Bening, Molina, Redgrave, et al. Set for Ahmanson/Taper 2005-2006 Season

Annette Bening, Alfred Molina, Larry Bryggman, Lynn Redgrave, and Dame Edna will be part of the Mark Taper Forum/Ahmanson Theater’s 2005-2006 season.

Bening and Molina will play Madame Ranevskaya and Lopakhin in Sean Mathias’s production of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard at the Taper from February 2 through March 19, 2006. The Taper season will begin with the Atlantic Theater Company’s production of David Mamet’s Romance (September 29-November 13), starring Obie winner Larry Bryggman, followed by the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkan’s Lewis & Clark Reach the Euripides (November 30-January 22).

After The Cherry Orchard, the Taper will present Joshua Sobol’s drama iWitness, directed by Barry Edelstein (March 30-May 21); Alfred Uhry’s Without Walls, directed by Christopher Ashley (June 1-July 16); and Water Power, written by Richard Montoya and Culture Clash (July 27-September 17).

Redgrave, now starring on Broadway in The Constant Wife, will play Lady Bracknell in Sir Peter Hall’s production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest at the Ahmanson from January 17 through March 5. The Ahmanson season will begin with Nicholas Martin’s production of Sidney Kingsley’s classic drama Dead End (August 28-October 16), followed by the U.S. premiere of the new musical The Drowsy Chaperone, directed by 2005 Tony Award nominee Casey Nicholaw (November 8-December 24).

After Earnest, the Ahmanson will host a return engagement of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake (March 8-19); the Tony-nominated show Dame Edna: Back With a Vengeance (March 28-April 9); a production of the Robert Wilson-Tom Waits-William S. Burroughs musical The Black Rider (April 22-June 11); and a musical yet to be announced. For more information, phone 213-628-2772 or visit www.taperahmanson.com