From Oklahoma! to right here in Los Angeles to even

the stars above, we are excited for these stories to transport and transform you.

As we close our 21/22 Season and start our 22/23 Season, we are curating relevant

masterpieces and nurturing the artists of the future.

At the Ahmanson Theatre, Daniel Fish’s Oklahoma! is a classic piece made new.

This production reimagines the over century-old plot through a 21st-century lens—

all without changing a word. By recontextualizing the piece with the help of a cast

that captures the breadth and diversity of the current American cultural landscape

and creatives from a variety of backgrounds of film, opera, and modern dance—this

is unlike any production of Oklahoma! you may have ever seen before. A far cry from

the golden and romantic visions of the American heartland the show is known for,

Fish’s interpretation brings the dark clouds on the original musical’s horizon to the

forefront, along with additional grit and raunch. Audiences will be left stunned by

a different kind of brilliance by the end of this Tony Award.-winning production.

Our first production of the new season at the Mark Taper Forum is also a modernized

piece. Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe is a

reimagining of her 1985 play, which featured a Tony Award-winning performance

from Lily Tomlin. Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong now takes on the play’s plethora

of roles, capturing the many personalities and perspectives in American culture with

wit, humor, and depth. Wagner’s words about the human condition still resonate, even

as times and conversations have changed, giving new meaning to our lives as we float

on one planet through the great expanse of the cosmos.

At the Kirk Douglas Theatre, we are showcasing new and emerging voices with our

L.A. Writers’ Workshop Festival, two weekends of new works from our cohort of ten

women-identifying playwrights. Writing about everything from female magicians to

artist and activist Nina Simone to the harrowing experiences of missing Indigenous

and Native American women, these playwrights bring fresh and bold perspectives

to the Douglas stage after a year of development. This is the first time all playwrights

from one cohort will present their work on the Douglas stage, so this historic festival

is not to be missed.

We are so proud to present this trio of groundbreaking works in Los Angeles this month

at our theatres.

MEGHAN PRESSMAN
Managing Director/CEO
Center Theatre Group