Ticket Price (all-in pricing including fees)

Starts at $40.25

Friends Ticket Presale

Presale: January 30, 2025

Single Tickets

On sale: February 6, 2025

MUSICAL EXPERIENCE AT THE MARK TAPER FORUM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MUSE/IQUE.

In MUSE/IQUE’s roaring season opener at the Mark Taper Forum, we explore how Ray Charles’ diverse musical genres, influences, and collaborators all culminated in his landmark recording of “America the Beautiful.” Featuring the inimitable Brandon Victor Dixon and DC6 Singers Collective on vocals.

For the first few decades of his career, Ray Charles electrified us with his genius knack for blending gospel, blues, jazz, rock and soul.

Then, in 1972, the ultimate musical trailblazer did something even he’d never done before: he infused his work with an anthemic message of empathy at a time when we really needed it. With his album A Message From the People, and its cornerstone reinterpretation of “America The Beautiful,” Charles expressed his own vision of America—confronting our contradictions and lighting a path back toward our ideals.

In this rousing performance, MUSE/IQUE brings to life Charles’s remarkable career, with genre-spanning hits like “Hit the Road Jack” to “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and more, and the crucial role his music has in shaping our collective vision of America. Through our favorite Charles classics, MUSE/IQUE Artistic & Music Director Rachael Worby and a brilliant array of artists take us on a deeply personal, yet universally resonant, journey through patriotism, citizenship, and the enduring hope for a better future.

CTG:FWD

According to Ray is part of CTG:FWD. Created by Artistic Director Snehal Desai, CTG:FWD is a series of special events and programming at the Mark Taper Forum, the Kirk Douglas Theatre, and throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

Spring 2025 CTG:FWD programming at the Mark Taper Forum is made possible through the generous support of the S. Mark Taper Foundation. Additional funding is provided by gifts to the Artistic Director Discretionary Fund.

Showtimes

Click on the button below to view a calendar with all of our available performance dates and times.

Calendar

About MUSE/IQUE

MUSE/IQUE is a member-supported, nonprofit performing arts organization making radically engaging live music experiences accessible for all. Built on a tradition of community and collaboration, we create events that feature an eclectic mix of artists and artistic disciplines in unconventional locations—spaces where art typically does not happen. MUSE/IQUE creates transformative musical adventures and illuminates the music that shapes our lives. By reimagining the traditional format of the live classical orchestral experience, Artistic Director Rachael Worby seamlessly blends musical performances with researched curation. Our mission is to build empathy and expand imaginations through transformative live events and strong partnerships with fellow nonprofit organizations in Pasadena and the greater Los Angeles area.

Show Details

MUSE/IQUE Presents
ACCORDING TO RAY
Ray Charles’s Message to America
Presented as part of CTG:FWD

Cast

Brandon Victor Dixon

DC6 Singers Collective

You May be Interested In

View Calendar
cast of the play 44 onstage at the Kirk Douglas

44

Kirk Douglas Theatre

May 2 – June 22, 2025

Barack Obama's election changed history. And as we can clearly see, it also ended racism forever! But 44 is the story of Obama you won't read about in history books...because history books are now banned in most states. But also because 44 is the story of Obama as Joe Biden kinda sorta remembers it...as a Musical.

Learn More
a girl flies around a tornado.

El Otro Oz

Kirk Douglas Theatre

March 29 – April 13, 2025

The new bilingual musical for kids returns to the Kirk Douglas Theatre! Click your heels together tres veces and take a transformative journey with this salsa, merengue, and Mexican folk-infused musical inspired by 'The Wizard of Oz'.

Learn More
Puppet Up! – Uncensored production poster

Puppet Up! – Uncensored

Kirk Douglas Theatre

July 16–27, 2025

PUPPET UP! - UNCENSORED is a night of outrageous, off-the-cuff comedy featuring the MISKREANT puppets brought to life by a cast of world-class puppeteers and improvisers from The Jim Henson Company. Created by legendary puppeteer and award-winning director Brian Henson and co-created and directed by Patrick Bristow, PUPPET UP! - UNCENSORED is never the same show twice.

View Details

Like it Like Harlem

Mark Taper Forum

August 8 – 10, 2025

The story of East Harlem is the story of how American music is made.

Learn More
GUAC Written and Performed by Manuel Oliver

GUAC

Kirk Douglas Theatre

October 14 – November 2, 2025

When you lose a son, what do you do? GUAC is a fearless, funny, and deeply moving theatrical tour-de-force about a father turned activist. Seven years after his son Joaquín "Guac" Oliver was killed in the Parkland shooting, Manuel Oliver channels his love, loss, and rage into a powerful force for change.

Buy Tickets
Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile the musical play poster

The Enormous Crocodile

Kirk Douglas Theatre

December 5, 2025 – January 4, 2026

He’s greedy, he’s grumptious, he’s beastly! THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE is weaving his way through the jungle of Los Angeles! This mischievous musical based on Roald Dahl’s snappy book has toe-tapping tunes and a menagerie of puppets. Snap up your tickets today for this wickedly funny musical adventure, perfect for the whole family!

Learn More
¡Sí Se Puede!

¡Sí Se Puede!

Around L.A.

March 21 – April 10, 2026

Follow trailblazing activist, Dolores Huerta, on her journey to improve conditions for farm workers. From co-founding the United Farmworkers with Cesar Chavez and Larry Itliong, to boycotts, marches, and high-stakes negotiations–her unwavering commitment to justice changed the course of history.

Learn More