Jason Robert Brown and Gavin Creel to Premiere New Works, More Announced for MCC's 23/24 Season
MCC’s season will begin in September 2023 with a World Premiere production from this fall’s company-in-residence, The Playwrights Realm. Mary Gets Hers is by Emma Horwitz and directed by Josiah Davis. In November 2023 will be the World Premiere of Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice, written and performed by Tony Award winner Gavin Creel, directed by Linda Goodrich, and originally commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In January 2024, MCC will present the World Premiere of The Connector, a new musical with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown, a book by Jonathan Marc Sherman, and conceived and directed by Daisy Prince. The season will conclude in April 2024 with the NY Premiere of The Lonely Few, a new rock musical with music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak , a book by Rachel Bonds, and direction by Trip Cullman, and Ellenore Scot. MCC will also present the 23rd Edition of Uncensored, an MCC Youth Company Production in April 2024. Dates, casting, creative teams, and individual ticket on sales will be announced at a later date.
MCC Theater has also announced some of the work they will be developing over the next year. These projects include The Sensational Sea-Minkettes by Vivian J.O. Barnes and directed by Taylor Reynolds and Miss Step, with a book and lyrics by Melissa Li and Kit Yan, music by Melissa Li, direction and co-choreography by Connor Gallagher, and co-choreography by Jay Jackson.
"We are thrilled to work with three astonishing composers this season. We've long admired Gavin Creel, Jason Robert Brown, and Zoe Sarnak, and each of their shows asks a provocative question. What does art do for us? What is our responsibility to the truth? And what does family mean? These are the kinds of conversation starters we thrive on sharing with our audience,” said Co-Artistic Directors Bernie Telsey and Will Cantler. “We're also happy to welcome The Playwrights Realm to a first time Fall residency. Combined with our Youth Company production of UNCENSORED and our ongoing development work on new plays and musicals it will be a busy and very exciting year."
Details for 2023/2024 Include:
A World Premiere from this fall’s Company-in-Residence, The Playwrights Realm
Mary Gets Hers
By Emma Horwitz, Directed by Josiah Davis
Susan & Ronald Frankel Theater
September 11 – October 7, 2023
It’s the 10th century! A plague rages on in Germany! Everyone is turning into foam! When two overzealous hermits find an abandoned orphan named Mary, they scheme a saintly rescue mission to protect her purity at any and all costs. Mary, however, has other plans for herself, in this new play inspired by Hrosvitha of Gandersheim’s closet drama-comedy Abraham, or the Rise and Repentance of Mary.
Mary Gets Hers is produced by The Playwrights Realm, in residence this fall at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space.
The World Premiere of
Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice
Written and performed by Gavin Creel, Directed by Linda Goodrich
Susan & Ronald Frankel Theater
November-December 2023
Tony and Olivier Award-winning actor and songwriter Gavin Creel had never been to The Metropolitan Museum of Art…until now. Inspired by the countless hours he spent wandering through the world-renowned collections of the museum for a MetLiveArts commission, Walk on Through is a thrilling new musical event featuring 17 original, infectious, pop-infused songs. In his theatrical songwriting debut, Creel takes us on an intimate, relatable journey of discovery and transformation through the lens of the art that captured his imagination. Whether you are a museum lover or a fellow novice, this show invites you to take a walk with Creel and engage with art, song, and the creative process in a fresh and new way.
Originally commissioned by The Met, Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice is now making its off-Broadway debut at MCC Theater.
The World Premiere of
The Connector
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, Book by Jonathan Marc Sherman, Conceived and directed by Daisy Prince
Newman Mills Theater
January-February 2024
From Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes a timely new musical about two talented young journalists on increasingly diverging paths. Set in the late 1990s amid a rapidly changing media landscape we meet a fast-rising journalist, Ethan Dobson, and an assistant copy editor, Robin Martinez, at the revered magazine The Connector. In a world that values the next big sensation, Ethan’s writing prowess and ambition force him to confront how far he’ll go for the ultimate scoop and Robin to consider how far she’ll go to stop him.
With a book by Jonathan Marc Sherman, The Connector will feature Brown leading the band at each performance and reuniting with The Last Five Years and Songs for a New World director Daisy Prince.
The Connector is supported by the Gary Platt Initiative for New Musicals at MCC Theater and the Burton A. Zipser and Sandra D. Zipser Foundation.
The NY Premiere of
The Lonely Few
Music and Lyrics by Zoe Sarnak, Book by Rachel Bonds, Directed by Trip Cullman and Ellenore Scott
Newman Mills Theater
April-June 2024
Lila and her band, The Lonely Few, have a standing gig at Paul's Juke Joint in their small Kentucky town. When an established musician, Amy, gives them a chance to join her on tour, they take it. Love blossoms between Lila and Amy on the road, but can it endure? The Lonely Few is a New York premiere rock musical about the forces that launch us from home and the gravitational pull that can bring us back.
By award-winning film and stage composer Zoe Sarnak and Rachel Bonds and directed by Trip Cullman and Ellenore Scott.
Uncensored
An MCC Youth Company Production
April 2024
An annual highlight of the MCC calendar, the 23rd Edition of Uncensored will feature New York City teens taking over MCC’s main stage to speak their truth. MCC Youth Company’s Performance Lab and Brooklyn Youth Company branches put on exhilarating shows with student-written monologues, scenes, and ensemble pieces. Uncensored is a celebration of young voices who speak to their experiences, hopes and dreams reflecting on today, while looking toward the future. Their words are emboldened with music and movement, resulting in a show that will bring you to your feet.
MCC Theater’s Education Programs are supported by The Ruth and Harold Newman Education Fund, The Pinkerton Foundation, The Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation, the Tiger Baron Foundation, The Eric Rosedale Playwriting Fund, the Axe-Houghton Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, and by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the city council.
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