Center Theatre Group Announces Spring 2024 Programming For CTG:FWD

Center Theatre Group announces its Spring 2024 CTG:FWD programming, featuring special events, community gatherings, and artist residency programs at the Mark Taper Forum, the Kirk Douglas Theatre, and throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

These events are a continuation of a new initiative created by Artistic Director Snehal Desai in the fall of 2023. Upcoming Spring 2024 CTG:FWD programming at the Mark Taper Forum is made possible through the generous support of the S. Mark Taper Foundation. Additional funding is provided by gifts to the Artistic Director Discretionary Fund.

CTG:FWD provides greater opportunities for community gatherings and conversations, can't-miss special events, and the centering of Los Angeles-based artists and the arts community. It also provides a unique opportunity to continue to keep open the doors of the Mark Taper Forum—which announced a pause in subscription programming for the 2023/24 Season—and welcome members of the community back into that space for some of these special events and programs. Plans for Desai's first full season are still underway and we hope to share more information later in the spring.

CTG:FWD kicked off in the fall with a series of special events such as “Alex Edelman's Just For Us” and “Amal Walks Across America,” community gatherings including two Los Angeles Theatre Summit events, and projects that reflect our history and legacy, as we welcomed the return of Michael Feinstein to the Taper in “Coming Home: The Holiday Celebration.”

In addition to the above programs, CTG:FWD announced its new L.A. Artist Residencies comprised of the following theatre companies: Critical Mass Performance Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre LA in partnership with Chalk Rep, and Native Voices at the Autry; in addition to individual artists including: Diana Burbano, Larissa FastHorse, Michael Feinstein, Michael John Garcés, Daniel Alexander Jones, Madeline Sayet, and Kristina Wong. These residencies will continue into 2024 with more details and information to come.

“This past year when we announced CTG:FWD, I was excited to find new ways to use our venues—including hosting special events, one-off performances, and forums for community centered on the arts,” said Desai. “After a very busy fall featuring Alex Edelman's smash hit ‘Just For Us,' Michael Feinstein's long-awaited return to the Taper in ‘Coming Home: The Holiday Celebration,' and community events anchored by Little Amal, the Los Angeles Theatre Summit, and our recently announced L.A. Artist Residencies, I am more excited than ever to announce our Spring 2024 CTG:FWD lineup.”

CTG:FWD is created with everyone in mind, whether you are a long-time loyal subscriber, or setting foot in one of Center Theatre Group's venues for the very first time. For Spring 2024, Center Theatre Group continues this exciting new programming at the Mark Taper Forum with the return of “Feinstein's at the Taper” and “Alex Edelman's Just for Us,” as well the debut of a new partnership with MUSE/IQUE and the first Taper Legacy Readings. CTG:FWD programming at the Kirk Douglas Theatre includes the L.A. Writers' Workshop Festival and the TheaterWorksUSA production of “El Otro Oz.” Additionally, CTG's Education & Community Partnerships department celebrates its 10-year anniversary of Community Partnerships programming with a series of play readings at East Los Angeles College. 

“I can't wait to see what Michael Feinstein dreams up for his next two shows, and am excited to be able to offer yet another week of ‘Alex Edelman's Just For Us,' which Angelenos just can't seem to get enough of,” Desai continued. “I'm also delighted to introduce one L.A. institution to another when MUSE/IQUE comes to the Mark Taper Forum in March. And finally, I'm most looking forward to continuing to galvanize this city's artists and artistic community through the L.A. Writers' Workshop and the L.A. Artist Residencies, while celebrating the 10-year anniversary of our Community Partnerships programming and honoring our rich history with our first ‘Taper Legacy Readings.'” Center Theatre Group also will be rolling out more special events and opportunities under the CTG:FWD banner throughout the coming year.

