When the universe closes a theatre door, it opens a virtual one.
Come on in.

 

So much has happened since we last saw you in person. While our theatres are closed, the MTC staff has created our virtual stage to give artists a forum to express themselves and to stay in touch with our audience. In this difficult moment, it is more important than ever for us to find ways to connect and to support the art that helps us explore our shared experiences. This new forum has proven to be a fresh and vibrant way for us to innovate, experiment and entertain, and we are thrilled to be expanding our virtual programming.

 

 

FOR THEATRE LOVERS

SNAPSHOTS SERIES

Monthly, MTC will premiere original Snapshots, each approximately ten minutes in length and created exclusively for the digital format, inspired by our current moment in theatre and the world. Premiere dates for each Snapshot performance will be announced soon.

 

CURTAIN CALL SERIES

MTC celebrates shows from its heralded past with a selection of beloved productions brought roaring back to life and onto your computer screen. This month, we present THREE DAYS OF RAIN written by Richard Greenberg, directed by Evan Yionoulis with Patricia Clarkson, John Slattery, and Bradley Whitford. Premiere dates for this monthly series of readings are now announced.

THE SHOW GOES ON

Revisit some of MTC’s greatest hits and rare gems, with production footage alongside new stories from original members of the cast and creative team. This month, we share selected footage from CASA VALENTINA written by Harvey Fierstein and directed by Joe Mantello. Relive the production through footage and a special reunion with Fierstein and cast members Reed Birney, John Cullum, Gabriel Ebert, Tom McGowan, Patrick Page, Nick Westrate, and Mare Winningham

ARTISTS IN CONVERSATION

Take a front row seat and hear from some of today’s most in-demand theatrical talents. MTC brings artists together for a discussion about their artistic perspectives. The series continues with the creative team of CLASSIX.

New conversations will be announced by email and on MTC’s social media.

VIRTUAL EVENTS & TALKBACKS

Since closing our theatres, we’ve moved the action online. Whether you want to learn playwrighting techniques from a Pulitzer winner or simply laugh while roasting vegetables, there’s something to suit every quarantine mood.

PLAYWRIGHTS CORNER

Each Tuesday throughout the summer and fall, a different playwright invited you to see the world through their eyes, via MTC’s Instagram Story. (Check out past takeovers in our highlights.)

FOR STUDENTS & FAMILIES

STUDENT MONOLOGUE CHALLENGE

Within 2 weeks of school closures, we offered high school students a platform to express whatever they really needed to say – and have a professional actor record it.

THEATRE THURSDAY WORKSHOPS

Each Thursday afternoon in July and August, MTC Education is offering free online workshops designed exclusively for high school students.

PLAYWRITING WORKSHOPS

MTC Education’s Family Drama Playwriting Workshops provide you the opportunity to explore a range of theatremaking and playwriting activities, to get your creative juices flowing and propel you from idea to page.

Artists in Conversation

Live conversations with a pair of theatre artists about their experiences and artistic perspectives.

9/25: Artists in Conversation: Eboni Booth + Jocelyn Bioh
MTC-commissioned playwrights Eboni Booth (Paris) and Jocelyn Bioh (School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play) chatted about their experiences, artistic perspectives, and the many hats they wear as both writers and performers.

10/9: Artists in Conversation: Harvey Fierstein + Kimberly Senior
MTC hosted a live conversation between iconic writer/performer Harvey Fierstein, and director Kimberly Senior about their experiences, artistic perspectives, and the many hats they wear in the theatre and beyond.

10/16: Artists in Conversation: Mansa Ra + Ken-Matt Martin
MTC hosted a live conversation between writer Mansa Ra, and producer/director Ken-Matt Martin about their experiences, artistic perspectives, and the many hats they wear in the theatre and beyond.

12/9: Holiday Cocktails & Conversation: Jenny Mudge + Kelly AuCoin
Jenny Mudge and Kelly AuCoin, stars of MTC’s 2015 production, Of Good Stock, reunite for Holiday Cocktails & Conversation with MTC Casting Director Kelly Gillespie to discuss their work in the theatre and their favorite cocktail recipes.

