MRT Announces New Directors

Boston director Shana Gozansky will direct The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, and Chicago director Jessica Hutchinson will helm the world premiere of The Lowell Offering for Merrimack Repertory Theatre's 2019-20 Season. The pair replace former Artistic Director Sean Daniels as director of these plays.

Gozansky, currently directing Barefoot in the Park at Gloucester Stage, will take the reins of The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, the highly anticipated counterpart to last season's Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, which became the bestselling play in MRT's 40-year history. As the events of Miss Bennet unfold upstairs at Pemberley, the servants below find themselves in the midst of a scandal; an unwelcome visitor has stumbled into the kitchen in the middle of the night - Mr. Darcy's nemesis and Lydia's incorrigible husband: Mr. Wickham.

The Wickhams by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon will play November 27-December 22, 2019. Gozansky has previously directed for Trinity Rep, Manhattan Ensemble Theatre, and Berkeley Rep.

A Chicago-based director with a long history of developing new works, Hutchinson will direct the world premiere of The Lowell Offering by Andy Bayiates and Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, a play about the Lowell "Mill Girls" and the world's first magazine written solely by women. The Lowell Offering plays March 18-April 12, 2020.

Hutchinson has served as director and dramaturg for original plays throughout the country. She served as artistic director of Chicago's New Leaf Theatre for five years and was a co-founder of Austin's groundswell [sic], a new play development company. She came to Lowell last month to direct a workshop of The Lowell Offering, a joint effort between MRT and Middlesex Community College.

MRT's seven-play season begins September 11. Single tickets go on sale in July. Season Subscriptions for all seven plays range in price from $140 to $378 with student subscriptions at $70. To purchase, visit www.mrt.org or contact the MRT Box Office at 978-654-4678.

MERRIMACK REPERTORY THEATRE www.mrt.org

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) celebrates 40 years this season as the Merrimack Valley's professional theatre. With a steadfast commitment to contemporary voices and new plays, MRT produces seven works, including several world premieres, each season.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Sean Daniels and Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas, MRT strives to fulfill its mission "to share theatrical stories of human understanding that reflect and engage our community." The company guarantees that shows are accessible to audiences of all incomes; partners with businesses and non-profit groups to fully engage the community; and contributes to the economic vitality of Lowell by attracting diverse audiences from throughout the region.

Recent acclaimed productions include Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, the bestselling production in MRT history (directed by Daniels); Daniels' own autobiographical play, The White Chip; I and You (Off-Broadway transfer) and Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson, the most produced playwright in America; Women in Jeopardy! by Wendy MacLeod (directed by Daniels); KNYUM by Cambodian playwright and actor Vichet Chum; and The Lion, singer-songwriter Benjamin Scheuer's award-winning musical memoir (also directed by Daniels), which launched its national tour from MRT in August 2015, following critically acclaimed runs in New York and London.

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