 

L.A. Writers' Workshop Festival

 

January 26—28, 2024

Kirk Douglas Theatre

 

Since its inception in 2005, Center Theatre Group has supported a cohort of playwrights to help author new plays through the L.A. Writers' Workshop. This year six playwrights – Amy Berryman, Inda Craig-Galván, Isaac Gómez, Ramiz Monsef, christopher oscar peña, and Jasmine Sharma – have been working on brand new works, which will be presented for the first time in front of audience members from January 26—28 during this year's L.A. Writers' Workshop Festival at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. These performances are made possible in part by the City of Culver City and its Cultural Affairs Commission, with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment. The L.A. Writers' Workshop and new play development at Center Theatre Group are generously supported by an anonymous donor.

Feinstein's at the Taper

February 17 & April 13, 2024

Mark Taper Forum

After almost two decades away from the Mark Taper Forum, the incomparable Michael Feinstein returned to his home away from home in December to kick off a series of special events called “Feinstein's at the Taper.” In the early 2000s, Feinstein hosted a series of extraordinarily popular and successful salons at the Taper. Now, he returns with "Music for Lovers & Strangers” on February 17, and a soon to be announced concert on April 13.

This February, Michael Feinstein is writing a love letter to the Mark Taper Forum. After a festive and spectacular debut over the holidays, “Feinstein's at the Taper” returns with a Valentine-themed show for all the lovebirds, hopeless romantics, and even the cynics out there. 

"Love always begins with the connection of two strangers. Hence, this ‘Feinstein's at the Taper' event, ‘Music for Lovers & Strangers' was conceived in collaboration with their newly appointed Artistic Director, Snehal Desai, to celebrate the critical role that Los Angeles continues to play in the world of music,” said Feinstein. “So much of the Great American Songbook was written here, and even more of it performed and recorded here. Every great love song has a tethering to this incredible, artistic city of love. When we move beyond the boundaries of our families of birth and our beliefs, love always begins with a stranger. Whether it's the love of a friend ... a spouse ... a bitter (or sweet) brief encounter ... as human beings, our greatest need is to love and be loved. That's what this concept is all about. So, may I suggest that you do something special this Valentine's Day, and allow the romance to extend until our performance? This will be so special, and all about love.”

This world premiere concert includes an evening of classic love songs, intimate stories, and brand-new musical arrangements of quintessential hits from the Great American Songbook. Love is in the air in Downtown LA, and you'll be sure to fall head over heels for this one-night special event. Because, after all, all you need is love—and Feinstein's at the Taper! 

Michael Feinstein, Ambassador of the Great American Songbook, continues to build a dazzling career over the last three decades bringing the music of the Great American Songbook to the world. From his recent 2022 Tony Award to recordings that have earned him five Grammy Award nominations and his Emmy-nominated PBS-TV specials, his acclaimed series and concerts have spanned the globe. His work as an educator and archivist define Feinstein as one of the most important musical forces of our time.

Tickets for “Music for Lovers & Strangers” go on pre-sale to donors and subscribers on January 17 at 12PM PT and will be made available to the public on January 19 at 12PM PT. 2024 CTG:FWD programming at the Mark Taper Forum is made possible through the generous support of the S. Mark Taper Foundation. Additional funding is provided by gifts to the Artistic Director Discretionary Fund.

TheaterWorksUSA's Production of
“El Otro Oz”

 

Book by Mando Alvarado and Tommy Newman
Music & Lyrics by Jaime Lozano and Tommy Newman
February 13—14, 2024
March 2, 2024
Kirk Douglas Theatre

After a successful collaboration on “Dog Man: The Musical” over the holidays, Center Theatre Group is excited to once again partner with TheaterWorksUSA on “El Otro Oz.” This bilingual musical and New York Times Critic's Pick by Mando Alvarado, Tommy Newman, and Jaime Lozano, returns in a reimagined production. Click your heels together tres veces and take a transformative journey with this salsa, merengue, and Mexican folk-infused musical inspired by “The Wizard of Oz.” As her fifteenth birthday approaches, Dora, a contemporary Latiné teenager, struggles with her family's ideas about tradition and dreads her impending quinceañera. But, when Dora gets swept away to a strange new land, she learns how to celebrate her unique rhythm and embrace her cultural identity. Playing at the Kirk Douglas Theatre for a limited time only, February 13—14 for a pair of Student Matinees, and two additional public performances scheduled for March 2. Tickets for the two public performances will go on pre-sale to donors and subscribers on January 17 at 12PM PT and will be made available to the public on January 19 at 12PM PT.

