Paul Mecurio's Permission to Speak at Marcus Performing Arts Center

Four of the most brilliant minds in TV and movies come together to present the ground-breaking live theater experience Permission to Speak. Fresh off a critically acclaimed, sold-out run off-Broadway, Permission to Speak features hilarious and jaw-dropping stories from audience members co-starring alongside Emmy and Peabody Award-winning comedian/actor Paul Mecurio, who punctuates the evening with his own jokes and anecdotes. 

Among the show’s creators, they have been honored with a combined 33 Emmys, six Peabodys and two Grammy Awards, but the real stars of the show are the audience themselves. In Permission to Speak, audience members volunteer to join Paul on stage. 

With Paul at the center of the action, driving and guiding the fun, the evening takes on a life of its own. Paul fearlessly, but respectfully, uses humor and compassion to create dynamic exchanges that lead to meaningful and often surprisingly unexpected connections. Audience members are comfortably and confidently empowered to reveal personal stories that are fun, inspiring, compelling and relatable. One fan remarked, “You could see this show a dozen times and never see the same show twice.” 

The real magic ofPermission to Speakis the humanity, candor and organic humor of its participants – and Paul. All guests willingly share their fascinating stories, bringing theentire audience on a fun, emotional journey that connects them all.  

About the Creators 

Paul Mecurio has appeared countless times on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CBS Sunday Morning, The Tonight Show, HBO, NBC, ABC, and MSNBC, as well on his own Comedy Central TV special. 

The show’s director, Frank Oz, brings a touch of his movie and TV magic to the stage of Permission to Speak.Frank’s credits include the major motion pictures Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Bowfinger, Stepford Wives, and Little Shop of Horrors. Oz’s close collaboration with Jim Henson, creating and performing many well-loved Muppet characters, led to his iconic work as the voice and puppeteer of Yoda in the Star Wars franchise. 

The set of Permission to Speak is as much a star of the show as anyone on stage and it’s no wonder why. Behind the show’s ingenious environment are 23-time Emmy Award Winner for Production Design, Jim Fenhagen, who is best known for countless late night TV shows, the Olympic Games and five Super Bowls, and animator J.J. Sedelmaier, the artist behind ground-breaking animation on MTV’s Beavis & Butt-Head, Saturday Night Live’s TV Funhouse cartoons (including The Ambiguously Gay Duo), ABC’s relaunch of Schoolhouse Rock, and Cartoon Network’s Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.