Ahmanson announces their worst season ever — Page 2

Sorry Phantom, but "A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder" premiered in San Diego. I believe that's on the West Coast.

I'm surprised they didn't try to snatch Nice Work If You Can Get It. It's only playing in Costa Mesa in terms of Southern California. Each season is a mixed bag. For example, we got stagings of Follies, Scottsboro Boys as well as major tours like Anything Goes and Porgy and Bess. However, they also have been getting really old shows such as Bring It On or We Will Rock You. Every once in a while there's play, such as Seminar, Sunshine Boys, and upcoming The Last Confession. I love when they throw in something unique, like Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme from New York or the Matthew Bourne shows

I think this season could have been better, compared to a very strong Pantages season. I'm very excited for Cinderella and Matilda, but I agree that Dame Edna and Heart of Home are more of "season extras" than full shows. I'm personally not a fan of Trip To Bountiful, but it's a great choice, typical for the Ahmanson.

It's interesting how musical-driven the Ahmanson has become, especially since it's first 15-20 years it was exclusively a house for plays. (The first musical there was "Into The Woods.")

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"It's interesting how musical-driven the Ahmanson has become, especially since it's first 15-20 years it was exclusively a house for plays. (The first musical there was "Into The Woods.")"

Most musical tours used to play at the Shubert in Century City but that theater was demolished twelve years ago when construction began on the new CAA building. I was actually surprised when CTG got THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA into the Ahmanson for a 4-year run (which paid for the expensive renovations to the Ahmanson) especially since PHANTOM was playing at a Shubert house in New York.

Updated On: 3/9/14 at 01:48 AM

I meant "odd." Err, at least odd in the sense that they don't seem like shows that fit the Ahmanson stylistically.

I miss the Shubert Theatre. I saw Mamma Mia there in elementary school, one of its last shows.

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I've seen many shows at the Ahmanson. Picnic, Into the Woods, Phantom of the Opera, Carousel, Doubt, Scarlet Pimpernel, Miss Saigon, the pre-Broadway tryouts of Drowsy Chaperone and Curtains ...

It's a great place to see theatre, plays or musicals. But it's not the only game in town and never has been. I'm glad there are many choices in L.A. Far more than people realize, I think.

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Updated On: 3/9/14 at 09:54 AM

Cheers for the reply.

I have been to the Ahmanson once for South Pacific, which isn't bad since I live the other side of the world and managed to score a couple of tickets quite easily, so why do people bother about subscriptions and do what people do in New York and just buy a tickets to what they want to see and not tie yourself into subscription?

Reference to Mary Poppins or could it be that Cameron Mackintosh has a strong relationship with CTG?

No worse than any other regional theater that produces any piece of crap with a Broadway stamp. Regionals have become a joke and Broadway a wasteland. Movies look better than ever. And even most of them stink.

As I sit here looking at my subscription renewal packet from the Ahmanson, I wish next season's selection would have been better. I think "Cinderella", "Matilda" and "Bountiful" are strong choices - but as Brave Sir Robin2 said - "Dame Edna" and "Riverdance" are the kinds of shows that have been add on options in the past. Riverdance and similar performance shows are included in many subscription seasons around the county, but the Ahmanson has not included them among their primary subscriptions in the past as I can recall.

I was hoping they would bring in "Glass Menagerie" (though that would work at the Taper too). Or I wish they would have chosen a try-out or co-production like they did with "Drowsy Chaperone", "Curtains" and "Minskys", "Bring It On" and "Sunshine Boys". But LA seems less and less of a try-out city these days. We're lucky that shows still try out at La Jolla Playhouse where I am looking forward to "Chasing the Song" and "Hunchback" and The Old Globe where I saw "Gentleman's Guide" and where I'm excited to see the Fiasco "Into The Woods".

Unless you're involved with CTG, we don't know what goes into choosing a season. I'm sure there were all kinds of productions they'd have wanted to do, but it's a complex puzzle of available shows, prospective new shows, co-production options, talent and finances. I'm grateful for many of the shows CTG has brought in - "Follies", "Sleeping Beauty" and "Vanya" being the most recent stand outs. Looking at the 2014-2015 seasons in many cities around the country we still have the choice of the major shows between the Ahmanson, Pantages and Segerstrom in Orange County. So I'm going to bite the bullet and renew my Ahmanson subscription to keep my great front center orchestra seats with hopes that 2015-2016 brings a stronger selection of shows.

Updated On: 3/9/14 at 04:20 PM

I occasionally subscribe, but couldn't find a must see show in their lineup. The most irritating trend is that they keep throwing plays that should play the Taper into the Ahmanson -- and ruining thousands of people's experience of the show as a consequence.