1/7: Artists in Conversation: CLASSIX

Tune in to MTC’s recent conversation with the creative team of CLASSIX! Created by theatre director Awoye Timpo, CLASSIX expands the theatrical canon through an exploration of dramatic works by Black writers. Moderated by MTC’s Director of Play Development, Scott Kaplan, join guest panelists Awoye Timpo, Brittany Bradford, A.J. Muhammad, Dominique Rider, and Arminda Thomas as they discuss their work.

PAST EVENTS

Couldn’t tune-in live? No problem.

4/14: The Out of Work Actors’ Cooking Show with Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker

Welcome to The Out of Work Actors’ Cooking Show! Today, hosts Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker lead you through a simple recipe for roasted vegetables and Spaghetti Alla Bagna Cauda. What does it mean, you ask? Let’s find out!

4/16: Virtual Patron Seminar: Literary

On Thursday, April 16, members of the Patron Program joined Stephen M. Kaus (Director of Artistic Producing) for a conversation with Scott Kaplan (Director of Play Development/Sloan Project Manager) and Elizabeth Sharpe-Levine (Literary Associate) as part of MTC’s first Virtual Patron Seminar. They discussed the play development process at MTC, commissioning playwrights, and how their jobs have pivoted in the face of Covid-19.

5/10: Playwriting Insights from David Auburn

As part of MTC Education’s Family Drama Playwriting Workshop Series, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Auburn (Proof, The Columnist, Lost Lake) shares insights into his writing process and provides practical advice to anyone who wants to write a play.

5/12: The Art of Collaboration: Talkback with Saheem Ali and Michael Thurber

Director Saheem Ali and composer Michael Thurber discuss the art of collaboration, creating new music for new plays, and their work together on MTC’s Sugar in Our Wounds and The New Englanders.

5/21: #MTCMoments with Production Manager Celeste Lagrotteria

As we all miss gathering at the theatre for the remarkable stories and performances on our stages, it’s a good time to reflect on what we look forward to getting back. Hear from our Production Manager, Celeste Lagrotteria, as she shares what MTC means to her and how your support makes a difference.

5/29: In the Director’s Chair with Ruben Santiago-Hudson

In May, we caught up with Ruben Santiago-Hudson, director of MTC’s Tony Award-winning production of August Wilson’s Jitney, for an intimate look at directing.

9/10: Stargate Theatre: THE DIVIDE
Each summer, MTC Education employs a group of young men whose lives have been impacted by the justice system to form the Stargate Theatre Sharon Sullivan company. They develop a play that reflects their lived experiences and their dreams for the future and perform it on an Off-Broadway stage. This year, amidst the COVID-19 crisis, closed theatres, and our nation’s current reckoning with racism, our ensemble came together remotely.
The Divide premiered live on MTC’s Facebook and YouTube pages at 7pm on Thursday, September 10, 2020. Here’s the video:

Game Series Solutions

Spoilers abound! Proceed with caution.

Week 1: A Decade at the Friedman
The inaugural game in our new just-for-fun series was curated by:
WADE HANDY   |   MTC’s Associate Director of Education
–––

In the past 10 years, MTC has produced 29 Broadway shows at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. They’re all in this word search.

How many can you find?

And the solution is:

Week 2: Which Set is That?
This just-for-fun game was curated by:
JOSH HELMAN   |   MTC’s Director of Production
–––

Josh Helman is one of the first people in the world to see the set design for every MTC show. For years, he’s taken photos of sets at various stages of the build process. These are some of his favorite ‘in-progress’ photos of iconic sets from the past few years.

Can you tell which show each set belongs to?

(solutions below the puzzle)

–––

And the solutions are:

–––

#1 – Choir Boy, 2018, Set Design by David Zinn.
#2 – The Father, 2016, Set Design by Scott Pask.
#3 – Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, 2017, Set Design by Scott Pask.
#4 – Vietgone, 2016, Set Design by Tim Mackabee.
#5 – August Wilson’s Jitney, 2016, Set Design by David Gallo.
#6 – INK, 2019, Set Design by Bunny Christie.
#7 – Sugar in Our Wounds, 2018, Set Design by Arnulfo Maldonado.
Week 3: WRITTEN IN THE STARS

This just-for-fun game was curated by:

ROSIE DIVINCENZO   |   MTC Artistic Associate

Written in the stars: if you can name 13 famous actors based on the MTC shows they’ve been in, you’ll reveal a mystery motto for how we feel about 2020!

