MCC THEATER’S ANNUAL MISCAST GALA WILL NOW BE PRESENTED AS A VIRTUAL EVENT ON SATURDAY, JUNE 20
Press Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Pete Sanders
rick@omdkc.com / pete@omdkc.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
MCC THEATER’S
ANNUAL MISCAST GALA
MISCAST20 WILL NOW BE PRESENTED AS A VIRTUAL EVENT ON
SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2020
8 PM EST
LIVE-STREAMED AS A FREE VIEWING EXPERIENCE
TO THE MCC THEATER YOUTUBE CHANNEL
MCC WILL DONATE 10% OF PROCEEDS FROM THE MISCAST20 BROADCAST TO THE MENTAL HEALTH COALITION (MHC)
New York, NY (May 27, 2020)– MCC Theater (Bob LuPone, Bernie Telsey, and Will Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) announced today that Miscast, MCC’s Annual Gala will be presented virtually this year, live-streamed on the MCC Theater YouTube channel. Originally scheduled to be held live at the Manhattan Center on April 6, the annual fundraising gala, a highlight of the Spring theater season, will now be presented online on Saturday, June 20 at 8 pm EST and will be a free viewing experience. MCC has rescheduled Miscast20 twice (first to June and then to October) and recently decided to expand accessibility to this year’s gala by hosting the event virtually with plans to return to an in-person experience in 2021.
Sign up to receive Miscast20 updates and to learn out more about this year’s event at mcctheater.org/miscast20.
MCC Theater’s annual Miscast is one of the most exciting and unique theater events in town. Broadway’s hottest stars take the stage and perform songs from roles in which they would not traditionally be cast.
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE: https://youtu.be/p8h-z3Usbxc
The virtual gala will feature new Miscast performances from Broadway’s hottest stars. Past Miscast performers include Tina Fey, Katrina Lenk, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jane Krakowski, Megan Hilty, Raúl Esparza and Keala Settle. A line-up for this year’s event will be announced shortly.
“In this extraordinary time in theater and in history, we are called to find extraordinary resilience, compassion and innovation”, says MCC co-Artistic Director Bernie Telsey. “As we hit the 20-year Miscast milestone during this very unusual and challenging time, we’re excited to share the joyful energy of this event with the world, while also reflecting on our role in the community. As our daily lives have changed quickly in recent months, we recognize the enormous toll that this situation has had physically, financially, and emotionally on our people, our city and the world. By partnering with The Mental Health Coalition for this event, we hope to shine a light on the importance of mental health and the need for more open discussions and access to resources that unite and support our society. Additionally, this night of song supports our ongoing work of championing emerging playwrights and thrilling new stories that represent the diverse and varied experiences of the world we inhabit and share”.
MCC will donate 10 percent of the money raised during the Miscast20 broadcast to The Mental Health Coalition (MHC)-a new initiative announced on May 15, founded by social activist and fashion designer Kenneth Cole. The remaining proceeds provide vital support to MCC Theater and their mission to develop and produce exciting work Off-Broadway, as well as its Youth Company and partnerships with New York City public high schools, and MCC’s literary development work with emerging playwrights.
The Mental Health Coalition convenes and unites the leading US mental health organizations, creative and media platforms, passionate advocates, as well as celebrities working collectively to destigmatize mental health conditions and address the pervasive public health crisis. The platform is a place where individuals seeking help or guidance can access resources from various partners and better understand ways to discuss mental health. The Coalition launched with an online platform and digital resource guide, http://www.thementalhealthcoalition.org and an interactive storytelling platform www.howareyoureally.org. The new proprietary www.howareyoureally.org will use digital storytelling to create and share stories crafted with a focus on language, lived experiences and advice for mental health, self-care and coping strategies. This initiative creates safe spaces for anyone to be vulnerable, authentic, empathetic and hopeful by sharing their truth and experiencing other people’s stories.
