Mamaí Theatre Company Announces 2017 Summer Season at Playhouse Square

Mamaí Theatre Company announces its 2017 summer season will take place in downtown Cleveland at Playhouse Square in the Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre. Mamaí Board of Directors President David Schiopota states, "The steady and unfaltering work of Co-Artistic Directors Bernadette Clemens and Christine McBurney to fulfill their vision and follow their artistic passions has enthused Northeast Ohio audiences and pushed the bounds of classical theatre in Cleveland. I am elated to announce that Mamaí Theatre Company's next season will be presented at Playhouse Square."

Mamaí proudly announces its 2017 Summer Season:

THE TESTAMENT OF MARY by Colm Tóibín, with Anne McEvoy

Directed by Bernadette Clemens

July 5 - 23, 2017 Wednesdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:30pm

The Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre

A DOLL'S HOUSE by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Thornton Wilder

Directed by Christine McBurney

August 9 - 27, 2017 Wednesdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:30pm

The Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre

Clemens, who leads the company's financial and strategic operations, takes on the role of Executive Artistic Director as of January 1st. She states, "Strong women led this company through unique, high-paced, sustainable growth in its early years. We appreciate that Gina Vernaci and Playhouse Square have acknowledged the work and aspirations of our company by extending an invitation to present at Playhouse Square. This is not only a cause for professional celebration, it is a personal honor, and one we feel deeply."

McBurney, who will continue as Co-Artistic Director, adds, "We are grateful and excited for the opportunity to present our next season at Playhouse Square. The 2017 season program continues the Mamaí tradition of plays that engage audiences with classical material on relevant women's issues. Our first production imagines a supremely iconic mother's famous story through an unexpected telling from her private perspective, and our second production imagines new territory for an iconic wife and mother who gains a new perspective of her own with a door slam that was heard around the world."

"Mamaí's work is well-produced and relevant," said Vernaci, Executive Producer at Playhouse Square, "and when I noticed they were moving around frequently, I decided to invite them to Playhouse Square for a series of discussions about their growth and vision for the future. We determined it would make great sense for them to rent The Helen for their 2017 summer season. I hope their audiences will enjoy being part of the greatest theater scene outside of New York City."

Mamaí's four completed seasons have garnered resounding support from the community and critical acclaim from the press, filling a particular niche within the area's vibrant professional theatre community by producing intelligent, relevant classical theatre in summer that offers equal opportunity for women in the professional theatre community. The company contractually employed 70 women and 17 union actors belonging to Actors' Equity Association among its greater numbers of theatre artists and technicians hired since 2013, and engaged more than 2,000 audience members annually through artistic and educational programming.

Mamaí Awards

The Plain Dealer's 10 Top Shelf Productions on Cleveland Stages 2015: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

Cleveland Jewish News' Best Theatre of 2015: Best Drama - THREE SISTERS; Best Actress - Bernadette Clemens, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

Scene Magazine's Best of Cleveland Theatre 2015: Best Performances in Small(er) Role - John Busser as Mitch, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE; Best Troubled Men/Women - Bernadette Clemens as Blanche, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

Mamaí Theatre Company was co-founded in 2010 and established as a 501(c)3 in 2012. Its mission is to create intelligent, relevant classical theatre that offers an artistic home for Cleveland theatre artists and equal opportunity for women in the professional theatre community.

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