Current Season

Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis

from Dramatists Play Service: “The Ortiz Funeral Room is in big trouble: The body of beloved community activist and nun Sister Rose has been stolen from the viewing room, and waiting for her proper return are some of New York City’s most emotionally charged, life- challenged neighborhood denizens, trying to find a place to put their grief, checkered pasts, and their uncertain futures. Among the equally hilarious and tragic twelve characters, you’ll meet Rooftop, a chronically unfaithful but otherwise popular Los Angeles DJ, looking to reconcile with the love of his life; Pinky and Edwin, two brothers tragically linked forever; and the outrageously angry Norca, who doesn’t let the fact that she slept with her best friend’s husband deter her from the full expectation of being immediately forgiven of her sin by her best friend, Inez, still in pain fifteen years later. The rest of the crowd in this dark, insightful, and very funny comedy inevitably square off on each other, motivated by rage, pain, and a scary desire to come clean—perhaps for the first time.”

Directed by Jeannine Foster-McKelvia

Performances:
October 7-10, 2021

Written by Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson

from MTI: “What is greatness and how does one become great? In the musical Pippin , written by Stephen Schwartz ( Godspell , Wicked ) and Roger O. Hirson, the title character and heir to the throne is determined to become “great.” But Pippin soon finds that the path to “greatness” is intertwined with the road to self-discovery. Will Pippin’s greatness be the result of royal his lineage, his deeds of valor or proving something to himself?”

Directed and Choreographed by Kyle Pleasant
Musical Direction by Arri Simon

Performances:
November 11-14, 2021

PIPPIN investigates topics including but not limited to: mental illness, suicide, authoritative power struggles, love, sexuality, sexual orientation, gender and gender roles, violence, sarcasm, and satire. Haze will be used in the production.

Music by Mark Hollmann
Lyrics by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis
Book by Greg Kotis

from Music Theatre International: “In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought, has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity’s most basic needs. Amid the people, a hero decides that he’s had enough and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom!

Inspired by the works of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, Urinetown is an irreverently humorous satire in which no one is safe from scrutiny. Praised for reinvigorating the very notion of what a musical could be, Urinetowncatapults the “comedic romp” into the new millennium with its outrageous perspective, wickedly modern wit and sustained ability to produce gales of unbridled laughter.”

Directed by Johanna Pinzler
Music Direction by Alejandro Senior
Choreography by Emily Clark

Performances:
March 10-13, 2022

Written by Jaclyn Backhaus

from Dramatists Play Service: “Ten explorers. Four boats. One Grand Canyon. Men on Boats is the true(ish) history of an 1869 expedition, when a one-armed captain and a crew of insane yet loyal volunteers set out to chart the course of the Colorado River.” With a cast of 10 female-identifying actors, “Men on Boats makes canny use of the obvious distance between performers and their roles to help bridge the distance between then and now” (Ben Brantley).

Directed by Cristina Duarte

Performances:
April 21-24, 2022

Tickets will be available right here beginning April 14th at 11am 

 

Performances:
December 4-6, 2021

All performances of the Directing Projects and Playwriting Projects will be in the Bordeau Black Box Theatre at MMC.

About the Directing Projects: 
These scenes are presented as final projects for the Directing III class in collaboration with Stage Management and Stagecraft classes.

About the Playwriting Projects:
These scenes are presented as final projects for the MMC Advanced Playwriting  class in collaboration with the Stage Management and Stagecraft classes.

Music by Eric Rockwell
Lyrics by Joanne Bogart
Book by Eric Rockwell and Joanne Bogart

Performances:
January 28 & 29 at 8pm
January 29 & 30 at 2pm

All performances of The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) will take place at the Theatre at St. Jean, 150 E 76th Street (corner of E76th Street and Lexington Ave)

From Concord Theatricals:

The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) is a musical about musicals! In this hilarious satire of musical theatre, one story becomes five delightful musicals, each written in the distinctive style of a different master of the form, from Rodgers & Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim. The basic plot: June is an ingenue who can’t pay the rent and is threatened by her evil landlord. Will the handsome leading man come to the rescue? The variations are: a Rodgers & Hammerstein version, set in Kansas in August, complete with a dream ballet; a Sondheim version, featuring the landlord as a tortured artistic genius who slashes the throats of his tenants in revenge for not appreciating his work; a Jerry Herman version, as a splashy star vehicle; an Andrew Lloyd Webber version, a rock musical with themes borrowed from Puccini; and a Kander & Ebb version, set in a speakeasy in Chicago. This comic valentine to musical theatre was the longest-running show in the York Theatre Company’s 35-year history before moving off-Broadway.

Directed by Erin Quill
Music Direction by Justin Fischer
Choreography by Whitney Sprayberry

Performances:
March 31 & April 1 at 7pm
April 2 at 2pm

All performances of In Process: Three New Voices will take place at New York Live Arts (219 W 19th Street)

IN PROCESS: THREE NEW VOICES presents staged readings of original works by MMC Alumni Monet Hurst-Mendoza, Penny Pun and Shelby Solla. These plays directed by MMC Alum Katherine Carter, MMC Faculty member Mary Fleischer and renowned Guest Director Eugene Ma have been developed through workshops with students from the MMC Theatre Arts Department.

We are presenting these plays IN PROCESS to give the writers the opportunity to discover how their plays work in front of an audience and to give the students the opportunity to experience new play development. Each pathway for a new work is slightly different but a few key elements remain the same – without time, space, collaborators, and open exploration, a play can never reach its full potential. The development of new work is a key part of the theatre eco-system that is often overlooked in undergraduate training. And yet, the odds are that most recently graduated students will find themselves working on new work.

The Plays:

breathe•tulum by Monet Hurst-Mendoza
Directed by Katherine M. Carter

Rundown by Penny Pun
Directed by Eugene Ma

Custodians by Shelby Solla
Directed by Mary Fleischer

Tickets are available here.

Performances:
Playwriting Projects: April 29-May 1
Directing Projects: May 6-8

All performances of the Directing Projects and Playwriting Projects will be in the Bordeau Black Box Theatre at MMC.

About the Directing Projects:
These scenes are presented as final projects for the Directing III class in collaboration with Stage Management and Stagecraft classes.

About the Playwriting Projects:
These scenes are presented as final projects for the MMC Advanced Playwriting class in collaboration with the Stage Management and Stagecraft classes.