J.J. Abrams’s Bad Robot Teams With Ambassador Theatre For Stage Shows

Ambassador Theatre Group has announced an exclusive three-year partnership with the newly formed Bad Robot Live, the theatre division of J.J. Abrams’s Bad Robot Productions. As creative collaborators and co-producers, ATG will help bring to the stage Abrams’s “unique producorial vision.”

The joint development arrangement will provide ATG, a prominent player on both Broadway and London’s West End, with partnership opportunities on Bad Robot Live’s current and future theatre projects, and give Bad Robot Live the opportunity to collaborate on those projects with ATG Productions, one of the world’s leading producers of theatrical events including recent productions of Cabaret, Cyrano, Plaza Suite, David Byrne’s American Utopia, (and the previewing Broadway versions of A Doll’s House and Parade).

The first joint project under the new ATG and Bad Robot Live agreement is Liz Kingsman’s critically acclaimed solo show, One Woman Show, which recently enjoyed a sold out run at The Ambassadors Theatre in London and just received a 2023 Olivier Award Nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. One Woman Show was co-produced by Wessex Grove, ATG Productions, and Bad Robot Live who will be bringing the show to the US in 2023.

This announcement marks the debut of Bad Robot Live, which has been developing a slate of new plays, musicals, and immersive events for theatrical audiences, including on Broadway and London’s West End. Elizabeth Rothman, who joined Bad Robot Live from Manhattan Theatre Club, heads the new division.

“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.”

“We couldn’t feel luckier to be partnering with ATG,” said J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot’s Co-CEO. “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,”

Bad Robot was formed by filmmaker J.J. Abrams in 2001. The company has produced television series such as Alias, Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest, Westworld, Castle Rock, Lovecraft Country, and Lisey’s Story, feature films such as Super 8, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker, the Star Trek, Mission: Impossible and Cloverfield franchises. In theatre, Abrams has co-produced The Play That Goes Wrong, The Magic Show That Goes Wrong, The Secret, and Oh God, A Show About Abortion.

Ambassador Theatre Group Productions is the general management arm of the Ambassador Theatre Group. Recent, with current and upcoming West End productions include: the seven-time Olivier Award-winning Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club; Dear Evan Hansen; Pretty Woman The Musical; and The Doctor starring Juliet Stevenson. Recent Broadway credits include: Plaza Suite starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick; David Byrne’s American Utopia, Caroline, Or Change, American Buffalo, The Lehman Trilogy, Betrayal, Sea Wall/A Life, Burn This, Pretty Woman, Oslo, Dear Evan Hansen, A Doll’s House Part 2 and Sunday in the Park with George.

CAA represents Bad Robot and was instrumental on their behalf in the deal process