Stephanie Beatriz, Rodney Gardiner Lead AMERICAN NIGHT At CTG 3/11-4/1

The cast has been set for the new work, "American Night: The Ballad of Juan José," written by Richard Montoya, developed by Culture Clash and Jo Bonney and directed by Bonney.

"American Night," a co-production with La Jolla Playhouse, begins performances at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre, March 9 after closing in La Jolla in late February. The show continues at the Douglas through April 1, 2012. Opening night is March 11.

The entire cast from La Jolla Playhouse will continue on to the Kirk Douglas Theatre. The cast includes (in alphabetical order) Stephanie Beatriz, Rodney Gardiner, David Kelly, Terri McMahon, René Millán, Richard Montoya, Kimberly Scott, Herbert Siguenza and Daisuke Tsuji.

The choreography is by Ken Roht, scenic design by Neil Patel, costume design by ESosa, lighting design by David Weiner, sound design by Darron L West, projection design by Shawn Sagady. The production stage manager is Randall K. Lum.

"American Night" tells the story of Juan José, a resident alien on the night before his U.S. citizenship test. As Juan crams for his exam he finds himself transported through history into some of the chapters left out of the history books. Filtered through Culture Clash's unique satirical sensibility, the American Dream morphs into an exhaustion-fueled flight of fantasy through the darker nooks and crannies of Juan José's chosen homeland.

"American Night" premiered in June 2010 at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where it was the inaugural production in "American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle," the OSF's new decade-long series of original plays dealing with "moments of change" in U.S. history.

Tickets for "American Night" are available online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, by calling (213) 628-2772, in person at the Center Theatre Group box office at the Ahmanson Theatre or two hours prior to performances at the Kirk Douglas Theatre box office. The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located at 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232.