MERMAID HOUR Comes to Moonbox Productions in April

Moonbox Productions will present the New England premier of David Valdes, Mermaid Hour.  Directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary, Mermaid Hour opens on April 26th and runs through May 19th at the Arrow Street Arts performance venue located at 2 Arrow Street in Cambridge.  Tickets are $55 for premium center section seating and $45 for regular seating with Pay-What-You-Wish options available at www.arrowstarts.org.  

Mermaid Hour is a funny, coming-of-age story in which the parents, not the teenagers, need to learn how to change.  For Pilar and Bird, parenting a trans tween is all about guessing how to get it right when they’re not even sure what that means—and it doesn’t help that they’re not on the same page.  Vi just wishes they would keep up: she’s busy navigating her first crush on super-cool Jacob, obsessing over her favorite YouTube vlogger, and just about ready to make herself an internet sensation.  Fast-paced and heartfelt, Mermaid Hour finds all three confronting the gaps between who they are and who they wish to be.

The cast of Mermaid Hour includes Brenny O’Brien (Violet Bardisa-Nickerson), Phil Tayler (Bird Nickerson), Monica Risi (Pilar Bardisa), Nicholas Papayoanou (Jacob Endo), Clara Tan (Mika Endo), and Alex Goldman (Crux Dumay/Merperson).

“David Valdes has created a joyous and important piece of theater that reminds us to celebrate the beauty inherent in every one of us,” said Sharman Altshuler, Producer & Artistic Director for Moonbox Productions.  “We are so excited and honored to be bringing this production to the stage and look forward to sharing it with our audiences in our new home base at Arrow Street Arts,” said Altshuler.

The creative and design team includes Sharman Altshuler (Producer), Bridget Kathleen O’Leary (Director), Charlotte Stowe (Assistant Director), Wenxuan Xue (Dramaturg), Liz Diamond (Production Stage Manager), Olivia Browne (Assistant Stage Manager), Janie Howland (Scenic Designer), Sarabeth Spector (Assistant Scenic Designer), E Rosser (Costume Designer), Deb Sullivan* (Lighting Designer), Kai Bohlman and Anna Drummond (Sound Designers), Jessie Marasco (Production Electrician), Sarabeth Spector (Props Designer), Kailey Bennett (Production Manager/COVID Safety Manager), Jessie Marasco (Assistant Production Manager), and Katie Smith (Assistant COVID Safety Manager).

With each show, Moonbox Productions partners with a local non-profit, to raise awareness for their cause, create connections for them within the community, and increase the reach and impact of their work.  For the production of Mermaid Hour, Moonbox will be partnering with Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts.

Since 2008, Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts has been providing critical assistance to low-income transgender people in MA.  In addition to their monthly drop-in groups in Boston and Worcester, they provide rental and utility assistance, food assistance, transportation to medical appointments, financial literacy, and personal supplies.  In 2023 TEF opened its Transitional Housing Program, which strives to eliminate homelessness amongst the transgender community in Boston.  With a current waitlist of 180 individuals, the THP provides housing for 8 transgender individuals who have been struggling with homelessness among other challenges.  Residents live in the house for up to one year, providing them time to save up money to secure permanent housing.

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