Southern California audiences who have seen the revival of “Oklahoma” at the Ahmanson or Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” at the Pantages are familiar with the work of theatrical powerhouse Eva Price.
She is the multiple Tony Award-winning producer responsible for bringing five productions to Los Angeles stages this fall. Eva Price spoke about her production with LA Times Today Host Lisa McRee.
Price explained what a touring producer does day-to-day.
“A producer, whether you’re on tour or you are in New York, is like the CEO of a company. We’re responsible for the strategic development of [a show], the financial liability of it, the creative process of it... making sure the shows show up on time and overseeing the processes to get the show loaded into the theater and on the stage that night so audiences and these cities can enjoy them,” Price said.
Price spoke about the diverse casting in her shows, such as “Oklahoma,” and how her team prepares audiences for its unique takes on the characters.
“You use your advertising and marketing to make it clear that this is a reimagined revival, like a Chekhov text or a Shakespeare text. We are reimagining for today and what it feels like to be in America. And it really is very true to the original as well, with its orchestrations and its storytelling and its songs. It’s just what we’re saying about America today in 2022 versus what Rodgers and Hammerstein were saying about it in 1943,” Price explained.
While “Jagged Little Pill” has concluded its Southern California run, Price has several other productions in Los Angeles this fall and winter.
“We have the Oklahoma tour, which is running at the Ahmanson, and then heading to Tempe, Arizona. We’ve got ‘Mindplay’ at the Geffen Playhouse, which is a new mentalist magic show with a great magician named Vinny DePonto. The ‘Hip Hop Nutcracker,’ which is an amazing tour that’s been going on for ten years, will open at the Dolby in November,” Price said.
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