Gavin Creel's WALK ON THROUGH: CONFESSIONS OF A MUSEUM NOVICE Adds Performances at MCC Theater

MCC Theater is presenting the World Premiere of Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice, written and performed by Tony Award® winner Gavin Creel (Into the Woods), directed by Linda Goodrich (Loud Nite), and originally commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novicebegan performances on November 13 and will play a limited engagement through January 7, 2024 at MCC Theater’s Susan & Ronald Frankel Theater(511 W 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019).

Tony and Olivier Award-winning actor and songwriter Gavin Creel had never been to The Metropolitan Museum of Art…until now. Inspired by the countless hours he spent wandering through The Met’s world-renowned collections at the invitation of the Museum’s Live Arts department for a MetLiveArts commission, Walk on Through is a thrilling new musical event featuring 16 original, infectious, pop-infused songs, each based on a different work in the collection. In his theatrical songwriting debut, Creel takes us on an intimate, relatable journey of discovery and transformation through the lens of the art that captured his imagination. Whether you are a museum lover or a fellow novice, this show invites you to take a walk with Creel and engage with art, song, and the creative process in a fresh and new way. 

Joining Creel is Sasha Allen (HAIR), Madeline Benson (Conductor, SIX), Chris Peters (“Chris Peters, Grown-Up Singer”), Corey Rawls (The Secret Life of Bees), Ryan Vasquez (MCC’s The Wrong Man) and Scott Wasserman (Hamilton).

Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice features scenic design by I. Javier Ameijeiras (Hamilton), costume design by Jeff Mahshie (Next to Normal), lighting design by Jiyoun Chang (Slave Play), sound design by Alex Neumann (Into the Woods), projection design by David Bengali (The Thanksgiving Play), and orchestrations and arrangements by Madeline Benson, Chris Peters, Corey Rawls, and Scott Wasserman. Madeline Benson is the Music Director and Scott Wasserman is the Electronic Music Designer. Laura Hirschberg is the Production Stage Manager and Nicole Johnson / Harriet Tubman Effect is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consultant. Casting is by The Telsey Office / Rachel Hoffman, CSA.

Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice was originally commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Live Arts Department. The show premiered at The Met in October 2021 and is now making its Off-Broadway debut at MCC Theater.

"Several years ago, we invited Gavin Creel to embark on a creative journey with MetLiveArts,” Limor Tomer, The Met’s Lulu C. and Anthony W. Wang General Manager of Live Arts, commented. “We suggested that he get to know the collection and let it guide him towards an innovative performance. What transpired was deeply personal and uplifting. Through close looking over many months, Gavin found not only artistic inspiration, but also a profound connection to the Museum itself. Walk on Through is a testament to the boundless spirit of creativity and originality that emerges when we open our doors to performers. This work resonates with us all—it gives everyone permission to enter into an intimate relationship with The Met.” 

Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice was developed at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's 2022 National Music Theater Conference (Tiffani Gavin, Executive Director; Alexander Gemignani, Artistic Director).

The performance schedule for Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice is as follows: Wednesdays-Mondays at 7:00PM. Exceptions: There will be additional performances on Wednesday December 20 at 2:00PM, and Friday December 23 at 2:00PM. Two student matinees will be held on December 7 and 14 at 1:00PM.

MCC will also offer an audience conversation after the Saturday December 9 performance. An open caption performance will be held on Wednesday December 6.

Single tickets begin at $155. A limited number of $33 tickets will be available through TodayTix Rush. For tickets and more information, visit mcctheater.org.

MCC will also host a benefit performance of Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice on January 6, 2024, followed by a post-show champagne toast. Tickets for the benefit performance begin at $349 and all proceeds will support MCC Theater's mission to provoke conversation and produce bold new plays and musicals that center and empower the artist.

Subscriptions for MCC’s 2023/24 season start at $200 and include Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice, The Connector, and The Lonely Few, plus unlimited free ticket exchanges, 20% off guest tickets, waived ticket fees, and first access to tickets. MCC also offers a no-frills Flex Ticket package starting at $250.  

For the most up to date covid safety policy be sure to monitor mcctheater.org/covid-safety. 

The following organizations provide MCC Theater with General Operating and Production Support: Howard Gilman Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, New York State Council on the Arts, Richenthal Foundation, Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation Inc., Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation Inc., Lucille Lortel Foundation, Actors’ Equity Foundation.

MCC will also present the World Premiere of The Connector, a new musical with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade), a book by Jonathan Marc Sherman (Clive), and conceived and directed by Daisy Prince (The Last Five Years). The season will conclude in April 2024 with the NY Premiere of The Lonely Few, a new rock musical with music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak (Secret Soldiers), a book by Rachel Bonds (Sundown, Yellow Moon), and direction by Trip Cullman (MCC’s Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow) and Ellenore Scott (Titanique). MCC will also present the 23rd Edition of Uncensored, an MCC Youth Company Production in April 2024.

ABOUT MCC Theater

MCC Theater is one of New York’s leading nonprofit Off-Broadway companies, driven by a mission to provoke conversations that have never happened and otherwise never would. Founded in 1986 by Bob LuPone (1946-2022) and Bernie Telsey, and later joined by co-Artistic Director Will Cantler, as a collective of artists leading peer-based classes to support their own development as actors, writers and directors, MCC fulfills its mission of through the production of world, American, and New York premiere plays and musicals that challenge artists and audiences to confront contemporary personal and social issues, and robust playwright development and education initiatives that foster the next generation of theater artists and students.

MCC Theater’s celebrated productions include Guadalís Del Carmen’s Bees & Honey; Kate Nash’s Only Gold with a book by Andy Blankenbuehler and Ted Malawer; Donja R. Love’s soft; Ross Golan’s The Wrong Man; Aziza Barnes’ BLKS; Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play; Penelope Skinner’s The Village Bike; Robert Askins’ Hand to God (Broadway transfer; five 2015 Tony Award® nominations including Best Play); John Pollono’s Small Engine Repair; Paul Downs Colaizzo’s Really Really; Sharr White’s The Other Place (Broadway transfer); Jeff Talbott’s The Submission (Laurents/Hatcher Award); Neil LaBute’s reasons to be pretty (Broadway transfer, three 2009 Tony Award® nominations, including Best Play), Some Girl(s), Fat Pig, The Mercy Seat, and All The Ways To Say I Love You; Michael Weller’s Fifty Words; Alexi Kaye Campbell’s The Pride; Bryony Lavery’s Frozen (Broadway transfer; four 2004 Tony Award® nominations including Best Play, Tony Award® for Best Featured Actor); Tim Blake Nelson’s The Grey Zone; Rebecca Gilman’s The Glory of Living (2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist); Margaret Edson’s Wit (1999 Pulitzer Prize); and musicals including Alice by Heart, Ride the Cyclone, Carrie, and Coraline.  Many plays developed and produced by MCC have gone on to productions throughout the country and around the world. 

Over the years MCC has worked with thousands of students through the innovative MCC Youth Company, school partnerships, and student matinee programs.

Executive Director Blake West joined the company in 2006. MCC opened the doors to its new home in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, on January 9, 2019, unifying the company’s activities under one roof for the first time and expanding its producing, artist development, and education programming. MCC founding Co-Artistic Director Bob LuPone sadly passed away on August 27, 2022. MCC continues to honor his fierce need for engagement with the art, the artists, and the audience and remember the profound impact he had on everyone who entered its spaces.