MUSE/IQUE Presents
Magic Hour in Los Angeles: America's Cultural Renaissance of 1974

 

March 15—17, 2024
Mark Taper Forum

On March 15-17, MUSE/IQUE will make its Mark Taper Forum debut with “Magic Hour in Los Angeles: America's Cultural Renaissance of 1974.” 1974 in Los Angeles was, in a word, magic. At a time when Americans began breaking free from post-war conformity, the city that outsiders once considered glitzy and superficial emerged as the unlikely cultural epicenter for purveyors of creativity and champions of self-expression. From this “Magic Hour,” sprung forth not only groundbreaking works of art from film, television, and recording studios alike, but also the idea that it is often art and pop culture that lead our way forward. The production will also feature a look back at the plays and artists who graced the stage of the Mark Taper Forum in 1974. Join Center Theatre Group and MUSE/IQUE as we celebrate the power of making art and the year that crowned Los Angeles the cultural capital of the world.

MUSE/IQUE is a member-supported, nonprofit performing arts organization making radically engaging live music experiences accessible for all. Built on a tradition of community and collaboration, they create events that feature an eclectic mix of artists and artistic disciplines in unconventional locations. MUSE/IQUE creates transformative musical adventures and illuminates the music that shapes our lives, as Artistic & Music Director Rachael Worby seamlessly blends musical performances with researched curation. Their mission is to build empathy and expand imaginations through transformative live events and strong partnerships with fellow nonprofit organizations in Pasadena and the greater Los Angeles area. 

Tickets go on pre-sale to donors and subscribers on January 17 at 12PM PT and will be made available to the public on January 19 at 12PM PT. MUSE/IQUE members should reserve their tickets through the MUSE/IQUE website (muse-ique.com). 2024 CTG:FWD programming at the Mark Taper Forum is made possible through the generous support of the S. Mark Taper Foundation. Additional funding is provided by gifts to the Artistic Director Discretionary Fund.

Alex Edelman's Just For Us

Written and Performed by Alex Edelman
Directed by Adam Brace
March 26—31, 2024
Mark Taper Forum

Next up, “Alex Edelman's Just For Us” returns to the Mark Taper Forum for one last week after selling out houses during both its initial 20-performance run in November, as well as its week-long extension in December. The show came to Los Angeles direct from a highly successful Broadway engagement, and following acclaimed runs in London, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Boston, and Washington, D.C., as well as a six-time extended Off-Broadway engagement. And now, “Just For Us” is back again in March for a special week-long return engagement. 

Expertly crafted by one of comedy's most distinctive voices, this singular theatrical experience is an exploration of identity and our collective capacity for empathy—and it's also “belly-laugh funny!” (The New York Times). In the wake of a string of anti-Semitic rhetoric pointed in his direction online, standup comic Alex Edelman decides to go straight to the source; specifically, Queens, where he covertly attends a meeting of White Nationalists and comes face-to-face with the people behind the keyboards. What happens next forms the backbone of the shockingly relevant, utterly hilarious, and only moderately perspirant stories that comprise "Just For Us.”

The New York Times writes, “Hilarious! A one-man show with three-jokes-per-minute. (Yes, I laughed at every one.)” While The Washington Post called it “Superb! ‘Just for Us' has been chiseled to diamond-cut perfection. It's a joyous, uproarious 90-minute show from one of the funniest minds of this generation – or any generation.” And Daily Beast praised the show, saying, “This is brilliant comedy. A rollicking, must-see work of genius. Alex Edelman is peerless.”

Written and performed by Alex Edelman, and directed by Adam Brace, “Just For Us” will appear at the Mark Taper Forum from March 26—31. 2024 CTG:FWD programming at the Mark Taper Forum is made possible through the generous support of the S. Mark Taper Foundation. Additional funding is provided by gifts to the Artistic Director Discretionary Fund.

 

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