by Lucas Hnath and directed by Les Waters, presented by CTG and Playwrights Horizons at the Mark Taper Forum, December 2, 2015, through January 10, 2016.