MCC Theater: 2016-2017 Season announced
MCC Theater has announced the four productions scheduled for its upcoming 30th Anniversary Season, which includes a world premiere, two U.S. premieres and a New York premiere, all to be staged at off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre.
The productions will be presented in the following season order:
The season kicks off with a world premiere from MCC Playwright-in-Residence Neil LaBute. His one-woman play All the Ways to Say I Love You will star multi-Tony and Emmy Award winner Judith Light and will be directed by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman. Previews begin on 6 September 2016, before an official opening on 28 September and a limited run through to 9 October 2016.
Synopsis: "Faye Johnson is a high school English teacher and guidance counselor in a long-time, loving marriage. As she recounts her experiences with a favored student from her past, Faye slowly reveals the truth that is hidden just beneath the surface details of her life. All The Ways To Say I Love You is a solo play about love, hard choices, and the cost of fulfilling an all-consuming desire."
Next comes a rarity for MCC Theater as it produces a musical - only its third musical in the company's history - with Ride the Cyclone. The New York premiere features book, music & lyrics by Jacob Richmond & Brooke Maxwell, with direction by Rachel Rockwell. Previews begin on 9 November 2016, before an official opening on 1 December and a limited run through to 18 December 2016.
Synopsis: "The Saint Cassian High School Chamber Choir will board the Cyclone roller coaster at 8:17pm. At 8:19 the front axle will break, sending them to their tragic demise. A mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell the story of a life interrupted - with the promise of a prize like no other. Ride the Cyclone is a wildly original new musical - part comedy, part tragedy, and wholly unexpected."
Following the musical will be the U.S. premiere of Anna Jordan's YEN, directed by OBIE winner Trip Cullman. This New York transfer from London's acclaimed Royal Court Theatre will begin previews on 2 February 2017, before an official opening on 21 February and a limited run through to 12 March 2017.
Synopsis: "Bobbie and Hench are home alone. Days are filled by streaming porn, playing Call of Duty, watching the world go by. Their mom rarely visits these days, and it's chaos when she does. But when animal-loving neighbor Jenny takes an interest in their dog Taliban, the boys discover a world far beyond what they know. YEN explores a childhood lived without boundaries."
The fourth and final production of the season will mark the New York playwriting and stage acting debut of "Friends" star Matthew Perry. Following its successful world premiere in the West End at London's Playhouse Theatre, Mr Perry's self-penned dark comedy The End of Longing, once again directed by Lindsay Posner, will make its U.S. premiere at the Lucille Lortel Theater, beginning previews on 18 May 2017, before an official opening on 5 June and a limited engagement through to 24 June 2017.
Synopsis: "An alcoholic, an escort, a self-diagnosed neurotic and a well-intentioned dimwit walk into a bar... Broken and deeply flawed, they find their lives irreversibly entwined no matter how hard they try to break free of one another. The End of Longing is a bittersweet comedy that proves that broken people don't need to stay broken."
That concludes the line-up for the 30th Anniversary MCC Theater season. The final production of the 2015-2016 season - the World Premiere of Halley Feiffer's comedy A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York City is set to begin previews on 19 May 2016, before an official opening on 7 June and a limited engagement through to 3 July 2016.
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