MCC Theater Announces 25th Anniversary 2010-11 Season
Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Jon Dimond / Jaron Caldwell
rick@oandmco.com / jon@oandmco.com / jaron@oandmco.com
FOR RELEASE ON MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2010
MCC THEATER
ANNOUNCES 25th ANNIVERSARY
2010-11 SEASON
NEIL LaBUTE
AND
MICHAEL WELLER
RETURN TO MCC THEATER
WITH WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTIONS
AND
SHARR WHITE MAKES MCC AND NEW YORK DEBUT
New York, NY – MCC THEATER (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, Artistic Directors; William Cantler, Associate Artistic Director; Blake West, Executive Director) today announced their 25th Anniversary 2010-11 season. On the heels of the smash hit, sold-out production of Alexi Kaye Campbell’s The Pride (nominated for six 2010 Lucille Lortel Awards) and on the occasion of Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme’s theatrical directing debut with Beth Henley’s Family Week (previews started Friday), the New York City theater company will again produce three new and provocative works at Off Broadway’s Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street).
“It is hard to believe that MCC is a quarter of a century old, but we’re still going strong,” commented Bernard Telsey. “This season, we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary with some additional programming that celebrates the theater’s rich history and relationships with exciting actors that we’ll announce soon. It is with great pleasure that we welcome back Neil LaBute for his seventh production with our company and I cannot wait to see what Michael Weller has in store for us after last year’s wild ride with Fifty Words. In keeping with MCC’s mission to bring new voices to New York audiences, we are also thrilled to present author Sharr White in his New York debut. This may be the first you’ve heard of him, but it won’t be the last!”
The Season:
A World Premiere
A co-production with the Geffen Playhouse
October-December, 2010
The Break of Noon
By Neil LaBute
Directed by Jo Bonney
The Break of Noon marks Neil LaBute’s seventh collaboration with MCC Theater as Playwright-in-Residence, following the 2009 Tony Award-nominated Best Play, Reasons to be Pretty. Renowned for his darkly-comic morality plays (The Shape of Things, In a Dark Dark House), he teams up again with longtime collaborator, director Jo Bonney (Some Girl(s), Fat Pig), for this exploration of the daunting, sometimes harrowing process of “finding religion.”
Amidst the chaos and horror of the worst office shooting in American history, John Smith sees the face of God. His modern-day revelation creates a maelstrom of disbelief among everyone he knows. A newcomer to faith, John urgently searches for a modern response to the age-old question: at what cost salvation?
A World Premiere
March-April, 2011
The Other Place
By Sharr White
Hot off a string of hits in Seattle, Chicago, and L.A., fast-rising playwright Sharr White (Sunlight, Six Years) makes his New York debut with MCC Theater’s production of this volatile and emotional thriller, where longing for the past and hope for the future collide in a cottage on the windswept shores of Cape Cod.
Juliana Smithton’s research into the molecular basis for Alzheimer drugs has propelled her into elite scientific circles. When her private life takes a frightening turn, Juliana (bracingly intelligent and not one to easily acknowledge weakness), finds herself drowning in a sea of distorted memory, still struggling to reach out for help.
A World Premiere
May-June, 2011
Side Effects
By Michael Weller
MCC Theater’s acclaimed 2008 hit Fifty Words (which starred Norbert Leo Butz and Elizabeth Marvel) culminated in one desperate phone call. Side Effects is the story of what happened on the other end of the line. This harrowing and unique journey is expertly plotted by playwright Michael Weller, noted for Loose Ends and Moonchildren, a seminal work for the American stage.
Hugh and Lindy's marriage seems picture-perfect, a beacon in their microcosmic Midwestern world of dinner parties and fundraisers. Behind closed doors they’re falling apart – doors they can barely keep shut. Lindy’s grappling with bipolar swings, their teenage sons are acting out, and Hugh’s rising political star is suddenly imperiled.
Casting announcements and specific dates for each production will be forthcoming.
Subscriptions will go on-sale April 23rd at 12:00 p.m. and are priced as low as $99 for the 3-play season. For more information visit www.mcctheater.org or to purchase packages beginning April 23, contact TicketCentral directly at www.ticketcentral.com or call 212-279-4200.
MCC Theater is one of New York City's leading Off Broadway theater companies, committed to presenting New York and world premieres each season. When MCC Theater was founded in 1986, its mission was simple: to bring new theatrical voices to theater-going audiences. MCC Theater continues to accomplish this yearly through presentation of its mainstage works; its Literary Program, which actively seeks and develops new and emerging writers and its Education & Outreach Program, allowing more than 1,200 students yearly to experience theater, increase literacy and discover their own voices in the arts. Notable MCC Theater highlights include: the 2008 Tony Award-nominated reasons to be pretty by Neil LaBute, last season’s Fifty Words, the 2004 Tony-winning production of Bryony Lavery’s Frozen; Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig; Rebecca Gilman’s The Glory of Living; Marsha Norman’s Trudy Blue; Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit; Tim Blake Nelson’s The Grey Zone and Alan Bowne’s Beirut. Over the years, the dedication to the work of new and emerging artists has earned MCC Theater a variety of awards.
For a complete production history, visit www.mcctheater.org.
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