Center Theatre Group Announces Digital Stage Schedule for March 15 – March 21

Matthew Bourne's production of "The Red Shoes" premieres Friday, March 19 at 8 pm and streams Saturday, March 20 at 5 and 8 pm; and Sunday, March 21 at 1 and 5 pm (all times Pacific). Available for $10 at www.centertheatregroup.org/digitalstage/premium-events/matthew-bournes-the-red-shoes/.

Based on the film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, "The Red Shoes" is a tale of obsession, possession and one girl's dream to be the greatest dancer in the world. Victoria Page lives to dance but her ambitions become a battleground between the two men who inspire her passion.

Matthew Bourne's triumphant adaptation of the legendary film stars Ashley Shaw as Victoria Page, Adam Cooper as Boris Lermontov, Dominic North as Julian Craster, Michela Meazza as Irina Boronskaya, Liam Mower as Ivan Bolelawsky and Glenn Graham as Grischa Ljubov.

Set to the achingly romantic music of golden-age Hollywood composer Bernard Herrmann, "The Red Shoes" is orchestrated by Terry Davies and played by the New Adventures Orchestra, with cinematic designs by Lez Brotherston, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Paul Groothuis and projection from Duncan McLean.

"It's a feast for the eye, with every scene animated by sharp detail and witty characterization," said Luke Jennings of The Observer in his review of the London engagement. "Bourne choreographs with the lightest of touches, threading in references to Hollywood movies and Diaghilev-era ballets as he goes."

The filmed version of Matthew Bourne's production of "The Red Shoes" is a New Adventures and Illuminations production, captured live at Sadler's Wells Theatre in 2019.

Currently Available On Demand:

The Stratford Festival's "King Lear" premiered March 11 and is available on demand through June 9, 2021. The lavish Stratford Festival film is free to Center Theatre Group subscribers and supporters and $10 for all others at www.centertheatregroup.org/digitalstage/videos/the-stratford-festival-king-lear/.

An aging monarch resolves to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, with consequences he little expects. His reason shattered in the storm of violent emotion that ensues, with his very life hanging in the balance, Lear loses everything that has defined him as a king - and thereby discovers the essence of his own humanity.

Directed by Antoni Cimolino, "King Lear" is one of five Shakespeare plays captured at North America's leading classical theatre company which will be presented on CTG's Digital Stage.

The first episode of Not a Moment, But a Movement premiered January 21 and is available on demand through March 22, 2021. The video is free to Center Theatre Group subscribers and supporters and $10 for all others at www.CTGLA.org/NotAMoment.

Not a Moment, But a Movement is a series of events that amplify and center Black artists. The first episode is introduced by Vanessa Williams, hosted by Bruce A. Lemon Jr. and features a reading of Angelica Chéri's one-person play "Crowndation; I Will Not Lie to David" paired with the music of Jessica Lá Rel and the work of visual artist Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle.

Directed by Cezar Williams and performed by Sheria Irving, "Crowndation" is a one-woman show following 29-year-old Fatima Seed. Now the same age as her mother when she died of breast cancer, Fatima battles her inner-contradictions, yanked in multiple directions by her faith, her sexuality, her purpose and a secret she discovers about her father, all in pursuit of becoming whole before her time runs out.

Presented in conjunction with Watts Village Theater Company and The Fire This Time Festival, Not a Moment, But a Movement events feature a host who guides the audience through the work of a visual artist, a musician and a theatre artist. Each event is paired with a panel discussion to create a uniquely comprehensive cultural experience.

Associated Content for Not a Moment, But a Movement

"The Forum: Amplifying the Roots of the Movement" is moderated by SoulCenter founder Erin Michelle Washington and featuring three influential Black theatre practitioners Woodie King Jr., Rhodessa Jones and Nancy Cheryll Davis-Bellamy. The discussion is free to the public and available on demand at www.CTGLA.org/NotAMoment.

Larry Powell's "The Gaze ... No Homo," premiered February 25 and is available through March 25, 2021. Produced by Tell Me A Story Productions, "The Gaze" costs $20 and is available on demand at www.centertheatregroup.org/digitalstage/videos/the-gaze-no-homo.

A satiric dramedy about the decolonization of the Black imagination adapted from his own 2020-2021 Eugene O'Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference Finalist play, writer / creator Larry Powell refers to this production of "The Gaze" as a "#Digiplay Experience." Set in the prestigious Evergreen Theatre Festival tucked in a bucolic small town, which prides itself on developing the brightest and boldest new American voices, a young actor is cast in the virtual production of an emerging Black queer playwright. As the established director dreams of Broadway and tensions rise in heated Zoom-based rehearsals, "The Gaze" examines the process of building culturally specific and queer works of color in historically white spaces.

