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| The Music Center’s Center Theatre Group | |
|---|---|
| Name | Center Theatre Group |
| Type | Non-profit theatre company |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Artistic director | See Artistic Leadership and Organization |
| Venues | Ahmanson Theatre; Mark Taper Forum; Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (historic association) |
The Music Center’s Center Theatre Group is a major theatrical producing organization based in Los Angeles, California, presenting a mix of new plays, revivals, and musicals at downtown performing arts venues. Founded in the late 1960s, it has mounted world premieres, transferred works to Broadway and the West End, and collaborated with regional theatres, festivals, and film and television producers. The company has been associated with leading artists, institutions, and cultural initiatives across the United States and internationally.
Center Theatre Group was established in 1967 amid civic arts planning linked to the Los Angeles County Music Center and civic leaders involved with the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Mark Taper Forum, and the Ahmanson Theatre. Early decades featured collaborations with directors and playwrights active in the American theater scene, including associations with figures who worked at the Guthrie Theater, Public Theater, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Yale Repertory Theatre, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. During the 1970s and 1980s CTG presented works by playwrights connected to Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, New York Shakespeare Festival, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, while engaging casting and design talent from the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, and Los Angeles Philharmonic circles. In the 1990s and 2000s the organization developed co-productions with the Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center Theater, Sundance Institute, and international partners such as the National Theatre. Recent decades have seen transfers to Broadway and international tours involving collaborations with producers associated with Lincoln Center, Nederlander Organization, and Cameron Mackintosh.
Center Theatre Group primarily produces at the Ahmanson Theatre and the Mark Taper Forum, both located at the Los Angeles County Music Center complex near Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The Ahmanson Theatre has hosted large-scale musicals and plays with design teams from institutions like the Royal National Theatre, Metropolitan Opera, and the Shakespeare's Globe. The Mark Taper Forum has presented intimate productions with artists who have worked at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Circle in the Square Theatre, and the Old Vic. Technical collaborations have drawn crews with experience at Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Paris Opera, and touring companies associated with Broadway Across America.
Artistic direction and executive leadership at Center Theatre Group have included figures who previously worked with the Public Theater, Royal Shakespeare Company, Saturday Night Live producers, and regional institutions like La Jolla Playhouse and the Arena Stage. Staff and board membership have featured civic leaders linked to the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and philanthropic foundations similar to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Annenberg Foundation. Resident ensembles, guest directors, and dramaturgs have included alumni from Juilliard School, Yale School of Drama, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Production teams often hire designers and choreographers from collaborations with American Ballet Theatre, Martha Graham Company, and Broadway institutions such as Roundabout Theatre Company.
Center Theatre Group has premiered and produced works that later moved to Broadway, the West End, and international stages, including collaborations with playwrights and composers associated with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award, and the Laurence Olivier Awards. Productions have involved talent who would also work with Stephen Sondheim collaborators, Andrew Lloyd Webber partners, and directors linked to the National Theatre and Donmar Warehouse. The company has mounted new dramas and musicals by artists with credits at the Royal Court Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and Sundance Film Festival alumni who later adapted works for Netflix and Amazon Studios.
Center Theatre Group's education and engagement initiatives have partnered with local and national organizations such as the Los Angeles Unified School District, California State University, Los Angeles, and arts education programs similar to those at the Kennedy Center. Community partnerships have included collaborations with advocacy groups and service organizations that intersect with cultural programming at institutions like the Getty Center, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Hammer Museum. Internships and apprenticeship programs have placed emerging artists into pathways connected to Juilliard School, Yale School of Drama, and conservatories including the California Institute of the Arts.
Center Theatre Group productions and artists have received Tony Award nominations and wins following transfers to Broadway, as well as regional honors such as the Ovation Awards and recognition from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. The organization's influence is reflected in partnerships and pipelines to institutions like the Public Theater, Lincoln Center Theater, Royal National Theatre, and touring networks including Broadway Across America. Alumni have gone on to receive honors from the Pulitzer Prize, Obie Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and international awards like the Oliver Awards.
Category:Culture of Los Angeles Category:Theatre companies in California