LOS ANGELES: Center Theatre Group has announced the lineup for the 2017-18 season at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, its 317-seat space dedicated t o new plays.
“This is a diverse season of productions at the Douglas,” said CTG artistic director Michael Ritchie in a statement. “But one thing they all have in common is that they resonate with the arts and culture of Los Angeles.”
The season will open with the world premiere of Big Night by Paul Rudnick (Sept. 3-Oct. 1). The play takes place on Oscar night, when a nominated actor is about to have a life-changing evening. Walter Bobbie will direct.
Then CTG will present the West Coast premiere of Spamilton, written and directed by Gerard Alessandrini (Nov. 5-Dec. 31). The show is a musical parody of Hamilton. For the CTG engagement, Alessandrini is planning on expanding the show and adding more timely references.
Next up will be Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue by Quiara Alegría Hudes (Jan. 27-Feb. 25, 2018). The play is about Iraq war veteran Elliot, who comes back home after receiving a Purple Heart. The play is the first of Hudes’s “Elliot Trilogy,”; around the same time CTG will also be presenting the second Elliot play, the Pulitzer-winning Water by the Spoonful, at its Mark Taper Forum (Jan. 31-March 11, 2018).
In the spring, CTG will also present the second iteration of “Block Party: Celebrating Los Angeles Theatre,” (March 29-May 20, 2018). The event will feature three productions that originally ran at small L.A. theatres. CTG will begin accepting submissions for the 2018 Block Party on April 28, and the submission window will close on May 30.
Founded in 1967, Center Theatre Group programs new works at its three theatres: Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Kirk Douglas Theatre.
