MNM Theatre Company Will Present Two Award-Winning Musicals In 2019

The award-winning MNM Theatre Company, under the direction of Executive Producer and Artistic Director Marcie Gorman, will mount two of Broadway's most beloved and successful musicals in 2019. Man of La Mancha will run from September 13th through September 29th, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum will run from November 22nd through December 8th. Both shows will be performed in the Raymond F. Kravis Center's Rinker Playhouse, and Forum will be a co-presentation with the Kravis Center.

"We chose these two shows after much deliberation," Gorman explains. "And it was a truly collaborative decision. Our team sat down together right after Grease closed and looked at every aspect of our season. We were thrilled with the audience response to our shows - two sold out productions in one season! (Grease and Avenue Q). And since our patrons were so supportive, we decided to include them in the process - Grease audiences were surveyed as to what they would like to see for our next season. Man of La Mancha was the top pick by far, with Forum coming in a strong second. We're thrilled, since these two shows are both Broadway classics, but totally different from one another.

"We pride ourselves on the fact that MNM uses local talent almost exclusively in our productions," Gorman continues, "and these two shows will allow us to continue to showcase the incredible abilities of our own community."

Dominick Ruggiero will direct the witty, irreverent, and deliberately and hilariously politically incorrect A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Bruce Linser will helm Man of La Mancha.

Linser is a 2018 Carbonell nominee for his recent direction of Palm Beach Dramaworks production of Woody Guthrie's American Song: "Man of La Mancha has been on my bucket list for years," Linser said recently. "Set in a Seville prison during the Spanish Inquisition, the musical theatricalizes the adventures of epic literary character Don Quixote as performed through the eyes of his creator, author Miguel de Cervantes. It is one of the most beloved musicals of all time, and is a testament to the power of art, hope, and love to enrich and transform our lives."

Paul Reekie, who has worked with MNM since their first production (A Chorus Line, 2014) will serve as the musical director for both Man of La Mancha and A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum: "While both shows are "period pieces" (in their own ways), the orchestration in Forum has a contemporary yet classical musical theatre sound, while La Mancha strives for an organic, natural tone (no piano!)," he says. "Both shows were written within five years of each other, and both have a trumpet in them, but contrast a "musical theatre" trumpet sound from the modern age (Forum) with a renaissance trumpet sound (La Mancha), and there you will hear the vastly different effect one instrument can have on the mood of the show."

Man of La Mancha will run from September 13 - September 29, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum will run from November 22 - December 8. Both productions will take place in the Raymond Kravis Center for the Performing Arts' Rinker Playhouse. Ticket prices and details will be coming soon.

MNM Theatre Company attained not-for-profit 501(c)(3) status in 2018. They are an award- winning theatre company that performs at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in the Rinker Playhouse. Donations can be sent to MNM Theatre Company, 318 S. Lake Drive, Lantana, FL 33462. For more information, please visit mnmtheatre.org.

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