MNM Theatre Company Partners With King Of Cats Theatre Company to Bring Live Theatre to Families and Schools

MNM Theatre Company will partner with King of Cats Theatre Company to bring Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) to the area.

TYA's purpose is to bring arts education and arts exposure to communities that are often overlooked and underserved within the South Florida community. King of Cats Artistic Director Devin Tupler, along with the MNM Theatre Company team, have created a program that will be available to audiences who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience live theatre. The company's pricing and business model are predicated on the premise that schools and families should be able to afford to experience theatre regardless of their socio-economic circumstances.

"We are so pleased to be partnering with King of Cats," MNM's Producing Artistic Director and CEO said recently. "MNM has always been about community - we cast and hire within our South Florida community, and this is one project that fits our mission statement to a tee."

"Theatre has given me my passion, my work ethic, my love of reading, my love for my fellow man, and almost every other trait I consider positive within myself," Tupler says. "And I am not an anomaly. Almost every person I've met who was exposed to theater as a child (and I don't mean just those working professionally in the field now) are some of the kindest, warmest, and hardest working people I know. So, when I heard from teacher friends that schools' arts and theatre budgets kept getting cut, I knew I had to do something. TYA is focused on inspiring the next generation through the arts, and that mission truly resonates with me."

When asked about the origin of the name of her company, Tupler explains "I picked King of Cats because it refers to the character Tybalt in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, one of the plays we'll be doing in 2022. He's the big brother everyone wishes they had (he's a cousin in the play but still!). He's protective, he loves his family with all of his heart, and his headstrong and fiery nature only show itself when he feels his family being slandered."

King of Cats will mount a four-show season beginning next fall, based on the current public school English curriculum, and will travel to three venues in three counties - Pinecrest Gardens in Miami/Dade, Miramar Cultural Center in Broward County, and FAU's Barry Kaye Auditorium in Palm Beach County, during the 2021-2022 school year.

The company's season will open with the world premiere of Robin Hood: How a Hero Came to Be, by local playwright/actor Robyn Eli Brenner. A devised work that is zany, quirky, fun, and full of heart, Robin Hood will be directed by Seth Trucks, and will run from late October through November.

King of Cats' Devin Tupler will helm the January production, the world premiere of Treasure Island, by South Florida and New York based playwright Luis Roberto Herrera. The play is a swashbuckling, heart-stopping pirate adventure designed for middle schoolers, but has been approved for advanced elementary and 9th and10th grade students.

A new adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, directed by Samantha Kaufman, will be King of Cats' third production of their season. This newly adapted version will retain Shakespeare's classic language, but will add modern music, anachronistic costuming, stunt work, and the innovative use of multimedia. This show is designed for high school students. Romeo and Juliet will run from early February through the first week of April.

Awaken! is an adaptation of the Sleeping Beauty story by David and Paul Rigano, the award-winning cabaret and musical theatre song-writing team known as the Rigano Songbook. The multi-talented brothers will direct and musical direct the production -TYA's only musical of the season. Awaken! is designed for elementary school students and will run in April and May.

To learn more about King of Cats Theatre Company visit www.kingofcatstheatreco.org/. MNM Theatre Company's website can be found at www.mnmtheatre.org/. For more information about reservations, ticketing, pricing, specific dates, and availability, please contact Devin Tupler at kingofcatstheatre@gmail.com / 954-850-0464

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