The Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre
Opened in 1967, The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre (Ahmanson) features a state-of-the-art configuration with variable seating capacity that can accommodate a diverse selection of performances. The theatre was underwritten by philanthropist Howard F. Ahmanson Sr., the founder of H.F. Ahmanson & Co., a Los Angeles-based insurance and savings and loan company, and named for his second wife, Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson. The Ahmanson is home to a wide-ranging selection of theatrical and dance performances and is the site for Center Theatre Group presentations, including Pre-Broadway runs as well as the best of Broadway and the West End.
Originally faced on all four sides with off-white stone, the façade was altered in 1995 by Ellerbe Becket, the successor firm to Welton Becket & Associates, which designed the original Music Center campus. The theatre is joined with The Music Center’s Mark Taper Forum (Taper) by a 47-foot high colonnade that surrounds both structures and creates a visual balance with The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (Pavilion) across Jerry Moss Plaza. The main façade has a glass skin that extends the full 73 feet of the five-level structure, giving patrons the opportunity to view the Taper’s massive mural.
The 2,109-seat theater was designed for musical comedy and theatrical productions, ranging from the intimate to the spectacular. To create a warm, welcoming feeling for patrons, the Ahmanson’s auditorium is wider than it is deep. There are three levels of seating: Orchestra (988 seats), Mezzanine (606 seats including the boxes) and Balcony (515 seats including the boxes). Like the Pavilion, the first 13 rows of the Ahmanson are arranged in continental style with no front-to-rear aisles. Audience members reach the Mezzanine and Balcony from large promenades that overlook Jerry Moss Plaza.
Renovations in the early 1990s enhanced the theatre’s acoustics, improved sightlines and allowed for more flexible seating arrangements. In fact, the Ahmanson can be quickly transformed from a 2,109-seat theatre to a 1,200-seat venue. Updates included changes to the circulation of the auditorium and the addition of six boxes on each of the side walls. At the same time, the architects lowered the ceiling and covered it with new acoustical paneling. They moved the Balcony and Mezzanine closer to the stage, expanded backstage areas and installed mobile dividers in the Balcony to decrease the number of seats for shows that require a more intimate setting. In addition, the Ahmanson now has a three-story lobby. Patrons can view the sculpture, “Acrobat Freeway,” created by local artist Peter Shire, as they enter the building.
The Ahmanson’s original décor featured rich reds and pewter gray tones. Purples and golds were later introduced as part of the Ellerbe Becket renovations. The proscenium was widened in 2010, and its appearance and functionality enhanced with metal mesh curtains and a removable/storable proscenium header.
Featured at the Ahmanson Theatre
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Sat Feb 08 8:00 PM
Sun Mar 09 1:00 PM
Center Theatre Group Steven Sondheim's Old Friends
Ahmanson Theatre
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners B...Show More
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga. Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends comes to Broadway from London’s West End, where it sold out in a matter of hours, earned a bevy of five-star raves and was hailed by The Times as "unmissable musical theatre."
Center Theatre Group will present the North American premiere of Old Friends at the Ahmanson Theatre in advance of the Broadway premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club on March 25, 2025.
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Fri May 02 7:30 PM
Sun May 04 2:00 PM
A TMC Arts Program: Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center Grupo Corpo
Ahmanson Theatre
Founded in 1975 by brothers Artistic Director Paulo Pederneiras and choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras, the Brazilian dance company Grupo Corpo (meaning “Body Group” in Portuguese) is renowned for its unparalleled blend of popular Brazilian culture...Show More
Founded in 1975 by brothers Artistic Director Paulo Pederneiras and choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras, the Brazilian dance company Grupo Corpo (meaning “Body Group” in Portuguese) is renowned for its unparalleled blend of popular Brazilian culture, African rhythms and classical technique. The program opens with Pederneiras' 1992 work 21, a ballet divided into three movements that weaves rhythmic and timbral combinations around the number 21. Audiences will be captivated by the musical score’s unique sounds, emanating from composer Marco Antonio Guimarães’ unusual instrumental creations. For Gira, Pederneiras immersed himself in the history and practices of Brazil’s Afro-Brazilian religions, particularly Umbanda, transforming the rituals into a universal expression of humanity and emphasizing the trance-like turning and movement that characterize these ceremonies. “It is the sheer physical virtuosity of the company that is so impressive—the sinuous, athletic bodies seemingly inexhaustible.” —The Guardian, London
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Tue May 06 8:00 PM
Sun Jun 01 1:00 PM
Center Theatre Group Life of Pi
Ahmanson Theatre
Winner of three Tony Awards® and the Olivier Award for Best Play, Life of Pi is an unforgettable, epic tale of adventure and “an exhilarating evening of theater” (The Wall Street Journal).
