Ahmanson Theatre News

The wide variety of American and international dance and ballet - which has been the hallmark of the Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center series over its eleven season history -- is highlighted in a diverse season of offerings for the 2014-2015 season, which takes place at three of the four major Music Center venues - the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theatre and Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre and home of the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute (ITI-US), has released Brett Bailey and Diane Rodriguez's World Theatre Day 2014 messages. Each year, a renowned theatre artist of world stature is invited by ITI Worldwide in Paris to craft the International Message, which is then translated into more than 20 languages to mark the global occasion. This year, TCG has renewed their tradition of asking a noted U.S. artist to also reflect on the themes of World Theatre Day.

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle has announced the winners and special awards for excellence in Los Angeles and Orange County theatre for the year 2013. The 45th Annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony took place Monday, March 17 at the Colony Theatre in Burbank, and was hosted by Nicole Parker.

NEW DRAMATISTS,Tony Honor recipient and the nation's premiere playwright development workshop, proudly announces that they will honor five-time Tony Award winning director/choreographer Susan Stroman with their 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award at its 65th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute, to be held Thursday, May 22 at the New York Marriott Marquis. Among the Stroman collaborators offering tributes will be Tony Award winner Boyd Gaines and New York City Ballet's Tiler Peck performing a selection from Little Dancer, Taylor Mac performing a selection from The Last Two People on Earth, Tony nominee Marin Mazzie performing from Bullets Over Broadway; and Contact collaborator John Weidman, and cast members from The Scottsboro Boys.The event co-chairs are Letty Aronson, Roy Furman, and Julian Schlossberg.

From a field of 12 local high school students, Jonah Gould, Mykaela Sterris and LeafRickard have been selected as the winners of the 2014 August Wilson Monologue Competition Los Angeles Regional finals. Contestants this year featured high school students from nine Southern California cities, who performed in the regional finals at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum, Tuesday night, March 11, 2014. The top three student performers received scholarships and the opportunity to perform again in New York City. The August Wilson Monologue Competition is presented by the Center Theatre Group Affiliates, a volunteer organization that supports Center Theatre Group's education and community partnerships programs.

Musical Theatre West presents the third production of their 61st season, the West Coast Premiere of S'WONDERFUL: The New Gershwin Musical, created and directed by Ray Roderick, musicaldirection by Bret Simmons with choreography by Charlie Williams. S'WONDERFUL will preview on Friday, April 4, open on Saturday, April 5 and perform for three weeks only through Sunday, April 20 at The Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center, located at 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach on the campus of California State University, Long Beach.

The big question surrounding the fate of Harmony: Is Broadway ready for another musical about the turbulent 30s and Nazi occupation of Germany? With The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof (although set in Russia and at an earlier time, it's still about the plight of the Jews) and Cabaret firmly planted in our minds as three of the greatest musicals ever written about the Nazis, do we need one more? Barry Manilow has been trying desperately for over 10 years to get his Harmony, the true story about the Comedian Harmonists, onstage. Now at the Ahmanson through April 13, Harmony is beautifully produced and mounted, exceedingly well-performed and a thoroughly moving story about 6 singers/performers whose careers and lives were interrupted and controlled by Naziism. The answer to the big question is a shaky maybe.

Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's 'Harmony,' a new musical, opened last night, Wednesday, March 12, 2014, at 8 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and plays through April 13 (Previews began March 4). Directed by Tony Speciale, with music by Manilow and book and lyrics by Sussman, 'Harmony' tells the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of six young men in pre-WWII Germany who rose from unemployed street musicians to become world-famous entertainers, selling millions of records, starring in over a dozen films, and selling out the most prestigious concert halls around the world. Yet while The Comedian Harmonists' sophisticated music, paired with hilarious comedy, made them the brightest of stars, the group's mixture of Jews and non-Jews put them on a collision course with history. 'Harmony' is a co-production with the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta. Below, check out a look back at the opening night festivities, including the red carpet, curtain call, and after party!

Center Theatre Group has announced that 12 students have been selected to participate in the August Wilson Monologue Competition Los Angeles regional finals to be held at the CTG/Mark Taper Forum today, March 11, 2014. L.A.'s AWMC, part of a larger national program, is hosted by Center Theatre Group and presented by the Center Theatre Group Affiliates.

Internationally celebrated pop music hit-maker Barry Manilow opens up about his long-aborning stage musical HARMONY and the future plans for the project as part of a new interview.

Broadway stars might boast the biggest fan-bases, but without their directors, the vehicle driving their talents could easily swerve off the tracks. Keeping the runaway train at bay are season's bold Broadway 'conductors'. Scroll down to learn more about this season's intrepid and imaginative leaders!

Center Theatre Group welcomes Obie Award-winning writer and performer Daniel Beaty to the CTG/Mark Taper Forum on Monday, March 17, 2014, at 7 p.m. for a free special event.

Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's 'Harmony,' a new musical, opens next Wednesday, March 12, 2014, at 8 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and plays through April 13 (Previews began March 4). Directed by Tony Speciale, with music by Manilow and book and lyrics by Sussman, 'Harmony' tells the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of six young men in pre-WWII Germany who rose from unemployed street musicians to become world-famous entertainers, selling millions of records, starring in over a dozen films, and selling out the most prestigious concert halls around the world. Yet while The Comedian Harmonists' sophisticated music, paired with hilarious comedy, made them the brightest of stars, the group's mixture of Jews and non-Jews put them on a collision course with history. 'Harmony' is a co-production with the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta. Below, check out a first look at the cast in action!

In 2013, Leigh Ann Larkin and Shayne Kennon starred in the Atlanta production of Harmony. Today, March 4, they will get to reprise their roles at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in LA.

The National Theatre of Great Britain's epic WAR HORSE, winner of five 2011 Tony Awards including Best Play, this week achieved the extraordinary milestone of welcoming its 5 millionth audience member worldwide. Additionally, the North American tour of WAR HORSE, which debuted in June 2012 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, is now the highest grossing and most attended play ever to tour the US and Canada. Currently playing at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center in Orlando, FL, the tour will next move to Miami, FL for an engagement at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. A full tour route is below. The tour continues through August 2014.

"different words for the same thing" by Kimber Lee will be directed by Neel Keller in its World Premiere at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre. Previews begin May 4 for a May 11th opening. The show continues through June 1, 2014.

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced Tony Award winner Rosemary Harris will play the role of 'Eleanor Swan' in the Off-Broadway premiere of Tom Stoppard's Indian Ink, directed by Carey Perloff. The production will begin performances on September 4 and open Sunday, September 28, 2014 at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold & Miriam Steinberg Centre for Theatre (111 West 46th Street).

Center Theatre Group has a big hit in Christopher Durang's Tony Award-winning comedy "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," currently in performances at the CTG/Mark Taper Forum. With strong ticket sales and critical acclaim, CTG has extended the run by a week, now closing on March 16, 2014.

The four-time Emmy winner David Hyde Pierce stopped by to talk with Tavis Smiley about his latest projects, including directing the L.A. production of the Tony-winning VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, as well as the possibility of acting in the show in London. Pierce told Smiley: 'And in the fall the plan is to take Vanya to London, the original production, and I'll go back to acting in it.' Watch the full interview below!

"The new season, our 48th season at the Music Center of Los Angeles," said Ritchie, "will include from Broadway two hit musicals and a celebrated drama - the magical 'Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella,' the mischievous 'Matilda The Musical' and the much beloved Cicely Tyson in Horton Foote's exquisite 'The Trip to Bountiful.'