Merrimack Repertory Theatre Reveals 2024-25 Season Lineup

Merrimack Repertory Theatre has announced its slate of productions for the 2024-2025 season. The 46th season will include seven plays. Featuring well-known classics, old tales with new twists, familiar audience favorites, and freshly conceived contemporary pieces, bringing MRT’s Liberty Hall stage to new heights. MRT’s new roster of productions exhibits its dedication to pushing boundaries and its mission of telling stories that reflect the Lowell community, all while bringing theatre excellence to audiences of every age.

The announcement was made by Nancy L. Donahue Executive Artistic Director Courtney Sale at Liberty Hall via video. Sale, who has served as MRT’s artistic director since 2020, says of the upcoming season, “I am honored to share this dynamic lineup of shows with MRT audiences. This season holds laugh-out-loud comedy, spine-chilling suspense, memorable music, holiday tradition, and new perspectives on our home city. We are excited to welcome our community to the 46th season.”

The 2024/25 MRT season includes the iconic comedy The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe by Jane Wagner, the chilling classic Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein by David Catlin, the memorable musical Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill by Lanie Robertson, the farcical romp The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel), the stirring family drama What You Are Now by Sam Chanse, Lowell’s holiday tradition A Christmas Carol by Courtney Sale, and Elephant and Piggie’s “We are in a Play!” with book and lyrics by Mo Willems and music by Deb Wicks La Puma.

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe

By Jane Wagner

October 2, 2024 – October 20, 2024

Intertwining colorful, complex, and hysterically funny characters, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe is a timeless play about what makes us human. In a role originated by the formidable Lily Tomlin and written by Emmy Award Winner Jane Wagner, the story holds lasting and quick-witted power as an examination of American society.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

By David Catlin

November 8, 2024 – November 24, 2024

A dark evening of ghost stories springs to haunting life in this adventurous adaptation of Mary Shelley’s famous novel. Replete with love, horror, power and unholy experimentation, Frankenstein illuminates the question: what makes us monsters?

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill

By Lanie Robertson

February 5, 2025 – February 23, 2025

March 1959. Billie Holiday gives the greatest concert of her life in a South Philadelphia bar. And you have a front row seat. One of MRT audiences’ favorite plays of all time, Lady Day elucidates the life and artistry of Billie Holiday. With songs like “Strange Fruit” and “God Bless the Child”, this intimate cabaret experience will leave you breathless.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company

The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel)

By Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor

March 12, 2025 – March 30, 2025

Nothing is rotten in the state of Denmark as young Hamlet leaps into action to save the nunnery with Ophelia and Yorick the jester—what could go wrong? A fast, funny, and physical extravaganza filled with scary ghosts, wee Scots, singing nuns, and a mysterious vassal in the castle. MRT friends, The Reduced Shakespeare Company, take a deep, irreverent dive into the greatest play ever written.

What You Are Now

By Sam Chanse

April 23, 2025 – May 11, 2025

Pia is a passionate young researcher investigating new ideas about how to heal the mind from traumatic memories. Her interest is deeply intertwined with her family’s history. When a figure from the past shows up, urging Pia’s mother to testify about her experiences during the violence of 1970s Cambodia, unresolved histories are brought to the surface. Set in Lowell, What You Are Now is a thrillingly insightful new play that asks the audience to move through the shifting dance between the past and present, and to consider how with new understanding we might change “who you were then” to “what you are now.”

Off-Subscription

A Christmas Carol 

By Courtney Sale

December 14, 2024 – December 29, 2024

A holiday treat for the entire family. Experience Dicken’s timeless story of redemption, featuring Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, ghosts, and all your favorite characters including some played by local youth. Spooky, heartwarming, and joyful—with a touch of Lowell lore, it’s the perfect way to recapture the spirit of Christmas and make it last throughout the year.

Off-Subscription

Elephant and Piggie’s “We are in a Play!”

Book and Lyrics by Mo Willems

Music by Deb Wicks La Puma

January 8, 2025 – January 24, 2025, | School Performances

January 25, 2025, | Public Performance

When Gerald and Piggie get together, anything is possible. They might get invited to a fancy pool costume party, learn a crazy new dance, or decide to spend the day skipping and playing ping-pong in silly hats. These two pals and their devotion to each other through ups and downs will remind you of how good it feels to put friends first.

Ticket information

Ticket information can be found on mrt.org, as well as by contacting the Enterprise Bank Box Office at 978-654-4678 or box_office@mrt.org. Discounts are also available, including student discount ticket prices of $15 to any show, in person, by phone, or online. Student ID proof is required for ticket pickup. Recurring discounts include the $5 first night, $10 Lowell night, educator, group, military discounts, and much more. For further information, visit www.mrt.org/discountsandevents or contact the Enterprise Bank Box Office.

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