Lolita Chakrabarti’s dazzling sta...Show More
Winner of three Tony Awards® and the Olivier Award for Best Play, Life of Pi is an unforgettable, epic tale of adventure and “an exhilarating evening of theater” (The Wall Street Journal).
Lolita Chakrabarti’s dazzling stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel (over 15 million copies sold) is a worldwide phenomenon and opened to critical acclaim on Broadway and the West End and is now captivating audiences around the globe.
With its larger-than-life journey of faith, hope and perseverance, Life of Pi speaks to every generation and “gives new life to Broadway” (The Today Show).
Told with jaw-dropping visuals, world class, innovative puppetry and exquisite stagecraft, the Broadway and West End sensation Life of Pi creates a visually breathtaking journey that will leave you filled with awe and joy.
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Tue Jun 17 8:00 PM
Sat Jul 12 8:00 PM
Center Theatre Group Parade
Ahmanson Theatre
Winner of the 2023 Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Musical, Parade has been proclaimed as “a work of art! As commanding as any musical revival to hit Broadway in years” (Deadline).
Leo and Lucille Frank are a newlywed Je...Show More
Winner of the 2023 Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Musical, Parade has been proclaimed as “a work of art! As commanding as any musical revival to hit Broadway in years” (Deadline).
Leo and Lucille Frank are a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in the old red hills of Georgia. When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion. Riveting and gloriously hopeful, Paradereminds us that to love, we must truly see one another.
Parade has received overwhelming acclaim since its debut. The New York Times said, “this revival, filled with deft flourishes by director Michael Arden, recalls an era of big casts, big stories, and big talent—a time when musicals actually felt like events.” Entertainment Weekly called Parade “the most gorgeous production on Broadway.” Time Out New Yorkstated that “Parade will echo for a long time to come. See it before the parade passes by.”
Parade is directed by Tony Award® winner Michael Arden, with book by two-time Tony Award® winner, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Academy Award® winner Alfred Uhry, music and lyrics by three-time Tony Award® winner Jason Robert Brown, and co-conceived by 21-time Tony Award®-winning legend Harold Prince.
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Thu Feb 13 8:00 PM
Sun Feb 16 2:00 PM
LA Phil Ravel & Brahms
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Wall Street Journal describes South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho as poised to take his place among the greats of the past “not only for his bulletproof technique, but also for his artistic voice [and] his sense of drama.” Cho joins th...Show More
The Wall Street Journal describes South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho as poised to take his place among the greats of the past “not only for his bulletproof technique, but also for his artistic voice [and] his sense of drama.” Cho joins the LA Phil for Ravel’s Concerto in G, one of the pianist’s favorite works, which he describes as a continuous dialog between piano and orchestra.
Grammy Award-winning conductor Paavo Järvi leads the LA Phil first in Bacewicz’ Concerto for String Orchestra, which combines approachable classical melodies with more modern harmonic ideas. Järvi closes the program with Brahms’ Piano Quartet arranged for orchestra. Schoenberg adored Brahms’ original but felt it was rarely performed well as chamber music, leading him to transform the piece into an orchestral version—given its world premiere by the LA Phil—that brings out Brahms’ shifting variations and colors.