Within the name that answers each clue, the letter(s) that belong in the red circle will string together to form the phrase. (You may want to grab a piece of scrap paper for this one.)

Can you name enough stars to figure out the mystery phrase? 

Clue 1: RABBIT HOLE (2006), WIT (2012), THE LITTLE FOXES (2017)

▢▢▢▢▢⭕▢   ▢▢▢▢▢

Solution: Cynthia Nixon

 

Clue 2: PRODIGAL SON (2016)

▢▢▢▢⭕▢▢▢   ▢▢▢▢▢▢▢▢

Solution: Timothée Chalamet

 

Clue 3: TIME STANDS STILL (2010), OF GOOD STOCK (2015)

▢▢▢▢▢▢   ⭕▢▢▢▢▢▢▢▢▢▢

Solution: Alicia Silverstone

 

Clue 4: THE WHIPPING MAN (2011), JITNEY (2017)

▢▢▢▢▢   ▢⭕▢▢▢⭕▢

Solution: André Holland

 

Clue 5: BEGGARS IN THE HOUSE OF PLENTY (1991), SIGHT UNSEEN (1992 & 2004), TIME STANDS STILL (2010), THE LITTLE FOXES (2017), MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON (2020)

⭕▢▢▢▢   ▢▢▢▢▢⭕

Solution: Laura Linney

 

Clue 6: RUBY’S PLACE (1975), BLOODSHOT WINE (1975), AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ (1978)

▢▢▢▢▢   ▢▢   ▢▢⭕▢▢▢▢

Solution: André De Shields

 

Clue 7: RUINED (2009), SAINT JOAN (2018)

▢▢⭕▢▢▢▢   ▢▢▢▢▢▢

Solution: Condola Rashad

 

Clue 8: BELLA BELLA (2019)

▢▢▢▢▢▢   ▢▢▢▢▢⭕▢▢▢

Solution: Harvey Fierstein

 

Clue 9: CHOIR BOY (2013 & 2019)

▢⭕⭕▢▢▢   ▢▢▢▢

Solution: Jeremy Pope

 

Clue 10: FOOL FOR LOVE (2015)

▢▢⭕   ▢▢▢▢▢▢▢▢

Solution: Sam Rockwell

 

Clue 11: THE ART OF SUCCESS (1989), FOUR DOGS AND A BONE (1993), PROOF (2000), RECKLESS (2004), THE SNOW GEESE (2013), HEISENBERG (2015 & 2016) – and almost back in 2020!

▢▢▢▢-▢▢▢⭕⭕▢   ▢▢▢▢▢▢

Solution: Mary-Louise Parker

 

Clue 12: BY STROUSE (1977), SYLVIA (1995), WONDER OF THE WORLD (2001), THE COMMONS OF PENSACOLA (2013)

▢▢▢▢▢   ▢▢▢⭕⭕▢▢   ▢▢▢▢▢▢

Solution: Sarah Jessica Parker

 

Clue 13: COLLECTED STORIES (2010)

▢▢▢▢▢   ▢▢▢▢▢⭕⭕

Solution: Sarah Paulson

 

THE MYSTERY PHRASE WRITTEN IN THE STARS:

IT’S ONLY INTERMISSION!

Week 4: WHOSE TONY IS IT ANYWAY?

This just-for-fun game was curated by:

KELLY GILLESPIE   |   MTC Casting Director

 

Whose Tony is it anyway? 

This is a true casting director game: match the jumbled list of 12 Tony-winning actors with the MTC shows and roles for which they won their awards.

ACTOR

1. Viola Davis

2. Cynthia Nixon

3. Frank Langella

4. Judith Light

5. Nina Arianda

6. Adriane Lenox

7. Frances McDormand

8. Cynthia Nixon (again!)

9. Cherry Jones

10. Mary-Louise Parker

11. Ruben Santiago-Hudson

12. John Glover

SHOW

The Assembled Parties

Seven Guitars

Doubt

Doubt (again!)

King Hedley II

Rabbit Hole

Love! Valour! Compassion!

