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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Wed Jun 29 8:00 PM
Sun Jul 31 6:30 PM
Center Theatre Group Dear Evan Hansen
Ahmanson Theatre
A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to finally fit in. Dear Evan Hansen is the deep...Show More
A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to finally fit in. Dear Evan Hansen is the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it.
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Tue Aug 09 8:00 PM
Sun Sep 11 1:00 PM
Center Theatre Group The Prom
Ahmanson Theatre
Everyone’s invited to the joyous Broadway hit that New York magazine calls “smart and big-hearted” and The New York Times declares “makes you believe in musical comedy again!” The Prom is a new musical comedy about big B...Show More
Everyone’s invited to the joyous Broadway hit that New York magazine calls “smart and big-hearted” and The New York Times declares “makes you believe in musical comedy again!” The Prom is a new musical comedy about big Broadway stars on a mission to change the world, and the love they discover that unites them all.
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Tue Sep 13 8:00 PM
Sun Oct 16 1:00 PM
Center Theatre Group Oklahoma!
Ahmanson Theatre
“How is it that the coolest new show on Broadway is a 1943 musical?” says The New York Times. This is Oklahoma! as you’ve never seen or heard it before—reimagined for the 21st century, and now the ...Show More
“How is it that the coolest new show on Broadway is a 1943 musical?” says The New York Times. This is Oklahoma! as you’ve never seen or heard it before—reimagined for the 21st century, and now the Tony Award® Winner for Best Revival of a Musical. Funny and sexy, dark and jolting, “this production shocked me and moved me. This is the Oklahoma! that was there all along.” raves New York Magazine. Direct from an acclaimed run on Broadway, Oklahoma! “lets us experience Rodgers andHammerstein’sgreatness anew.” (The New Yorker).
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Fri Jun 03 7:00 PM
Fri Sep 02 7:00 PM
A TMC Arts Program The Music Center's Dance DTLA
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
The Music Center's Dance DTLA returns for 11 nights on Jerry Moss Plaza! Enjoy a free dance lesson led by L.A.'s top dance instructors, and dance the night away with us all summer long!
The Music Center's Dance DTLA returns for 11 nights on Jerry Moss Plaza! Enjoy a free dance lesson led by L.A.'s top dance instructors, and dance the night away with us all summer long!
Show LessFree
Learn MoreFree
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Wed Jun 01 12:00 PM
Sun Jul 03 12:00 PM
Center Theatre Group King James
Mark Taper Forum
In a town that was searching for someone to look up to, no figure loomed as large as Lebron James. Playwright Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) chronicles the friendship of two Clevelanders as they bond over the rise of the g...Show More
In a town that was searching for someone to look up to, no figure loomed as large as Lebron James. Playwright Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) chronicles the friendship of two Clevelanders as they bond over the rise of the greatest player in Cavaliers’ history. This new play from the Pulitzer Prize-short lister is hailed as “wonderfully daring, imaginative, and compassionate” (The New York Times).
Show Less
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Fri Jun 03 7:00 PM
Fri Sep 02 7:00 PM
A TMC Arts Program The Music Center's Dance DTLA
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
The Music Center's Dance DTLA returns for 11 nights on Jerry Moss Plaza! Enjoy a free dance lesson led by L.A.'s top dance instructors, and dance the night away with us all summer long!
The Music Center's Dance DTLA returns for 11 nights on Jerry Moss Plaza! Enjoy a free dance lesson led by L.A.'s top dance instructors, and dance the night away with us all summer long!
Show LessFree
Learn MoreFree
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Wed Jun 01 12:00 PM
Sun Jul 03 12:00 PM
Center Theatre Group King James
Mark Taper Forum
In a town that was searching for someone to look up to, no figure loomed as large as Lebron James. Playwright Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) chronicles the friendship of two Clevelanders as they bond over the rise of the g...Show More
In a town that was searching for someone to look up to, no figure loomed as large as Lebron James. Playwright Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) chronicles the friendship of two Clevelanders as they bond over the rise of the greatest player in Cavaliers’ history. This new play from the Pulitzer Prize-short lister is hailed as “wonderfully daring, imaginative, and compassionate” (The New York Times).
Show Less -
Wed Jun 29 8:00 PM
Sun Jul 31 6:30 PM
Center Theatre Group Dear Evan Hansen
Ahmanson Theatre
A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to finally fit in. Dear Evan Hansen is the deep...Show More
A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to finally fit in. Dear Evan Hansen is the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it.
Show Less

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