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Wed Jan 29 8:00 PM
Sun Mar 09 6:30 PM
Center Theatre Group Fake It Until You Make It
Mark Taper Forum
A bold world premiere comedy from Los Angeles-based playwright, Larissa FastHorse, about being whoever you want to be, even when it’s not who you are. FastHorse is a critically acclaimed writer who focuses her keen sense of satire to examine Nativ...Show More
A bold world premiere comedy from Los Angeles-based playwright, Larissa FastHorse, about being whoever you want to be, even when it’s not who you are. FastHorse is a critically acclaimed writer who focuses her keen sense of satire to examine Native American perspectives on contemporary life and will be the first Native American writer to have a mainstage production on the Mark Taper Forum stage. A member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, and author of the Broadway comedy, The Thanksgiving Play, FastHorse’s new work shines a hilarious light on ‘shifters’ who exist in a world of self-determined identity. This thought-provoking comic play asks what happens when you don’t believe you are the race you want to be? Change it! Fake It Until You Make It takes an absurd look at what defines who we are, and the lengths some people will go through to change it.
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Sat Feb 08 8:00 PM
Sun Mar 09 1:00 PM
Center Theatre Group Steven Sondheim's Old Friends
Ahmanson Theatre
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners B...Show More
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga. Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends comes to Broadway from London’s West End, where it sold out in a matter of hours, earned a bevy of five-star raves and was hailed by The Times as "unmissable musical theatre."
Center Theatre Group will present the North American premiere of Old Friends at the Ahmanson Theatre in advance of the Broadway premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club on March 25, 2025.
Show Less -
Sat Feb 08 8:00 PM
Sun Mar 09 1:00 PM
Center Theatre Group Steven Sondheim's Old Friends
Ahmanson Theatre
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners B...Show More
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga. Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends comes to Broadway from London’s West End, where it sold out in a matter of hours, earned a bevy of five-star raves and was hailed by The Times as "unmissable musical theatre."
Center Theatre Group will present the North American premiere of Old Friends at the Ahmanson Theatre in advance of the Broadway premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club on March 25, 2025.
Show Less -
Wed Jan 29 8:00 PM
Sun Mar 09 6:30 PM
Center Theatre Group Fake It Until You Make It
Mark Taper Forum
A bold world premiere comedy from Los Angeles-based playwright, Larissa FastHorse, about being whoever you want to be, even when it’s not who you are. FastHorse is a critically acclaimed writer who focuses her keen sense of satire to examine Nativ...Show More
A bold world premiere comedy from Los Angeles-based playwright, Larissa FastHorse, about being whoever you want to be, even when it’s not who you are. FastHorse is a critically acclaimed writer who focuses her keen sense of satire to examine Native American perspectives on contemporary life and will be the first Native American writer to have a mainstage production on the Mark Taper Forum stage. A member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, and author of the Broadway comedy, The Thanksgiving Play, FastHorse’s new work shines a hilarious light on ‘shifters’ who exist in a world of self-determined identity. This thought-provoking comic play asks what happens when you don’t believe you are the race you want to be? Change it! Fake It Until You Make It takes an absurd look at what defines who we are, and the lengths some people will go through to change it.
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Sat Nov 23 1:00 PM
Sun Feb 23 1:00 PM
A TMC Arts Program: Digital Innovation Initiative The Music Center Presents: IndieCade in Residence
Jerry Moss Plaza
Discover the vibrant world of IndieCade in Residence on Jerry Moss Plaza! Explore award-winning indie games, engage with captivating interactive experiences and immerse yourself in the creativity of independent developers.
Discover the vibrant world of IndieCade in Residence on Jerry Moss Plaza! Explore award-winning indie games, engage with captivating interactive experiences and immerse yourself in the creativity of independent developers.
Show LessFree
Learn MoreFree
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Sun Feb 16 7:30 PM
LA Phil Hector Olivera
Walt Disney Concert Hall
A highly praised performer on many of the world’s most prestigious stages, Argentinian organist Hector Olivera exercises his remarkable finger and footwork with the 6,134 pipes of “Hurricane Mama.”
A highly praised performer on many of the world’s most prestigious stages, Argentinian organist Hector Olivera exercises his remarkable finger and footwork with the 6,134 pipes of “Hurricane Mama.”
