Ahmanson Season Includes 'Sweeney,' 'Purple,' 'Q,' Etc.

The 2007-2008 season at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre, which was announced today by CTG's Artistic Director Michael Ritchie, will be a yearlong celebration of the best in musical theatre.

The new season will include recent Broadway hits such as The Color Purple, Avenue Q and The Drowsy Chaperone, and critically acclaimed new productions of the Broadway classics A Chorus Line, Sweeney Todd and My Fair Lady.

The opening production of the Ahmanson Theatre's 41st season is Avenue Q,  the Broadway smash hit and 2004 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, September 7 through October 14, 2007.  (Two previews will take place on September 6).  The show  has music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, and book by Jeff Whitty, based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx.  Avenue Q is directed by Jason Moore and choreographed by Ken Roberson.

"Avenue Q tells the story of Princeton, an optimistic college grad who comes to New York with big dreams and a tiny bank account. He soon discovers that the only neighborhood he can afford is Avenue Q, but the neighbors seem nice: a cute kindergarten teaching assistant named Kate Monster; Nicky and his roommate Rod, a Republican investment banker with a secret; an out-of-work Brian and his fiancée Christmas Eve; and Trekkie Monster, an internet addict. Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates and the ever-elusive purpose in life," state press materials.

The Broadway hit The Color Purple will bring in the New Year in Los Angeles as the second production of the Ahmanson's 41st season, January 2, 2008, through March 10.  (Previews begin December 27).  "Based on the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and the film by Steven Spielberg, "The Color Purple is set in Georgia during the years 1909 through 1949 and tells the unforgettable and inspiring story of a woman named Celie, who, through love and the strength to overcome adversity, finds her unique voice in the world."

The book for The Color Purple is by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.  Gary Griffin is the director and Donald Byrd the choreographer.  The tour stars Jeannette Bayardelle, Felicia P. Fields, Michelle Williams, and LaToya London, among others.  Zotovich, and Todd Johnson and is produced in special association with AEG Live.

Sweeney Todd, which originated in London and played to Broadway audiences last year, will be presented as a bonus option for Ahmanson Theatre subscribers, March 12 through April 6, 2008.  (A preview performance will be held on March 11).

The musical thriller, which is considered to be one of Stephen Sondheim's masterpieces, has music and lyrics by Sondheim, and book by Hugh Wheeler, from an adaptation by Christopher Bond. Music orchestration for Sweeney Todd is by Sarah Travis, and it is directed and designed by John Doyle, who received the 2006 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for his work on the show.

"The legendary demon barber, who had been wrongly imprisoned, is hell-bent on seeking revenge. He teams up with his enterprising neighbor in a delicious plot to slice their way through London's upper crust society.  Justice will be served, along with a blend of Grand Guignol, sly humor, musical and lyrical eloquence, and the tastiest meat pies in all of London...In Doyle's spare and hypnotic interpretation, 10 cast members are assembled on a single set and do double duty as actors and orchestra, most of them playing multiple instruments."

Direct from its heralded 50th anniversary London production and United Kingdom  tour, Cameron Mackintosh and The National Theatre of Great Britain's new production of Lerner and Loewe's legendary musical My Fair Lady will be presented at the Ahmanson Theatre for three weeks only as a season bonus option, April 10 through 27, 2008. (A preview performance will be held on April 9).

Christopher Cazenove, one of England's most respected stage and screen actors (best known to Americans as Ben Carrington on television's "Dynasty"), and Lisa O'Hare, currently appearing in the title role of Mary Poppins in London, will star as Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, roles they played on the extended U.K. tour.

The show has book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe.  It is adapted from Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion and Gabriel Pascal's motion picture and features one of Broadway's most beloved scores including "I Could Have Danced All Night," "The Rain in Spain," "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," "On the Street Where You Live," "Get Me to the Church On Time" and "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?"  Four-time Tony Award-winner Trevor Nunn directs, with choreography and musical staging by two-time Tony Award-winner Matthew Bourne.  "In My Fair Lady, Henry Higgins, an opinionated linguistics professor and confirmed bachelor, makes a wager with a colleague that he can transform a Cockney flower seller, Eliza Doolittle, into a lady who can take her place in high society.  Higgins wins the bet but is not prepared for the profound affect Eliza has on his life."

 The groundbreaking musical A Chorus Line will come to the Ahmanson Theatre, May 22 through July 6, 2008 (with a preview performance on May 21), in a national tour sparked by the award-winning musical's first-ever return to Broadway last October. 

A stunning "musical-vérité" about Broadway's gypsies, A Chorus Line was conceived and originally choreographed and directed by Michael Bennett, with book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Ed Kleban. Originally co-choreographed by Bob Avian, the choreography for this new production is re-staged by Baayork Lee. Bob Avian directs.

"On a bare stage in an empty theatre, 17 dancers audition for the chorus line of a new musical, and reveal their personal histories and innermost hopes and fears, praying for the opportunity to realize their lifelong dream – to dance on Broadway. The musical includes such beloved songs as 'Dance: Ten; Looks: Three,' 'I Hope I Get It,' 'I Can Do That,' 'Nothing,' 'What I Did For Love' and 'One.'"

Broadway's hit musical The Drowsy Chaperone returns to the Ahmanson Theatre as a season bonus option for two weeks only, July 9 through July 20, 2008 (with a July 8 preview performance). 

"The witty love letter to the madcap musicals of the 1920s had its U.S. premiere at the Ahmanson in November 2005 and later moved to Broadway in May 2006, where it was the recipient of 13 major awards and received more Tony Awards than any other musical of the 2006 season, including Best Book of a Musical, Best Score, Costume Design and Scenic Design."  The Drowsy Chaperone, which has music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison and book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, is directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw.

"In The Drowsy Chaperone, the curtain rises on a man in a chair, a present-day musical theatre fanatic eager to share his favorite Broadway musical with the audience.  As he begins to play a rare cast recording on his hi-fi, The Drowsy Chaperone blooms to life on stage, telling the tale of a pampered Broadway starlet who wants to give up show business to marry her debonair fiancé.

CTG's 2007-2008 Ahmanson Theatre Season is available by subscription only. For information and to charge subscriptions by phone, call Audience Services at (213) 628-2772.  To purchase subscriptions on-line, visit www.CenterTheatreGroup.org. For information regarding audio description and Project D.A.T.E. (sign language interpreted performances) and discount subscriptions for the deaf and hard of hearing, call TDD/Voice (213) 680-4017.