Theater News

New Musical About Barack Obama Announced at Center Theatre Group

The musical, 44, is part of Center Theatre Group’s CTG:FWD programming.

Linda Buchwald

Linda Buchwald

| Los Angeles |

January 23, 2025

Official portrait of Barack Obama
Presidential portrait of Barack Obama
(Wikimedia Commons)

Center Theatre Group (CTG) announced spring 2025 programming for CTG:FWD, featuring theatrical and musical programs.

The new musical comedy 44, which began with a sold-out engagement at LA’s Bourbon Room, will be performed at the Kirk Douglas Theatre February 23-March 23, with an official opening on February 27.

Written, composed, and directed by Eli Bauman and produced by Monica Saunders-Weinberg (Hana Black Productions) and Bauman, 44 takes a satirical look at the rise and presidency of Barack Obama, as well as the eccentric political characters he met along the way.

Also at the Kirk Douglas Theatre will be a return engagement of TheaterWorksUSA’s El Otro Oz, running March 29-April 13. This salsa, merengue, and Mexican folk-infused bilingual musical by Mando Alvarado, Tommy Newman, and Jaime Lozano is inspired by The Wizard of Oz.

Two new concerts from MUSE/IQUE will be performed at the Mark Taper Forum. MUSE/IQUE is a member-supported, nonprofit performing arts organization making radically engaging live music experiences accessible for all. From March 21-23, MUSE/IQUE pays tribute to Ray Charles with the story of how his diverse musical genres, influences, and collaborators all culminated in his landmark recording of “America the Beautiful” in 1972. From August 8-10, MUSE/IQUE explores the music scene where salsa, boogaloo, mambo, and more converged in New York in the neighborhood known as “Spanish Harlem” during the postwar World War II era.

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