Merrimack Repertory Theatre Announces Next Five Shows in 2021-22 Season and Return to Live, In-Person Performances

With safety as a paramount goal, Merrimack Repertory Theatre announced today five shows to continue the 2021-22 Season, including a return to live, in-person performances in November. The season will include the world premiere of The Rise and Fall of Holly Fudge by Trista Baldwin, a new concert of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway classics, the East Coast premiere of Best Summer Ever, and two productions that were postponed due to the pandemic.

MRT's traditional seven-show subscription season began this spring with the video-only productions of Until the Flood by Dael Orlandersmith and A Woman of the World by Rebecca Gilman.

The new roster will include the previously announced Wild Horses by Allison Gregory, which will be available at alternative locations and on video, September 15-October 3, 2021. The company will return to in-person performances at the Nancy L. Donahue Theatre in Liberty Hall with an MRT commissioned play, The Rise and Fall of Holly Fudge, November 26-December 12, 2021. After the holidays, the season will continue with the previously postponed Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End by Allison Engel and Margaret Engel, January 19-February 6, 2022; the concert Back Together Again: The Music of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, March 30-April 17, 2022, featuring Christina Acosta Robinson and Ken Robinson; and the East Coast premiere of Best Summer Ever, written and performed by Kevin Kling, May 4-22, 2022.

In addition, MRT will present a special, non-subscription musical event: Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie, February 23-March 13, 2022.

Courtney Sale, the Nancy L. Donahue Artistic Director, said, "After an immensely challenging year for theatres everywhere, we are delighted to announce our 43rd season. This selection of plays was finely curated for all audiences in the Merrimack region to invite us to come together under one roof and share the magic of live theatre. With music, comedy, provocation, love, and wickedly talented artists, I am especially proud to reopen MRT in-person programming with this slate of plays."

To subscribe to the five-show season or to purchase individual tickets to Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie, contact the Enterprise Bank Box Office at 978-654-4678 or visit www.mrt.org. Individual tickets to other shows will go on sale later in the summer.

The theatre's most recent production in front of an audience, Nina Simone: Four Women, closed on March 9, 2020, and the company suspended most operations two weeks later. Over the last year, MRT has been successful in securing state and federal funds to keep the 42-year-old company afloat. Last summer the theatre launched a virtual version of its acclaimed MRT Young Company; this past fall, a reading series of new plays by Vichet Chum, Trista Baldwin, and Steven Dietz; and a video production of Fannie Lou Hamer: Speak On It!, a tribute to the civil rights activist. MRT reintroduced full productions, although available only on video, in April and May with Until the Flood and A Woman of the World.

Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas said, "This year has been incredibly difficult, and it has forced us to think creatively about the challenges faced by MRT and many other theatres. We're excited to cautiously begin producing for in-person audiences again and hope that our community will continue to support live theatre in Lowell."

In addition, the last few months have entailed lengthy union negotiations to ensure that all employees - actors, designers, playwrights, directors, technicians, and staff - return to the safest environment possible. MRT has worked diligently with state and federal officials, as well as the four major theatrical unions, to determine the most secure way to reopen for rehearsals, the filmed stage productions, and in November, the full return to in-person theatre.

Season subscriptions, on sale now, start at $75 for four shows or $92 for all five shows (preview series). Individual tickets start at $21 and will go on sale August 10. To reserve, visit www.mrt.org or call the Enterprise Bank Box Office at 978-654-4678.

2021-22 SUBSCRIPTION SEASON - Beginning in September

WILD HORSES

By Allison Gregory

Directed by Courtney Sale

September 15-October 3, 2021 (approximate performance period)

Wild Horses will perform live at locations in and/or around the Lowell area and will be available as a fully filmed video. Locations will be announced in late summer. MRT will return to traditional live performances in Liberty Hall in November 2021.

Do you remember being a teenager? A woman hilariously recounts one summer of her youth: those first feelings of all-consuming love, the emergence of her own identity, the realization that all things are not as they should be, and the sheer intoxication of sweet freedom. With a little help from her friends Skinny Lynny and Zabby, she sets out to right an injustice with exhilarating, heartbreaking, and life-changing results. Those teen years? It will all come rushing back on this ride of a lifetime.

With live music. Features performances of 70s classics: "A Horse with No Name," "Smoke on the Water," "Shambala," "Me and Mrs. Jones," "The Cisco Kid," "Dancing in the Moonlight," and more.

WORLD PREMIERE

THE RISE AND FALL OF HOLLY FUDGE

By Trista Baldwin

Directed by Courtney Sale

Our Return to Liberty Hall!

November 26-December 12, 2021

Play Commissioned by MRT

Christmas 2020. Carol is a hard-working single mother who makes award-winning "Holly" fudge, named after her daughter. She serves it every holiday. She gifts it to her friends and co-workers. She's determined that this year won't be any different, even if she has to wear a mask while whipping up her famous dessert. But with her daughter Holly's girlfriend crashing Christmas, her neighbor's new-found love of confectionary, and the protests erupting on her front lawn, Carol is finding it tough to make this the most wonderful time of year.

ERMA BOMBECK: AT Wit's End

By Allison Engel and Margaret Engel

Directed by Terry Berliner

January 19-February 6, 2022

Funniest. Mom. Ever. A celebration of humorist Erma Bombeck, At Wit's End rejoices in the life of a woman considered to be one of America's favorite moms, who championed the everyday lives of housewives with a daring truth few of her generation were willing to tell.

BACK TOGETHER AGAIN: THE MUSIC OF Roberta Flack AND DONNY HATHAWAY

A New Concert

March 30-April 17, 2022

Friends since their college days, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway soared to the top of the Billboard charts as one of the most cherished and mellifluous duos in music history. Now Broadway performers, and husband-and-wife, Christina Acosta Robinson and Ken Robinson will bring the love together again for a concert of the pair's iconic hits. Music direction by Emmy nominee David Dabbon.

Specific songs will be announced at a later date. Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's greatest hits include "Where Is the Love?," "The Closer I Get to You," "You Are My Heaven," "Killing Me Softly with His Song," and "Someday We'll All Be Free."

BEST SUMMER EVER

Written and Performed by Kevin Kling

Directed by Steven Dietz

May 4-22, 2022

Ah, summer for a kid - sleepaway camps, lazy days at the pool, and late nights gazing at the stars. That's the life for nine-year-old Maurice until a significant loss and one little lie threaten to throw shade on his summer. Best Summer Ever will bring you back to your own days of limitless imagination, simple joys, and startling surprises.

Written and Performed by Kevin Kling - acclaimed playwright, storyteller, and contributor to NPR's All Things Considered. He is the recipient of the Whiting Award for American Drama and the National Storytelling Network's Circle of Excellence Award. With Musician Rob Witmer.

SPECIAL EVENT

WOODY SEZ: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF Woody Guthrie

Devised by David M. Lutken with Nick Corley and Darcie Deaville, Helen Jean Russel and Andy Teirstein

Music Direction by David M. Luken

Directed by Nick Corley

February 23-March 13, 2022

Joyous, toe-tapping, and inspirational, Woody Sez brings to life the stories and songs of America's great troubadour. The four performers, playing more than 20 instruments, transport the audience through the riveting and often controversial life of Woody Guthrie. Musical numbers include "This Land Is Your Land," "Pastures of Plenty," "Bound for Glory," "Hard Travelin'," and "So Long, It's Been Good To Know Yuh."

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