Inishmore, Parade, Pippin, Vanya, et al. Set for Mark Taper Forum Season

The Center Theatre Group’s Mark Taper Forum, which reopens this month after a year-long renovation with Nicholas Martin’s production of John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves, has announced its 2009 season.

The first offering will be a co-production with Deaf West Theatre of the Stephen Schwartz-Roger O. Hirson musical Pippin (January 15-March 15), to be directed and choreographer by Jeff Calhoun. It will be followed by Octavio Solis’ Lydia (April 2-May 17), directed by Juliette Carillo, about a young caregiver who comes into the house of a Mexican-American family struggling with the aftermath of an accident.

Up next will be Anton Chekhov’s classic drama Uncle Vanya (May 28-July 12); Martin McDonagh’s award-winning black comedy The Lieutenant of Inishmore (July 23-September 6), to be directed by Tony Award nominee Wilson Milam; and the Donmar Warehouse’s critically acclaimed production of the Jason Robert Brown-Alfred Uhry-Harold Prince musical Parade (September 25-November 15), directed and choreographed by Tony winner Rob Ashford.

The season will conclude with Lisa Peterson’s production of Richard Montoya’s Palestine, New Mexico (December 3-January 24, 1010), which follows the fate of a female Army Captain back from Iraq who is determined to tell a Native American tribal chief the truth about the “friendly-fire” death of his son. The show marks the fifth production of Montoya’s group Culture Clash produced by the Center Theatre Group.

For tickets and information, call 213-972-4444 or visit www.CenterTheatreGroup.org.