2008-2009 Season
MTR's 2008-2009 season is sure to titillate with the sexual escapades of Michael John LaChiusa's "Hello Again" and the jazz-age romps of Andrew Lippa's "The Wild Party."
Hello, Again
Directed by Briga Heelan
Musical Directed by Brian P. Kennedy
At the MASSMAN THEATRE
PERFORMS:
WEDNESDAY, October 1st at 8pm
THURSDAY, October 2nd at 8pm
FRIDAY, October 3rd at 8pm and 11:30pm
SATURDAY, October 4th at 8pm
SUNDAY, October 5th at 2pm
TICKETS are available AT THE DOOR 1 Hour prior to each performance. Donations are welcome and encouraged. Questions? Email MTR at uscmtr@gmail.com
--CAST--
The Whore...........Jessica Perlman
The Soldier...........Peter Byrnes
The Nurse.............Mary Kate Wiles
The College Boy....Brad Wergley
The Young Wife.....Natalie Storrs
The Husband.........Steve Edlund
The Young Thing....Michael Peha
The Writer.............Derik Nelson
The Actress...........Emily Goglia
The Senator...........Ben Trustman
The joys of sex are here for the asking in this adult musical fantasy suggested by Arthur Schnitzler's "La Ronde." As though seen through the lens of a combination time machine and bawdy, old-time kinescope, HELLO AGAIN crisscrosses beds and jumps from decade to decade, intimately examining the painful secrets that drive characters into each other's arms and towards the bruising effects of reckless passion. With a score that saturates the mind, HELLO AGAIN has an unforgettable, dreamlike quality—and all the luxuriance of an insistent seduction. "Mr. LaChiusa's smart, beguilingly world-weary work was the best original musical of the season…" —NY Times. "LaChiusa is an artist with a puckish, damn-the-torpedoes imagination…his deliriously eclectic score is like tuning into a radio station with a serious President Clinton complex: It wants to please as many listeners as possible. For the camp mavens, there is a devastating pastiche, from "shlag"-heavy Viennese operetta to Yiddish boogie-woogie. For the Sondheim freaks, some devious wordplay. For the 'they don't write them like they used to' crowd, a plangent and hummable ballad…HELLO AGAIN scores." —NY Newsday.
The Wild Party
At the Massman Theater
PERFORMS:
Wednesday, January 21st at 8 pm
Thursday, January 22nd at 8 pm
Friday, January 23rd at 8 pm/ 11:30 pm
Saturday, January 24th at 8 pm
Sunday, January 25th at 2 pm
You can reserve TICKETS by EMAILING uscmtr@gmail.com. Tickets are also available AT THE DOOR 1 Hour prior to each performance. Donations are welcome and encouraged.
Directed and Choreographed by Steve Edlund
Co-Choreographed by Lili Fuller
Musical Directed by Brian P. Kennedy
Assistant Musical Directed by Mandy Mamlet
Stage Manager by Rebecca Suzuki
Produced by Rachel Newman
Assistant Directed by Nathan Singh
Assistant Stage Managed by Melissa Trupp
Production Managed by Melissa Trupp
Asst. Production Managed by Sean Kranz
Costume Designed by Natalie Peyser and Lili Fuller
Set Designed by Steve Edlund
Publicity Managed by Ashley Strumwasser
Asst. Publicity Managed by Ben Trustman
PR: Jessica Pearlman
-STARRING-
Queenie: Briga Heelan
Burrs: Chase Williamson
Black: Garland Hunt Jr.
Kate: Natalie Peyser
Madeleine True: Laura Darrell
Eddie: Ben Trustman
Mae: Lili Fuller
Oscar D’Armano: Kenton Chen
Phil D'Armano: Jeffery Watson
Jackie: Michael Marchak
Sam Himelsteen: Adam North
Rose Himelsteen: Rachel Saltzman
Max: Cameron Ernst
Nadine: Hayley Huntley
Dolores: Emily Iscoff-Daigian
Sally: Mary Kate Wiles
Adapted from a book-length poem written in and about the Roaring Twenties, Andrew Lippa's WILD PARTY tells the story of one wild evening in the Manhattan apartment shared by Queenie and Burrs, a vaudeville dancer and a vaudeville clown. In a relationship marked by vicious behavior and recklessness (mirroring the time in which they live), they decide to throw a party to end all parties. As the guests arrive, we meet an assortment of people living on the edge. Queenie and Burrs set out to make each other jealous, but Queenie begins to fall in love with her conquest named Black. After a long night of decadence, Burrs' jealousy erupts and he comes to a violent end at Black's hand. In the stark light of a new day, Queenie moves out into a brighter world, although not necessarily a brighter future, leaving the passed-out revelers in her wake.
An award-winning score by Andrew Lippa provides excitement and drive for this tale of passions out of control. Capturing the sound of a bygone era with a nod to the present one, he makes us realize that moral decadence is not only limited to our past.