LOS ANGELES: Center Theatre Group has announced its 54th season, now a 2021-22 season slated to begin in August 2021, for its Ahmanson Theatre. This announcement moves the theatre’s presumed return to the stage back four months from the return that had previously been scheduled, and it comes less than two months after CTG’s announcement of a digital stage to house virtual 2020-21 programming.
“We all hoped that we could finally return to the theatre this spring,” said artistic director Michael Ritchie in a statement, “but our first priority has to be the safety of our artists and audiences so it has become clear that presenting theatre in April is not going to be possible. As you can imagine, planning for the future has been a fluid and challenging process but, as is so often the case, these challenges have also presented opportunities.”
Adjustments to the season include rescheduling productions of Les Misérables, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Come From Away, and Ain’t Too Proud into future seasons.
The season will open with a new addition to the slate, Rogers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! (Aug. 25-Oct. 3, 2021) with music by Richard Rogers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, choreography by John Heginbotham, and directed by Daniel Fish. This Tony-winning revival was originally scheduled to be part of Broadway in Hollywood’s season at the Dolby Theatre, but will now be presented by CTG at its Ahmanson Theatre.
Next up will be Jack Thorne’s adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol (Nov. 30, 2021-Jan. 2, 2022). Matthew Warchus will direct this production that opened on Broadway in November 2019 and earned five Tony nominations.
Following will be a pre-Broadway run of 1776 (Jan. 11-Feb. 13, 2022), with book by Peter Stone, music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards, and based on a concept by Edwards. Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus will co-direct, and Page will choreograph this new production about American independence.
The season will continue with the previously announced The Lehman Trilogy (March 1-April 10, 2022), by Stefano Massini and adapted by Ben Power. Sam Mendes will direct this epic about a family and company that changed the world.
The previously announced production of Hadestown (April 26-May 29, 2022), with music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell, will follow. The Tony-winning trip to the underworld is developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin.
Next will be the previously announced production of Dear Evan Hansen (June 28-July 31, 2022), with book by Steven Levenson and score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Michael Grief will direct this Tony-winning musical, which returns to CTG after a six-week engagement during the 2018-19 season.
Closing out the season will be The Prom (Aug. 9-Sept. 11, 2022), with book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, music by Matthew Sklar, and lyrics by Beguelin. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, the Broadway musical tells the story of a high school girl who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom.
Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles’s leading nonprofit theatre company, programs out of three spaces, the 2000-seat Ahmanson, the Mark Taper Forum, and the Kirk Douglas Theatre. It presents and produces a broad range of theatrical work.