There will also be auction items to bid on before and during the broadcast including the original and iconic costume from the 1975 production of A Chorus Line, worn by MCC co-Artistic Director Robert LuPone who originated the role of Zach in the multi-award-winning musical.
For all information go to www.mcctheater.org/miscast20
ABOUT THE MENTAL HEALTH COALITION
The Mental Health Coalition (www.thementalhealthcoalition.org), is comprised of an unprecedented group of passionate & influential NGOs, advocates, celebrities and media organizations that have joined forces to address the devastating stigma surrounding mental health. This will be the first collaborative effort of this scale committed to changing the way people talk about and care for mental health. To actualize the mission, the coalition has launched a storytelling initiative as they believe storytelling to be a powerful tool that encourages open dialogue around mental health. The creative platform (www.howareyoureally.org) formally launched on May 15, 2020, timed to Mental Health Awareness Month.
ABOUT MCC THEATER
MCC Theater is one of New York’s leading nonprofit Off-Broadway companies, driven by a mission to provoke conversations that have never happened and otherwise never would. Founded in 1986 as a collective of artists leading peer-based classes to support their own development as actors, writers, and directors, the tenets of collaboration, education, and community are at the core of MCC Theater’s programming. One of the only theaters in the country led continuously by its founders, Artistic Directors Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, and William Cantler, MCC fulfills its mission through the production of world, American, and New York premiere plays and musicals that challenge artists and audiences to confront contemporary personal and social issues and robust playwright development and education initiatives that foster the next generation of theater artists and students.
MCC Theater’s celebrated productions include Theresa Rebeck’s Seared, Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play; Penelope Skinner’s The Village Bike; Robert Askins’s Hand to God (Broadway transfer; five 2015 Tony Award® nominations including Best Play); John Pollono’s Small Engine Repair; Paul Downs Colaizzo’s Really Really; Sharr White’s The Other Place (Broadway transfer); Jeff Talbott’s The Submission (Laurents/Hatcher Award); Neil LaBute’s Reasons to Be Happy, reasons to be pretty (Broadway transfer, three 2009 Tony Award® nominations, including Best Play), Some Girl(s), Fat Pig, The Mercy Seat, and All The Ways To Say I Love You; Michael Weller’s Fifty Words; Alexi Kaye Campbell’s The Pride; Bryony Lavery’s Frozen (Broadway transfer; four 2004 Tony Award® nominations including Best Play, Tony Award® for Best Featured Actor); Tim Blake Nelson’s The Grey Zone; Rebecca Gilman’s The Glory of Living (2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist); Margaret Edson’s Wit (1999 Pulitzer Prize); and the musicals Coraline, Carrie, Ride the Cyclone, Alice By Heart, and The Wrong Man. Many plays developed and produced by MCC have gone on to productions throughout the country and around the world.
Blake West joined the company in 2006 as Executive Director. MCC opened the doors to its new home in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, on January 9, 2019, unifying the company’s activities under one roof for the first time and expanding its producing, artist development, and education programming.
ABOUT THE ROBERT W. WILSON CHARITABLE TRUST
A successful investor from the 1960s through the 1980s, Robert W. Wilson devoted his life to philanthropy after his retirement, focusing on supporting organizations on preservation and conservation initiatives worldwide. An avid New Yorker, Wilson was also deeply engaged with a number of New York’s cultural institutions. He was a major supporter of, and held leadership roles with, the Whitney Museum and the Metropolitan Opera, where he was a board member for many years. In addition, the Trust continues to support the New York Public Library, Central Park Conservancy, BAM, Wildlife Conservation Society, EDF, Nature Conservancy, WMF, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, organizations he championed during his lifetime. He played a leading role in transforming many of these institutions.
# # # #
www.mcctheater.org
www.twitter.com/mcctheater
www.facebook.com/mccnyc
www.instagram.com/mcctheater
www.omdkc.com
www.facebook.com/omdkc
www.instagram.com/omdkc
www.twitter.com/omdkc