Center Theatre Group Announces 2018-19 Season
(© Allison Stock)
Center Theatre Group has set the 2018-19 seasons at both the Mark Taper Forum and Kirk Douglas Theatre.
Lynn Nottage's Sweat will be the first production at the Mark Taper Forum, running August 29-October 7 in a production directed by Lisa Peterson. The play is described as telling the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. But when layoffs, promotions, and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against one another.
Next at the Mark Taper Forum, Luis Valdez will direct his Valley of the Heart, presented October 30-December 9 in association with El Teatro Campesino. In the work, Valdez sets his sights on a disturbing chapter in US history at the beginning of the Second World War.
From January 9, 2019-February 17, 2019, Dexter Bullard will direct Tracy Letts's Linda Vista at the Mark Taper Forum. The Steppenwolf Theatre Company production tells of Wheeler, a 50-year-old man who is floating, but a move from the cot in his ex-wife's garage to his own apartment opens up new possibilities for love, sex, and maybe a taste of redemption.
The fourth production at the Mark Taper Forum will be Lackawanna Blues, written, performed, and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Running March 5, 2019-April 21, 2019, Lackawanna Blues is described as "a magical, musical, and deeply personal work that is a reminiscence of Santiago-Hudson's 1950s childhood in a small town on the banks of Lake Erie.
James Bundy's production of Samuel Beckett's Happy Days will close out the Mark Taper Forum season from May 15, 2019-June 30, 2019, with Academy Award winner Dianne Wiest set to star as Winnie in the classic work.
The MCC Theater production of Jocelyn Bioh's School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play will kick off the 2018-2019 season at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre with a run from September 2-30. Directed by Tony winner Rebecca Taichman, the new play explores the similarities (and glaring differences) facing teenage girls across the globe.
The second production at the Kirk Douglas Theatre will be Quack by Eliza Clark. Directed by Neel Keller, the world premiere will play will run October 21-November 18. The play exposes the shaky foundations of the wellness industry, the fleeting nature of 21st-century fame, and the relationship between the powerful men who dole out advice.
The Kirk Douglas season will continue with the third Block Party: Celebrating Los Angeles Theatre. Presented over six weeks, March 7, 2019-April 28, 2019, Block Party will feature three productions from local 99-seat or smaller theaters.
Finally, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre will be From the Words and Writings of Dana H. by Lucas Hnath, running May 26, 2019-June 23, 2019. Adapted from interviews with Dana Higginbotham conducted by Steve Cosson and directed by Les Waters, the new work is a coproduction with the Goodman Theatre.
There will also be two Off Center Subscriber Bonus Options: Gob Squad's Creation (Pictures for Dorian), running October 18-21, and Joan Didion's The White Album, presented by UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance in association with Center Theatre Group from April 5-7, 2019.
