SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY to Return Off-Broadway this Fall

MCC Theater (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) is thrilled to announce their critically acclaimed, sold out, extended production of School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play, written by 2017-18 Tow Playwright-in-Residence Jocelyn Bioh, and directed by Tony Award winner Rebecca Taichman, will return to New York, playing a strictly limited engagement this fall.

Tickets are now on sale for School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play which will begin previews at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street) on Tuesday, October 16, with an official opening night set for Monday, October 22, 2018. The show is set to run through November 25, 2018. Additional information, including casting, will be announced shortly.

For a limited time, 2018/19 MCC Theater subscribers unlock access to up to 6 School Girls tickets for only $50 each, normally priced at $79 for the general public. School Girls is offered with this exclusive add-on ticket offer and is not included in 2018/19 subscription packages. For tickets and more information, visit www.mcctheater.org

It was also announced today that prior to its MCC run, the MCC Theater's production of School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play will launch the Center Theatre Group's 2018-2019 season at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. The show will begin previews on Sunday, September 2, with an official opening night set for Sunday, September 8. The show is set to run through September 30, 2018.

In School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play, Paulina, the reigning queen bee at Ghana's most exclusive boarding school, has her sights set on the Miss Universe pageant. But the arrival of Ericka, a new student with undeniable talent and beauty, captures the attention of the pageant recruiter--and Paulina's hive-minded friends. This buoyant and biting comedy explores the universal similarities (and glaring differences) facing teenage girls across the globe. How far would you go to be queen bee?

The original design team of School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play returns for this production, and includes scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Dede M. Ayite, lighting design by Jen Schriever, sound design by Palmer Hefferan, hair and wig design by Cookie Jordan, dialect coaching by Deborah Hecht, and casting by Telsey + Company/Adam Caldwell, CSA, William Cantler, CSA, Karyn Casl, CSA.

Jocelyn Bioh was MCC Theater's 2017-2018 Tow Playwright-in-Residence made possible by a grant by The Tow Foundation. Learn more at www.towfoundation.org.

As previously announced, MCC Theater's 2018/19 will include four new productions in the Theater's new, permanent home. The season includes an exciting mix of world and New York premieres from artists both familiar and new to MCC audiences-each fulfilling MCC's longtime commitment to bold, risk-taking works from the most vital voices working in theater today. The newly announced productions will take place in the company's new complex designed by Andrew Berman Architect at West 52nd Street and 10th Ave in New York's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood in two theaters: The Newman Mills Theater and The Susan and Ronald Frankel Theater. For more info on MCC Theater, visit www.mcctheater.org.

MCC is one of New York's leading nonprofit Off-Broadway companies, driven by a mission to provoke conversations that have never happened and otherwise never would. Founded in 1986 as a collective of artists leading peer-based classes to support their own development as actors, writers and directors, the tenets of collaboration, education, and community are at the core of MCC Theater's programming. One of the only theaters in the country led continuously by its founders, Artistic Directors Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, and William Cantler, MCC fulfills its mission through the production of world, American, and New York premiere plays and musicals that challenge artists and audiences to confront contemporary personal and social issues, and robust playwright development and education initiatives that foster the next generation of theater artists and students.

MCC Theater's celebrated productions include Jocelyn Bioh's School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play; Penelope Skinner's The Village Bike; Robert Askins' Hand to God (Broadway transfer; five 2015 Tony Award nominations including Best Play); John Pollono's Small Engine Repair; Paul Downs Colaizzo's Really Really; Sharr White's The Other Place (Broadway transfer); Jeff Talbott's The Submission (winner of the inaugural Laurents/Hatcher Award); Neil LaBute's All The Ways To Say I Love You, Reasons to Be Happy, reasons to be pretty (Broadway transfer, three 2009 Tony Award nominations, including Best Play), Some Girl(s), Fat Pig, and The Mercy Seat; Michael Weller's Fifty Words; Alexi Kaye Campbell's The Pride; Bryony Lavery's Frozen (Broadway transfer; four 2004 Tony Award nominations including Best Play, Tony Award for Best Featured Actor); Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone; Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living (2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist); Margaret Edson's Wit (1999 Pulitzer Prize); and the musicals Coraline, Carrie, and Ride the Cyclone. Many plays developed and produced by MCC have gone on to productions throughout the country and around the world.