Ahmanson to House Taper Plays During Renovations

The Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles will host a season of recent hit musicals in 2007 and 2008 while the Mark Taper Forum undergoes renovation. The upcoming season will include the L.A. debuts of The Color Purple and Avenue Q, the return of The Drowsy Chaperone, the recent Broadway revivals of "A Chorus Line" and "Sweeney Todd," plus the West End production of "My Fair Lady." The Taper's season is being shifted to a January-December schedule, and subscriber to the Taper will be seeing shows in the Ahmanson.

Variety.com reports:
"Avenue Q" -- the puppets 'n' humans tuner that played Las Vegas rather than tour after winning the 2004 Tony for musical, score and book -- opens the season with a Sept. 7-Oct. 14 run.

"The Color Purple" -- with a cast that includes Jeannette Bayardelle and Felicia P. Fields from the Broadway production, Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child and "American Idol" finalist LaToya London, -- will play Jan. 2 through March 10.

John Doyle's reinvented version of Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd," which played London and Broadway, runs March 12, 2008 through April 6, 2008. Cast is not yet set.

"A Chorus Line," which won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize and nine Tonys, kicks up May 22, 2008-July 6, 2008.

Cameron Mackintosh and The National Theatre of Great Britain's 50th production of Lerner and Loewe's "My Fair Lady" will run three weeks (April 10-27, 2008). Christopher Cazenove and Lisa O'Hare, currently appearing in the title role of "Mary Poppins" in London, will star as Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, respectively.

"The Drowsy Chaperone," which had its U.S. premiere at the Ahmanson in November 2005, returns to the Ahmanson for two weeks (July 9-20, 2008).

The cancellation from last season, a Motown-based musical with a book by label founder Berry Gordy, is still not ready for a production. Its replacement, "Jersey Boys," will feature the San Francisco cast when it plays the Ahmanson from May 25 to Aug. 6.

The Taper will shutter after the last production of the 2006-07 season, "Yellow Face," closes on July 1. Renovation is slated to run through April and CTG hopes to mount three plays between the summer of 2008 and the end of the year.