City of Los Angeles Proclaims March 15 TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992 Day

The Los Angeles City Council honored Center Theatre Group on March 10, 2023 by proclaiming Wednesday, March 15, 2023 as "TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992" Day. Councilmembers Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Curren D. Price Jr., Heather Hutt, and Hugo Soto-Martinez presented the proclamation to Center Theatre Group's Associate Artistic Director Tyrone Davis on behalf of the theatre company. This year marks the 30-year anniversary of the world premiere of Anna Deavere Smith's landmark American play, "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992," commissioned by Center Theatre Group and chronicling the five days of civil unrest in Los Angeles following the Rodney King verdict.

"I just want to take a moment to thank [Center Theatre Group] because 'Twilight' is not just about the history of Los Angeles, it's also exceptionally relevant to the moment that we're living in now. And what I think is one of the most important aspects of it [was] its fearlessness in the aftermath of the riots," commented President of the Los Angeles City Council Paul Krekorian at the March 10 city council meeting. "'Twilight,' I think played an important role in the healing of Los Angeles at that time and it can be an important vehicle for healing now in this moment that we're facing."

Center Theatre Group is producing the 30th anniversary production of the play, which is now in performances and plays through April 9, 2023 in its original home, the Mark Taper Forum, with a diverse ensemble cast directed by Gregg T. Daniel and an all-local design team. "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" is a landmark contribution to the American theatrical canon. Originally performed solo by Smith, this revised ensemble production once again presents an opportunity for critical discourse around race and equity for all Angelenos. Anna Deavere Smith, the playwright of this play, and the more than 300 Los Angeles residents she interviewed for this seminal piece have made a major contribution to the living, oral, and written history of the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising.

"This presentation marks a key moment in the history of this city," said Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who was involved in the creation of the proclamation. "I hold culture in very high regard and hold artists as the people who really drive social change, who create understanding between people, who help us bridge our differences. We're very excited that on March 15 ['Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992'] will come back to the City of Los Angeles, to Center Theatre Group Downtown, and we invite everybody to come [see it]."

"On behalf of Center Theater Group, Anna Deavere Smith, and all the artists working on 'Twilight,' we say thank you ... for this moment of recognition," added Center Theatre Group's Associate Artistic Director Tyrone Davis. "Two of our theatres are just down the street from City Hall and we play a role in the economic engine of Downtown and producing this seminal play with such deep roots in the community really necessitates civic engagement. This proclamation is deeply meaningful, thank you for recognizing the power of art and the power of storytelling."

"Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" draws on 320 interviews with politicians, activists, police, jurors, shopkeepers, and countless other Los Angelenos to explore the uprising sparked by the acquittal of the men charged in the Rodney King police brutality case. Through the words of these real people, "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" delves into the long-simmering tensions that set the stage for the L.A. Riots and explores the immediate impact on individual Angelenos and the community as a whole. The cast of the new take of "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" features an ensemble of actors including Hugo Armstrong, Lovensky Jean-Baptiste, Lisa Reneé Pitts, Jeanne Sakata, and Sabina Zúñiga Varela.

The creative team for "Twilight: Los Angeles 1992" at the Mark Taper Forum, who are all Southern California-based creatives, includes Efren Delgadillo Jr. (scenic design), Samantha C. Jones (costume design), Brandon Baruch (lighting design), Jeff Gardner (sound design), Tru (original music), Yee Eun Nam (projection design), and Stephen Buescher (movement). Casting is by Nicole Arbusto, CSA, and dramaturgy is by Dorinne Kondo, Marcos Nájera, and Lindsay Jenkins. Shawna Voragen is the production stage manager. Erin Nicole Washington is the dialect coach and Sharifa Johka is an EDI Consultant. It has been previously announced that Los Angeles-based director and NAACP Best Director winner Gregg T. Daniel will direct the new production of "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" at the Taper.

Originally commissioned by Center Theatre Group where the solo show made its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum in May 1993, "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992"'s sold-out run in Los Angeles was followed by many successful revisions of the play, with each inviting a new group of collaborators. Those include a production at The Public Theater followed by a Broadway run and two Tony nominations; a national tour mounted at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre; a film produced by Smith and others in partnership with PBS; and the most recent reconceptualized production for five actors at the Signature Theatre in New York.

Tickets for "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" are currently on sale and start at $35. They are available through CenterTheatreGroup.org, Audience Services at (213) 628-2772 or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Offices (at the Ahmanson Theatre) at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012. Performances run Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Center Theatre Group, one of the nation's preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles' leading nonprofit theatre company, which, under the leadership of Managing Director / CEO Meghan Pressman and Producing Director Douglas C. Baker, and in collaboration with the four Associate Artistic Directors, Lindsay Allbaugh, Tyrone Davis, Neel Keller, and Kelley Kirkpatrick, programs seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1,600 to 2,100-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation's leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics, and circumstance to serve Los Angeles.

Photo Credit: Javier Vasquez

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