Main Street Theater presents the Regional Premiere of GRAND CONCOURSE

Main Street Theater (MST) continues its 2016 - 2017 MainStage season with the regional premiere of Grand Concourse by Heidi Schreck. The production opens April 1 and runs through April 30 at Main Street Theater - Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd. Performances are on Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $36 - $45, depending on date and section, and are on sale via phone at 713.524.6706 or online at MainStreetTheater.com.

Having dedicated her life to religious service, Shelley runs a Bronx soup kitchen with unsentimental efficiency, but lately her heart's not quite in it. Her brisk nature masks an unsettling fear that her efforts are meaningless. When Emma - an idealistic but confused college dropout - arrives to volunteer, her reckless mix of generosity and self?involvement pushes Shelley to the breaking point. With keen humor and startling compassion, Heidi Schreck's play navigates the mystery of faith, the limits of forgiveness, and the pursuit of something resembling joy. A finalist for the 2015 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, a nominee for the 2015 Lucille Lortel Award, Grand Concourse also made The Kilroys List in 2014. Mature language and adult situations.

Heidi Schreck is a playwright, a two-time Obie Award-winning actor, and a television writer. Her first play Creature was produced in New York in by New Georges and Page 73 in a well-received production directed by Leigh Silverman; her second There Are No More Big Secrets, directed by Kip Fagan, premiered at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, and was a New York Magazine and Time Out New York's Critic's pick. Most recently, The Long Wharf produced her dark recession-era comedy, The Consultant, which was developed at Playwrights and also directed by Fagan. A former Page 73 Playwriting Fellow and Sundance artist, Heidi has had commissions for South Coast Repertory Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club/Sloan Foundation, and True Love Productions. She has performed extensively at theaters such as Playwrights Horizons, The Public (Shakespeare in the Park), Manhattan Theatre Club, Two-Headed Calf, The Foundry, Clubbed Thumb, The Women's Project, The Roundabout, Williamstown, Berkeley Rep and Center Theatre Group. On television, Heidi has appeared on "The Good Wife," "SVU," and Showtimes' "Nurse Jackie," where she has also worked as a writer.

April 2: The Rev. Steve Capper, Vicar and CEO of Lord of the Streets, will give a post-show reflection followed by an open discussion with the artists and audience. Since 1990, Lord of the Streets has welcomed and addressed the holistic needs of those who are homeless in Houston's downtown and Mid-town. FREE and open to all. Even if you are not seeing the play on this day, you are welcome to attend.

MST is hosting a clothing drive for Lord of the Streets during the run of Grand Concourse. When you come to see the show, please bring new or gently worn socks, underwear, undershirts, and jeans for both men and women. Lord of the Streets (LOTS) is a church community that has, through staff and volunteers, welcomed and addressed the holistic needs of those who are homeless in Houston's downtown and Mid-town since 1990. Their ultimate goals are to see lives restored to dignity, health and productivity, and a city without homelessness.

3401 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77004 713-526-0311 www.lordofthestreets.org

About the Production

Rachel Dickson is the director of Grand Concourse. Ms. Dickson has worked extensively in Houston as a director, and actor and a teacher at Main Street Theater, Stages Repertory Theatre, The Ensemble Theatre, Houston Shakespeare Festival, Houston Ebony Opera Guilda, Actors' Theatre of Houston, and Interactive.

The cast includes Rutherford Cravens, Herman Gambhir, Callina Situka, and Morgan Starr.

The design team includes Torsten Louis (set design), Eric L. Marsh (lighting design), Deborah Anderson (costume design), Yezminne Zepeda (sound design), and Rodney Walsworth (properties design). Julie Paré is the Production Stage Manager.

About Main Street Theater

Main Street Theater provides theater experiences for all ages. Founded in 1975, our MainStage produces professional, intimate, literary plays for adults and operates under an Actors' Equity Association union contract; our Theater for Youth produces professional, engaging productions based on children's literature for families and school groups, both in-house and on tour around Texas; and we offer Education and Outreach programs on-site and at satellite locations around the Greater Houston area for youth aged 4 - high school. We work out of 2 facilities: our Rice Village home on Times. Blvd., and as part of the MATCH (Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston) on Main Street.

Main Street Theater is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theaters, of Theatre for Young Audiences/USA (formerly ASSITEJ), the world theatre network of theatre for children and young people, and a founding member of Houston Arts Partners. Main Street Theater is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

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