Media Alert
February 2, 2015
Contact: Jessica Wolf 310.825.7789
CAP UCLA Presents Gabriel Kahane’s ‘The Ambassador’
an Exploration of Los Angeles through Song
Two performances Feb. 27-28 at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse
Free public programs explore themes of Los Angeles as artistic muse
Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA presents the Los Angeles premiere of
songwriter Gabriel Kahane’s theatrical stage work “The Ambassador” Thurs-Fri Feb. 27-
28 at Freud Playhouse on the UCLA campus. Tickets ($19-$39) are available now at
cap.ucla.edu, Ticketmaster or the UCLA Central Ticket Office.
In “The Ambassador,” Kahane draws inspiration from a multitude of sources to tell
intimate, human stories set against the backdrop of Los Angeles architecture and
popular culture. From “Die Hard” to the architecture of Richard Neutra and R.M.
Schindler, from “Blade Runner” to the fiction of James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler,
and from fires, riots, and earthquakes to the many Americans who have looked to
Southern California as a panacea, “The Ambassador” exposes the underbelly of LA
through the lens of a dozen street addresses.
Directed by John Tiffany (“Once,” “Black Watch,” “The Glass Menagerie”) and co-
commissioned by CAP UCLA, “The Ambassador” features Kahane (vocals, guitar,
piano, Wurlitzer), Rob Moose (electric guitars), Casey Foubert (bass, electric guitars), Ted
Poor (drums), Alex Sopp (vocals, keyboards, flutes), as well as string players Laura
Lutzke, Nathan Schram, and Andrea Lee. The work is designed by Christine Jones
(“Spring Awakening,” “American Idiot”) with lighting by Jane Cox, model design by
Brett Banakis and projections by Josh Higgason.
In keeping with Kahane’s thoughtful exploration of Los Angeles as an artistic and literary
muse, CAP UCLA also presents a series of Art in Action programs designed to deepen
the audience’s connection to the work, the Center and the artist, beginning with “Los
Angeles Sings Itself,” a special performance/discussion event hosted in collaboration
with the History Department at UCLA on Tues Feb. 24 from 4-7 p.m. in the Royce Hall
rehearsal room. Free and open to the public.
Following a brief overview of his methods as a research-based songwriter Kahane will
engage in a dialogue with UCLA History faculty member Brenda Stevenson in response
to his song "Empire Liquor Mart (9127 S. Figueroa St.)", an account of the 1991 shooting
death of Latasha Harlins, which was inspired in part by Stevenson's book The Contested
Murder of Latasha Harlins. The two will explore the boundaries between artistic and
academic scholarship, in an effort to dismantle assumptions about the domain of
research.
Additional “Dig Deeper” activities before and after the performances in the
Macgowan Hall courtyard explore themes related to Kahane’s sonic treatise on the
City of Angels. Prior to both performances CAP UCLA will present “The Nature of L.A”
short-film screenings and interactive installations that invite audiences to ponder shared
experiences of life in L.A. Following the Feb. 28 performance of The Ambassador David
Kipen of iconic east side book store Libros Schmibros will host “Ten Million Aphorists in
Search of a City,” a lively discussion of quotations about Los Angeles -- which ones get
us right, which ones get us wrong and, perhaps most importantly, which ones deserve
more attention.
Kahane will also visit a class of UCLA students from multiple majors to discuss his creative
process. He will also present selections from “The Ambassador” in a Feb. 27 matinee for
local high school students, presented by CAP UCLA’s K-12 education outreach program
Design for Sharing.
The Center’s presentation of “The Ambassador” is supported in part by the Kevin Jeske
Young Artist Fund, Henry Mancini Tribute Fund and National Endowment for the Arts.
Additional support provided by an Anonymous donor.
“The Ambassador” was commissioned by BAM for the 2014 Next Wave Festival, Center
for the Art of Performance at UCLA, and the Laguna Beach Music Festival.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
With the release of his major label debut, “The Ambassador” (Sony Music Masterworks,
June 3), Gabriel Kahane turns his gaze toward his birthplace with his most focused effort
to date.
The album follows Kahane’s critically acclaimed “Where are the Arms” (2011), hailed by
The New York Times for its “extravagant poise and emotional intelligence.” As a
composer of concert works, Kahane has been commissioned by Carnegie Hall, the Los
Angeles Philharmonic, Kronos Quartet, American Composers Orchestra, and Orpheus
Chamber Orchestra—with whom he toured his WPA-inspired “Gabriel’s Guide to the 48
States” in 2013. Equally in demand as a theater composer, his musical “February
House,” with playwright Seth Bockley, was produced in 2012 at the Long Wharf Theater
in New Haven and at the Public Theater in New York City. A fellow of the MacDowell
Colony and Yaddo, Kahane has performed or recorded with artists including Sufjan
Stevens, Rufus Wainwright, Chris Thile, Brad Mehldau, Jeremy Denk, and more.
English theater director John Tiffany served as the associate director of the National
Theatre of Scotland from 2006–12, where he directed international productions
including “The Missing,” “Elizabeth Gordon Quinn,” “The Bacchae” (Lincoln Center
Festival, 2008), Black Watch (Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director; St. Ann’s
Warehouse, 2007, 2011), and Alan Cumming’s “Macbeth” (Broadway, 2014). Tiffany
won Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his direction of “Once”
(currently on Broadway), and directed the acclaimed recent Broadway production of
“The Glass Menagerie.”
TICKET INFORMATION
General tickets ($19-$59) are available at cap.ucla.edu, all Ticketmaster outlets, by
phone at 310.825.2101 or in person at the UCLA Central Ticket Office located in the
southwest corner of the James West Alumni Center. Student rush tickets, subject to
availability, are offered at $15 one hour before show time to all students with valid ID.
PRESS REVIEW TICKETS/PHOTO PASSES/INTERVIEW REQUESTS
Contact Jessica Wolf at [email protected]/
IMAGES
Available for download at cap.ucla.edu/press-images. Register for access.
ABOUT CAP UCLA
Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA (CAP UCLA) is dedicated to the
advancement of contemporary performing arts in all disciplines — dance, music,
spoken word and theater, as well the emerging digital, collaborative and cross-art
platforms inspired by today's leading artists and creators. CAP supports the creation,
presentation and critical dialogues vital to the ongoing innovation and expressive
potential of artists whose work, whether vibrantly emerging or internationally
acclaimed, forms the dynamic and evolving heritage of contemporary performance.
Based in UCLA's iconic Royce Hall, CAP UCLA is the university's public center for the
presentation of the performing arts and contributes to the cultural life of the campus
and greater Los Angeles, promoting civic dialogue and creative inquiry. Through an
annual season of performing arts programs and extensive community-engagement
events — including artist fellows and residency programs, K–12 arts education (Design
for Sharing), student mentorship (Student Committee for the Arts), and art-making and
experiential activities (Art in Action) — CAP UCLA advances the importance of art in
society by celebrating and deepening the connection between artist and audience.
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