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Sat Nov 23 1:00 PM
Sun Feb 23 1:00 PM
A TMC Arts Program: Digital Innovation Initiative The Music Center Presents: IndieCade in Residence
Jerry Moss Plaza
Discover the vibrant world of IndieCade in Residence on Jerry Moss Plaza! Explore award-winning indie games, engage with captivating interactive experiences and immerse yourself in the creativity of independent developers.
Discover the vibrant world of IndieCade in Residence on Jerry Moss Plaza! Explore award-winning indie games, engage with captivating interactive experiences and immerse yourself in the creativity of independent developers.
Show LessFree
Learn MoreFree
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Thu Feb 20 8:00 PM
Sun Feb 23 2:00 PM
LA Phil Gustavo Conducts Mahler’s Journey
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Mahler has been a specialty and obsession throughout Gustavo Dudamel’s career, and in the opening weekend of the Mahler Grooves Festival, Dudamel curates and conducts a selection of the composer’s music in Mahler’s Journey. He opens with two excer...Show More
Mahler has been a specialty and obsession throughout Gustavo Dudamel’s career, and in the opening weekend of the Mahler Grooves Festival, Dudamel curates and conducts a selection of the composer’s music in Mahler’s Journey. He opens with two excerpts from Mahler’s First and Tenth symphonies that frame the composer’s life. Blumine was the second movement from Symphony No. 1, which was removed after a few performances but rediscovered in the 1960s and appreciated for its rapturous trumpet and melancholy oboe. The Adagio from Symphony No. 10 similarly found a new life and was published after Mahler’s death. The unfinished sketches were written during personal crisis and brim with anguish and pain that is expressed through harmonic language that straddles the Romantic era and the 20th century.
Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn) is based on a collection of German poetry of the same name that was influential to Mahler and other Romantics. Two dozen of the poems are set to music that with the help of baritone Simon Keenlyside explores stories of love, loss, and the supernatural.
Concerts in the Thursday 2 subscription series are generously supported by the Otis Booth Foundation.
Show Less -
Sat Feb 08 8:00 PM
Sun Mar 09 1:00 PM
Center Theatre Group Steven Sondheim's Old Friends
Ahmanson Theatre
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners B...Show More
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga. Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends comes to Broadway from London’s West End, where it sold out in a matter of hours, earned a bevy of five-star raves and was hailed by The Times as "unmissable musical theatre."
Center Theatre Group will present the North American premiere of Old Friends at the Ahmanson Theatre in advance of the Broadway premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club on March 25, 2025.
Show Less -
Sat Feb 08 8:00 PM
Sun Mar 09 1:00 PM
Center Theatre Group Steven Sondheim's Old Friends
Ahmanson Theatre
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners B...Show More
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga. Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends comes to Broadway from London’s West End, where it sold out in a matter of hours, earned a bevy of five-star raves and was hailed by The Times as "unmissable musical theatre."
Center Theatre Group will present the North American premiere of Old Friends at the Ahmanson Theatre in advance of the Broadway premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club on March 25, 2025.
Show Less -
Thu Feb 20 8:00 PM
Sun Feb 23 2:00 PM
LA Phil Gustavo Conducts Mahler’s Journey
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Mahler has been a specialty and obsession throughout Gustavo Dudamel’s career, and in the opening weekend of the Mahler Grooves Festival, Dudamel curates and conducts a selection of the composer’s music in Mahler’s Journey. He opens with two excer...Show More
Mahler has been a specialty and obsession throughout Gustavo Dudamel’s career, and in the opening weekend of the Mahler Grooves Festival, Dudamel curates and conducts a selection of the composer’s music in Mahler’s Journey. He opens with two excerpts from Mahler’s First and Tenth symphonies that frame the composer’s life. Blumine was the second movement from Symphony No. 1, which was removed after a few performances but rediscovered in the 1960s and appreciated for its rapturous trumpet and melancholy oboe. The Adagio from Symphony No. 10 similarly found a new life and was published after Mahler’s death. The unfinished sketches were written during personal crisis and brim with anguish and pain that is expressed through harmonic language that straddles the Romantic era and the 20th century.
Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn) is based on a collection of German poetry of the same name that was influential to Mahler and other Romantics. Two dozen of the poems are set to music that with the help of baritone Simon Keenlyside explores stories of love, loss, and the supernatural.
