MCC announce new season

MCC theater's 25th Anniversary 2010-11 season will present three world premieres: The Break of Noon by Neil LaBute, The Other Place by Sharr White and Side Effects by Michael Weller.

MCC Artistic Director Bernard Telsey says, "It is hard to believe that MCC is a quarter of a century old, but we're still going strong. 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 plays will be presented in the following season order:
Casting announcements and specific dates for each production will be forthcoming.

World Premiere
The Break of Noon
by Neil LaBute
Directed by Jo Bonney
Cast: tba
Venue: Lucille Lortel Theatre
Date: Oct - Dec 2010.

Synopsis: 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?

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."

World Premiere
The Other Place
By Sharr White
Director: tba
Cast: tba Venue: Lucille Lortel Theatre
Dates: March-April 2011

Synopsis: 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.

Hot off a string of hits in Seattle, Chicago, and L.A., 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.

World Premiere
Side Effects
by Michael Weller
Director: tba
Cast: tba Venue: Lucille Lortel Theatre
Dates: May - Jun 2011

Synopsis: 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.

Adam Bock's (Playwright) 'The Drunken City' was produced at Playwrights Horizons in 2008. His play 'The Receptionist' received its World Premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club in the fall of 2007 to a sold-out extended run.

MCC Theater's 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.