Christopher Plummer’s A Word or Two set to open in Los Angeles

January 22, 2014 … The Stratford Festival’s production of Christopher Plummer’s A Word or Two opens at the Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles today.

The production, directed by Des McAnuff, was originally presented in 2012 as a special event to mark the Stratford Festival’s 60^th season.

“I am thrilled to have the Stratford Festival represented in Los Angeles by Christopher Plummer in A Word or Two,” says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. “He worked long and hard assembling this wonderful script and, together with Des, he has created a terrific evening in the theatre. We thank our friends and colleagues at CTG for their interest in this production.”

“I had the chance to see the show over the weekend in Los Angeles,” says Executive Director Anita Gaffney, “and audiences at the Ahmanson Theatre are in for a real treat. Christopher Plummer dazzles with his wit and story-telling mastery. The show played to sold-out houses in Stratford and the creative team that mounted that production has been reassembled for this special engagement.”

A Word or Two runs in Los Angeles until February 9.

The Stratford Festival is garnering great interest in productions developed on its stages. Hirsch, by Alon Nashman andPaul Thompson, developed through the Festival’s new play department and originally produced at the Studio Theatre in 2012, was presented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre last year, and will open at Vancouver’s Chutzpah Festival next month. The Best Brothers, by Daniel MacIvor, another 2012 production developed by the Festival, was presented at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre and Winnipeg’s Prairie Theatre Exchange in 2013. The Little Years, commissioned by the Festival from John Mighton, based on an earlier script, was originally produced in 2011 and was re-mounted at Tarragon Theatre in 2012, winning Dora Awards for Best Director for Chris Abraham and Best Actress for Irene Poole. The 2009 production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum moved on to a Toronto run later that year with Mirvish Productions.

The 2009 production of The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by and starring Brian Bedford, moved to Broadway in 2011, winning a Tony Award for Best Costume Design for Desmond Heeley and Tony nominations for Best Revival of a Play and Best Actor for Brian Bedford. The 2011 production of Jesus Christ Superstar moved to Broadway in 2012, winning Tony nominations for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for Josh Young.

The latest Festival commission, an English version of Michel Marc Bouchard’s Christina, The Girl King, translated byLinda Gaboriau, will open this summer at the Studio Theatre. Work continues on a number of other commissions, which the Festival hopes will soon come to fruition in Stratford and beyond.

The 2014 Stratford Festival season runs from April 21 to October 12, featuring King Lear; Crazy for You; two versions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Beaux’ Stratagem; Man of La Mancha; Alice Through the Looking-Glass; Hay Fever;King John; Mother Courage and Her Children; Antony and Cleopatra; Christina, The Girl King; and more than 150 events in The Forum. Tickets are available through the box office at 1.800.567.1600 or online at www.stratfordfestival.ca.StarBuzzOnline.com