J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Creates Stage Division, Partners With Ambassador Theatre Group
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Theater owner and producer Ambassador Theatre Group has agreed to an exclusive three-year partnership with J.J. Abrams’ newly formed theater division, Bad Robot Live.
As part of the partnership, ATG, which has theaters on the West End and Broadway, will have opportunities to help bring to stage and partner on theater productions from Bad Robot Live, a division of Abram’s Bad Robot Productions, as well as give Bad Robot Live the opportunity to work on those projects with ATG’s producing arm. Elizabeth Rothman, formerly of the non-profit theater Manhattan Theatre Club, will head Bad Robot Live.
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The first joint project will be Liz Kingsman’s solo show, One Woman Show, which recently played The Ambassadors Theatre in London and received a 2023 Olivier Award Nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. ATG Productions, Bad Robot Live and co-producer Wessex Grove will bring the show to the U.S. in 2023.
Recent Ambassador Theatre Group productions include Cabaret on the West End, originally starring Eddie Redmayne, Cyrano, Plaza Suite with Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, David Byrne’s American Utopia, A Doll’s House, starring Jessica Chastain, and Parade, starring Ben Platt. The theater company recently announced plans to combine operations with Jujamcyn Theaters, owner of five Broadway theaters.
“We have long sought to partner with the most innovative and imaginative forces to help create new content for the stage, and Bad Robot Live, under J.J. Abrams’s visionary leadership, is a perfect match for our producing arm,” ATG Group CEO Mark Cornell said in a statement. “Our goal is to collaborate with and empower their incredible team to support what they do so incredibly well: captivate global audiences.”
Abrams formed his production company, Bad Robot, in 2001. The company has produced television series, including those Abrams has worked on, such as Alias and Lost, as well as Westworld and feature films such as Super 8, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker, the Star Trek, Mission: Impossible and the Cloverfield franchises. As an individual, Abrams has co-produced The Play That Goes Wrong, The Magic Show That Goes Wrong, Derren Brown: Secret and Oh God, A Show About Abortion.
“We couldn’t feel luckier to be partnering with ATG. Their accomplishments, accolades and stats speak for themselves, but what makes us most excited are the people. The chance to work alongside Mark Cornell, Kristin Caskey, Adam Speers and their talented team on creating riveting live entertainment is both humbling and genuinely thrilling,” Abrams said.
Bad Robot is represented by CAA.
