ONCE UPON A MATTRESS Starring Sutton Foster to be Presented at Ahmanson Theatre

Center Theatre Group will present Sutton Foster in “Once Upon a Mattress,” which will come to the Ahmanson Theatre direct from a just announced Broadway run in December. "Once Upon a Mattress” completes programming at the Ahmanson for the “One CTG. One LA.” 2024/25 Season; the first full slate of programming under Desai's leadership since joining the company in August.

“One CTG. One LA” represents unified programming at CTG's three iconic spaces — the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre, and the Kirk Douglas Theatre — into one comprehensive season. Subscription packages are now available at centertheatregroup.org.

Foster, who just completed starring opposite Aaron Tveit in “Sweeney Todd” on Broadway, scored a personal triumph with her performance in “Once Upon a Mattress,” originally presented by New York City Center Encores!, which originated the current revival of “Chicago,” the longest running American musical in Broadway history, and the very recent “Into the Woods.” Center Theatre Group previously hosted both of those productions at the Ahmanson Theatre. “Once Upon a Mattress” is directed by Lear deBessonet, Artistic Director of Encores!, who also directed “Into the Woods.” “Once Upon a Mattress” has music by Mary Rodgers, the daughter of composer Richard Rodgers; lyrics by Marshall Barer; and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer.  

“Our 2024/25 Season is proving to be one headlined by some of the biggest names in the American theatre,” said CTG Artistic Director Snehal Desai. “After already announcing that Broadway legends Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga will be coming to town in ‘Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends,' we are beyond excited to now be able to announce that another Broadway superstar, Sutton Foster, will return to the Ahmanson in December for the City Center Encores! production of ‘Once Upon a Mattress' in December.”

“Since the last time she appeared here in her star-making performance in ‘The Drowsy Chaperone' back in 2005, Sutton Foster has become a singular name in the world of musical theatre,” added CTG Producing Director Douglas C. Baker. “We are absolutely delighted to welcome her back to the Ahmanson in this wonderful production from Lear and our friends at Encores! I simply can't think of a better way to begin our 2024/25 subscription season at the Ahmanson.”

Desai continued, “As if that wasn't enough, earlier this week we were able to give you a first glimpse at our 2025/26 Season by announcing that the Broadway powerhouse ‘& Juliet' will kick things off for us in August of 2025. We love that the best of Broadway continues to find its home in LA with CTG and the Ahmanson!”

“Once Upon a Mattress” joins nine titles previously announced for the CTG 2024/25 Season. Artistic Director Snehal Desai launches the new season on October 2 with the reopening of the Mark Taper Forum and marks his CTG directorial debut with a new production of Green Day's “American Idiot,” the Tony and GRAMMY Award-Winning musical. It is produced in collaboration with Deaf West Theatre.

Two shows follow in the Mark Taper Forum, including the World Premiere of Larissa FastHorse's “Fake It Until You Make It,” which then travels to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., as well as an electrifying new adaptation of “Hamlet” from the revolutionary, Tony-Award nominated director Robert O'Hara, whose production of Jeremy O. Harris' “Slave Play” was one of the most popular and critically acclaimed productions in the fifty-seven-year history of Center Theatre Group.

The “One CTG. One LA.” 2024/25 Season also includes four productions at the Ahmanson Theatre, beginning with “Once Upon a Mattress,” and followed by Cameron Mackintosh's production of “Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends” in its North American Premiere, starring Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga. The production will then transfer to Broadway where it will be presented by Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre following its Los Angeles run. The season then continues with “Parade,” the winner of the 2023 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical; and the Tony, Drama Desk, and Olivier Award-Winning Play “Life of Pi,” which is based on the international best-selling novel.

2024/25 CTG:FWD programming includes The 7 Fingers production of “Duel Reality,” which pairs death-defying acrobatics with life-affirming theatricality and storytelling, as well as a continuation of CTG's partnership with TheaterWorksUSA, whose smash hit, “Dog Man: The Musical,” was presented last year to sold-out audiences in Culver City, and will make its triumphant return with two shows at the Kirk Douglas Theatre—“Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical” and a return engagement of “El Otro Oz,” a bilingual musical inspired by “The Wizard of Oz,” which had a limited run at the Douglas earlier this year. 

A seven-show “One CTG” subscription package is on sale now at CenterTheatreGroup.org, and includes “American Idiot,” “Fake It Until You Make It,” and “Hamlet” at the Taper; plus “Once Upon a Mattress,” “Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends,” “Life of Pi,” and “Parade” at the Ahmanson. CTG:FWD programming is also available to purchase as add-on performances.

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