Taper season has a British air

The Mark Taper Forum’s 2007-08 season has a British accent: The mix of four productions includes two British plays, Alan Bennett’s “The History Boys” and Peter Whelan’s “The School of Night.” And one of the two American works -- the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s darkly comic musical “Sweeney Todd” -- is directed and designed by Englishman John Doyle.

Not an import is American playwright John Guare’s “The House of Blue Leaves,” also on the schedule.

“Someone said to me: ‘This is a very British season,’ and I thought, ‘Yeah, I guess,’ but I hadn’t made that particular decision,” said Center Theatre Group artistic director Michael Ritchie. “Ultimately, I just looked for a range of plays and theatrical experiences. I’ve never looked for a theme.”

Doyle, who won a Tony Award for his staging, first presented his “Sweeney Todd” at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, outside of London, and was subsequently transferred to London’s West End. Then, with a cast of American actors, it opened on Broadway in 2005. In Doyle’s stripped-down, single-set realization, cast members perform both as actors and orchestra members.

L.A. audiences saw Doyle’s work this year when he directed “The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny” for the Los Angeles Opera at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

To accommodate the previously announced $30-million renovation of the 40-year-old, 750-seat Taper venue that begins in July and continues through mid-2008, the two first productions, “History Boys” (Nov. 14 to Dec. 9) and “Sweeney Todd” (March 12 to April 6) will be presented at the 2,000-seat Ahmanson Theatre. “The House of Blue Leaves” (Sept. 14-Oct. 19, 2008) and “The School of Night” (Nov. 9-Dec. 21, 2008) will play in the renovated Taper.

Ritchie says he believes the larger theater will serve “History Boys” and “Sweeney Todd” as well as the Taper would have. “I’ve really found to my great pleasure, watching the plays at the Ahmanson this past year, including ‘Twelve Angry Men’ and ‘Doubt,’ how well they resonated,” Ritchie said. “When plays first come in, I always go and sit in what is arguably the worst seat in the house, the last row in the balcony in the far corner, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well they worked.”

Tickets for the Taper’s new season are currently available by subscription only.

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