MTC announces 2 productions for its 2016-2017 season

The Manhattan Theatre Club, under the artistic leadership of Lynne Meadow, has announced two productions for its forthcoming 2016-2017 season:

At the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, MTC will present the first-ever Broadway production of Jitney, written by two-time Pulizer Prize winner August Wilson and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. It is the only play of Wilson's 'The American Century Cycle' yet to be seen on Broadway. The premiere production will begin previews on 28 December 2016, with an official opening set for 19 January 2017.

Synopsis: "Set in the early 1970s, the piece follows a group of men trying to eke out a living by driving unlicensed cabs, or jitneys. When the city threatens to board up the business and the boss' son returns from prison, tempers flare, potent secrets are revealed and the fragile threads binding these people together may come undone at last."

And secondly, MTC, in association Williamstown Theatre Festival, presents the New York premiere of Martyna Majok's drama Cost of Living, directed by Jo Bonney, which begins previews off-Broadway at the New York City Center (Stage I) on 25 April 2017, before an official opening on 16 May.

Synopsis: "Cost of Living is the story of four very different people, in four very different circumstances, each trying to get by. Eddie, an unemployed truck driver, reunites with his ex-wife Ani after she suffers a devastating accident. John, a brilliant and witty doctoral student, hires over-worked Jess, a caregiver. As their lives intersect, Majok's play delves into the chasm between abundance and need and explores the space where bodies — abled and disabled — meet each other."

The world premiere of Cost of Living will be staged at Williamstown Theatre Festival on the Nikos Stage from 29 June through to 10 July 2016.

Casting and creative team information for both productions will be released at a later date.

- by Tom Millward