Theatre News and Reviews

As Michael Ritchie shared his thoughts on what lies ahead for downtown’s 38-year-old Center Theatre Group, he appeared to be driven by a sense of childlike wonderment, tempered by mature wisdom gained in more than two decades of acclaimed professional accomplishments. He accepted the new post Jan. 1, following nine years as producer at the highly regarded Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. He replaces CTG’s former leader, Gordon Davidson, who is now titled founding artistic director and who will serve as consultant to the company for the next few years. Ritchie recently revealed his selections for the 2005–06 seasons at the Ahmanson Theatre and Mark Taper Forum, with news of the next season’s bill of fare at CTG’s third venue, the new Kirk Douglas Theatre, expected to arrive within two months.

“You know, it’s one thing to put it on paper and another to bring it all to the stage, but I’m always happy when people are pleased with the possibilities of what is planned,” he remarked with a note of cautious optimism. Ritchie exudes strong self-confidence but with a welcome touch of sincere humility that makes him easy to converse with. He’s wisely taking his time to gain a more concrete feel for the local theatre scene and the range of what can be done at the CTG theatres before narrowing the artistic sphere in which he will work. He’s big on “variety and theatricality” and said he wants the CTG stages to include works that are intellectually and emotionally stimulating, while remembering that works revolving around entertainment for its own sake can be a viable part of the mix, as long as they are given high-quality productions. He said his tastes are wide-ranging. The mix of dramas, musicals, and comedies for his first season bear that out.

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 6th, 2005 at 8:50 pm and is filed under Theatre. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.