Associated Content for "The Gaze ... No Homo"

Center Theatre Group hosted a post-play discussion with writer / creator Larry Powell and the cast of "The Gaze ... No Homo" on February 25 and the discussion is available on demand at www.centertheatregroup.org/digitalstage/videos/the-gaze-no-homo.

"Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue" began February 4 and will be accessible through April 4, 2021. The video is free to Center Theatre Group subscribers and supporters or $10 for all others. Part of Center Theatre Group's L.A. Writers' Workshop Festival: New Plays Forged in L.A., the virtually produced reading of "Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue" is written by Kemp Powers (2019-2020 L.A. Writers' Workshop participant) and will be available at www.CTGLA.org/ChristaMcAuliffe.

"Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue" follows Bernard and Steven Gentry, twins who have lived starkly different lives. One is plagued by racism because of his dark skin while the other passes as white. Steven spent his childhood trying to fit in and is now a successful attorney. Bernard was a star student who dreamt of space, but his current prospects are about as dismal as the Challenger Space Shuttle that once inspired him. Moving between their 80s New York City childhood and a Minnesota courthouse in 2006, "Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue" is a haunting meditation on race and privilege in America.

Directed by Jennifer Chang, the cast of "Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue" features Giovanni Adams,Jovan Adepo, Amaia Arana, Lorena Martinez, Connor Paolo, Adam J. Smith, Cory Michael Smith,Larry Bates and Justin Lawrence Barnes.

The Stratford Festival's "Love's Labour's Lost" premiered January 14 and is available on demand through April 14, 2021. The lavish Stratford Festival film is free to Center Theatre Group subscribers and supporters and $10 for all others at www.ctgla.org/StratfordLovesLaboursLost.

Four young men swear off women to devote themselves to learning-only to fall for four attractive newcomers. Shakespeare's language reaches its most virtuosic heights in a vivacious comedy that will dazzle and delight.

Directed by John Caird, "Love's Labour's Lost" is one of five Shakespeare plays captured at North America's leading classical theatre company which will be presented on CTG's Digital Stage.

Associated Members-Only Content for "Love's Labour's Lost"

Actress Kate Burton interviews director John Caird ("Les Misérables," "Nicholas Nickleby") about his experience directing "Love's Labour's Lost" by William Shakespeare with The Stratford Festival. The video is free to Center Theatre Group subscribers and supporters and available at www.centertheatregroup.org/digitalstage/videos/kate-burton-and-john-caird/.

The Stratford Festival's "Antony and Cleopatra" premiered February 11 and is available on demand through May 12, 2021. The lavish Stratford Festival film is free to Center Theatre Group subscribers and supporters and $10 for all others at www.ctgla.org/StratfordAntonyAndCleopatra.

Reason and judgement prove no match for the tsunami of mutual passion engulfing Mark Antony, one of the three joint rulers of the Roman republic, and Cleopatra, the seductive queen of Egypt. Surrendering everything to their desires, they open the floodgates to a civil conflict that will shake the very foundations of their world.

Directed by Gary Griffin, "Antony and Cleopatra" is one of five Shakespeare plays captured at North America's leading classical theatre company which will be presented on CTG's Digital Stage.

"Until the Flood" premiered November 15 and is available until 2023. This video is free to the public at www.ctgla.org/UntilTheFloodALLARTS.

"Until the Flood" which was performed at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in January, 2020, explores a community in turmoil following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith and directed by Center Theatre Group Associate Artistic Director Neel Keller, "Until the Flood" draws on Orlandersmith's interviews with residents across the greater St. Louis area to create composite characters that reflect a wide range of perspectives and experiences of race to discuss the roots of unrest and the search for healing.

"Until the Flood," was originally commissioned and produced by The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and subsequently produced around the United States and in Ireland, Scotland and England, with the same performer, director and creative team. Center Theatre Group partnered with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, A Contemporary Theatre (ACT), Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Goodman Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Portland Center Stage and Repertory Theatre of St. Louis to present the All Arts televised streaming production of "Until the Flood." The presentation uses video footage from the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre production.

Associated Content for "Until the Flood"

Conversation with Dael Orlandersmith, Neel Keller and Student Artists

Center Theatre Group hosted a conversation with "Until the Flood" writer/performer Dael Orlandersmith, director Neel Keller and student artists representing theatres across the country. Moderated by Center Theatre Group's Teaching Artist, Christine Breihan. Participating student artists include Alex W. (Milwaukee Repertory), Fletcher J. and Sonia-Sofia R. (Center Theatre Group), Mikayla A. (Portland Center Stage), Ariel B. (Goodman Theatre) and Marie-Antoinette B. (Denver Center for the Performing Arts). The discussion is free to the public and available at www.centertheatregroup.org/digitalstage/videos/writerperformer-dael-orlandersmith-and-director-neel-keller/

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