Concerts in the Thursday 2 subscription series are generously supported by the Otis Booth Foundation.
Show Less -
Wed Jan 29 8:00 PM
Sun Mar 09 6:30 PM
Center Theatre Group Fake It Until You Make It
Mark Taper Forum
A bold world premiere comedy from Los Angeles-based playwright, Larissa FastHorse, about being whoever you want to be, even when it’s not who you are. FastHorse is a critically acclaimed writer who focuses her keen sense of satire to examine Nativ...Show More
A bold world premiere comedy from Los Angeles-based playwright, Larissa FastHorse, about being whoever you want to be, even when it’s not who you are. FastHorse is a critically acclaimed writer who focuses her keen sense of satire to examine Native American perspectives on contemporary life and will be the first Native American writer to have a mainstage production on the Mark Taper Forum stage. A member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, and author of the Broadway comedy, The Thanksgiving Play, FastHorse’s new work shines a hilarious light on ‘shifters’ who exist in a world of self-determined identity. This thought-provoking comic play asks what happens when you don’t believe you are the race you want to be? Change it! Fake It Until You Make It takes an absurd look at what defines who we are, and the lengths some people will go through to change it.
Show Less -
Sat Nov 23 1:00 PM
Sun Feb 23 1:00 PM
A TMC Arts Program: Digital Innovation Initiative The Music Center Presents: IndieCade in Residence
Jerry Moss Plaza
Discover the vibrant world of IndieCade in Residence on Jerry Moss Plaza! Explore award-winning indie games, engage with captivating interactive experiences and immerse yourself in the creativity of independent developers.
Discover the vibrant world of IndieCade in Residence on Jerry Moss Plaza! Explore award-winning indie games, engage with captivating interactive experiences and immerse yourself in the creativity of independent developers.
Show LessFree
Learn MoreFree
-
Wed Jan 29 8:00 PM
Sun Mar 09 6:30 PM
Center Theatre Group Fake It Until You Make It
Mark Taper Forum
A bold world premiere comedy from Los Angeles-based playwright, Larissa FastHorse, about being whoever you want to be, even when it’s not who you are. FastHorse is a critically acclaimed writer who focuses her keen sense of satire to examine Nativ...Show More
A bold world premiere comedy from Los Angeles-based playwright, Larissa FastHorse, about being whoever you want to be, even when it’s not who you are. FastHorse is a critically acclaimed writer who focuses her keen sense of satire to examine Native American perspectives on contemporary life and will be the first Native American writer to have a mainstage production on the Mark Taper Forum stage. A member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, and author of the Broadway comedy, The Thanksgiving Play, FastHorse’s new work shines a hilarious light on ‘shifters’ who exist in a world of self-determined identity. This thought-provoking comic play asks what happens when you don’t believe you are the race you want to be? Change it! Fake It Until You Make It takes an absurd look at what defines who we are, and the lengths some people will go through to change it.
Show Less -
Sat Feb 08 8:00 PM
Sun Mar 09 1:00 PM
Center Theatre Group Steven Sondheim's Old Friends
Ahmanson Theatre
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners B...Show More
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga. Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends comes to Broadway from London’s West End, where it sold out in a matter of hours, earned a bevy of five-star raves and was hailed by The Times as "unmissable musical theatre."
Center Theatre Group will present the North American premiere of Old Friends at the Ahmanson Theatre in advance of the Broadway premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club on March 25, 2025.
Show Less -
Sat Feb 08 8:00 PM
Sun Mar 09 1:00 PM
Center Theatre Group Steven Sondheim's Old Friends
Ahmanson Theatre
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners B...Show More
Celebrate one of Broadway’s true icons with this legendary theatrical event! Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is an irresistible celebration to the master himself, with a company headlined by none other than Tony Award® winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga. Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends comes to Broadway from London’s West End, where it sold out in a matter of hours, earned a bevy of five-star raves and was hailed by The Times as "unmissable musical theatre."
Center Theatre Group will present the North American premiere of Old Friends at the Ahmanson Theatre in advance of the Broadway premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club on March 25, 2025.
Show Less

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