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The event began with a cocktail reception in front of the Ahmanson Theater, then moved indoors for a 90-minute retrospective celebrating the history of CTG. To move guests from being spectators inside the theater to active participants in the event to follow, event leader Kate Johnson came up with a distinctly L.A. solution. She worked with Grammy-winning band Ozomatli, known for its fusion of Latin, hip hop, and rock music. The band served as pied pipers, escorting guests for a five-minute walk from the theater to the dining area, playing all the while.
The band leads the hundreds of guests across the street to Grand Park, a 12-acre space with dramatic views of the Music Center--home to Center Theatre Group--and L.A.'s iconic City Hall.
The event team--which includes Brite Ideas and Render Event Design--creates an al fresco dining space by building a huge platform for dinner tables. In some spots, the platform was 12 feet high, all in an effort to deal with the park's sloping terrain.
A long view of the dinner setting in Grand Park.
As overseen by Brite ideas, the dinner features stunning lighting, both at the dining area and--as you will see--on nearby buildings.
The light "canopy."
A view of the dramatic Grand Park fountain, a centerpiece of the dining area.
As envisioned by Johnson, the dining tables are themselves works of art, glowing lightboxes filled with plants.
The higher tier dining tables feature custom imagery and quotes saluting the 50 seasons that CTG has produced.
A closer look at a table with quotes from a Center Theatre Group production.
The top-tier custom tables offer ultra-high resolution LED screens as tabletops. As designed by Johnson, the tables featured 3D flowers “blooming” on the tables, along with visuals celebrating centerpiece shows from CTG’s past 50 years such as “Flower Drum Song,” “Pippin” and “California Suite.”
A closer look at a glowing table.
As Ozomatli played with the big Grand Park fountain as its backdrop, guests visited food stations from four celebrity chefs, all under the direction of high-end caterer Patina Catering, headed by Joachim Splichal. In order to accommodate the park’s slope, the dinner deck perched guests in some areas atop blooming jacaranda trees 14 feet above the grass.
Dinner is crafted for guests.
A server presents a beautiful tray.
As dinner concluded, the City Hall building came alive with a 10-minute original projection production created by Johnson presenting a visual journey of iconic shows presented by CTG theaters.
City Hall lights up with a tribute to the show "9 to 5."
A tribute to the stirring show "Angels in America."
The CTG's production of "Cyrano" gets its due.
A beautiful rendition for CTG's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
The show isn't playing just on the city hall façade--imagery on the LED tables is synchronized with the building mapping, creating a stunning immersive experience.
The Grand Park fountain gets its glow on thanks to Brite Ideas and the creative team.
