Beginning in October, the Ahmanson Theatre will present a season dominated by musicals, as well as the North American premiere of Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet and the board-game-inspired Clue.
Opening the 2023-24 fall season is the return of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell, for a two-week run. The show, ensconsed on Broadway since 2019, was originally developed with funding from the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center.
December brings a special production of A Christmas Story, The Musical, based on the classic 1983 movie.
Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet opens January 31, 2024. A re-telling of the ageless tale of teenage discovery and the madness of first love, the show joined Bourne’s world-renowned dance theater productions in 2019 to universal critical acclaim. Since 1986, Bourne has created 13 full-length productions and a triple bill of short works.
April 2024 brings to Los Angeles the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, which introduced Barbra Streisand to Broadway in 1964. Sixty years later, the Ahmanson cast will feature Grammy Award-winning Melissa Manchester as Mrs. Brice and introduce Katerina McCrimmon as Fanny Brice. The production was revised by Harvey Fierstein.
A Strange Loop, opening in June 2024, by Michael R. Jackson, Broadway’s Best Musical triple crown – the Tony Award, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. It’s a “metafictional musical” about the creative process of a Black, gay man.
Clue opens July 31 and is based on the 1985 Paramount movie as well as the classic Hasbro board game. The murder mystery/comedy with six mysterious guests—remember Colonel Mustard?—takes place on a rainy, windswept night in 1954.
The Ahmanson’s season was announced by Center Theatre Group’s incoming Artistic Director Snehal Desai, Managing Director/CEO Meghan Pressman and Producing Director Douglas C. Baker. Desai said, “As I kick off my tenure as Artistic Director of Center Theatre Group, we have an opportunity and responsibility to deliver on our mission now — while also envisioning what our next chapter will be. One of the most powerful facets of live performance is the ability to inspire, to entertain, and uplift audiences through laughter and joy. This line-up does that and more.”
Pressman noted that the Mark Taper Forum, while not offering a subscription season, will offer special programming throughout the year. “Since our announcement about the temporary pause of productions at the Taper, it has been humbling to receive an outpouring of support from our community and we remain immensely proud of our CTG staff who have continued to work hard to bring to Los Angeles some of the best shows in the country — and this season is no exception.”
Tickets for the Ahmanson’s season will be available for subscription purchase beginning August 9 at CenterTheatreGroup.org/Season or by calling the exclusive Subscriber Hotline at (213) 972-4444.