Proof

Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes

Venus in Fur

The Father

Good People

ROLE

Sister Aloysius

Vanda

John Jeckyll / James Jeckyll

Tonya

André

Faye

Birdie Hubbard

Mrs. Miller

Catherine

Margaret

Canewell

Becca

–––

And the solutions are:

–––

ACTOR

1. Viola Davis

2. Cynthia Nixon

3. Frank Langella

4. Judith Light

5. Nina Arianda

6. Adriane Lenox

7. Frances McDormand

8. Cynthia Nixon (again!)

9. Cherry Jones

10. Mary-Louise Parker

11. Ruben Santiago-Hudson

12. John Glover

SHOW

King Hedley II

Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes

The Father

The Assembled Parties

Venus in Fur

Doubt

Good People

Rabbit Hole

Doubt (again!)

Proof

Seven Guitars

Love! Valour! Compassion!

ROLE

Tonya

Birdie Hubbard

André

Faye

Vanda

Mrs. Miller

Margaret

Becca

Sister Aloysius

Catherine

Canewell

John Jeckyll / James Jeckyll

Week 5: FEATURING THE SUPPORTING ROLES

This just-for-fun game was curated by:

ELIZABETH SHARPE-LEVINE   |   MTC Literary Associate

Featuring the Supporting Roles
Some of the most iconic roles in theatre are supporting characters. These eight actors all delivered wonderful performances in featured roles, and several took home Tony Awards for doing so. Can you identify all eight shows – and name the actors?

 

SOLUTIONS:

Adriane Lenox, Doubt (2005)

 

Taye Diggs, The Wild Party (1999)

 

Cynthia Nixon, Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes (2017)

 

Renée Elise Goldsberry, Good People, 2011

 

John Douglas Thompson, August Wilson’s Jitney (2017)

 

Judith Light, The Assembled Parties (2013)

 

Viola Davis, King Hedley II (2001)

 

Bertie Carvel, INK (2019)

Week 6: Tony Winner Crossword

This just-for-fun game was curated by:

MARK BOWERS-MOLTER   |   MTC Ticketing Manager

Tony Winner Crossword
Can you remember enough MTC Tony Award winners to complete this crossword?

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF

–––

And the solutions are:

–––

Week 7: Twice as Nice

This just-for-fun game was curated by:

ANNE MYERS   |   MTC Director of Individual Giving & Operations
___

Twice as Nice
Thousands of actors have tread the boards at Manhattan Theatre Club over the past 50 years. A smaller number have done it twice.

Can you match each actor with the pair of MTC shows they starred in?

ACTOR

1. Condola Rashad

2. Robert Sean Leonard

3. André Holland

4. Alicia Silverstone

5. Patrick Page

6. Daniel Sunjata

7. Tracie Thoms

8. Rosie Perez

9. Alison Pill

10. Oscar Isaac

SHOW

a. THE WHIPPING MAN + AUGUST WILSON’S JITNEY

b. THE COUNTRY HOUSESAINT JOAN

c. DROWNING CROW + LOST LAKE

d. TIME STANDS STILL + OF GOOD STOCK

e. CASA VALENTINA + SAINT JOAN

f. BLACKBIRD + MAURITIUS

g. THE VIOLET HOUR + PRODIGAL SON

h. RUINED + SAINT JOAN

i. BEAUTY OF THE FATHER + WE LIVE HERE

j. RECKLESS + CLOSE UP SPACE

 

SOLUTIONS

1. Condola Rashad
h. RUINED + SAINT JOAN

2. Robert Sean Leonard
g.THE VIOLET HOUR + PRODIGAL SON

3. André Holland
a. THE WHIPPING MAN + AUGUST WILSON’S JITNEY

4. Alicia Silverstone
d. TIME STANDS STILL + OF GOOD STOCK

5. Patrick Page
e. CASA VALENTINA + SAINT JOAN

6. Daniel Sunjata
b. THE COUNTRY HOUSESAINT JOAN

7. Tracie Thoms
c. DROWNING CROW + LOST LAKE

8. Rosie Perez
j. RECKLESS + CLOSE UP SPACE

9. Alison Pill
f. BLACKBIRD + MAURITIUS

10. Oscar Isaac
i. BEAUTY OF THE FATHER + WE LIVE HERE