MCC's REALLY REALLY Begins Performances Today

Performances begin today for the MCC Theater (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) New York premiere production of Paul Downs Colaizzo's Really Really, directed by David Cromer (the Obie Award and Lucille Lortel Award-winning director of hits Our Town, Adding Machine and Tribes). The production, which marks Colaizzo's New York playwriting debut, plays at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC) through March 10, 2013. An official opening is set for Tuesday, February 19th at 7:00 p.m. As announced on January 29th, the world premiere of Really Really, which opened in February 2012 at the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre in D.C., has been nominated for 'The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical' at this year's Helen Hayes Awards. As previously noted, MCC's New York premiere of Really Really marks a brand new production of the play directed by Cromer.

Really Really features Matt Lauria (NBC's "Friday Night Lights" & "Parenthood"), ZOSIA MAMET (HBO's "Girls", AMC's "Mad Men"), Lauren Culpepper (Signature's Really Really), David Hull (Broadway's Wicked & How to Succeed...), Evan Jonigkeit (Broadway's High with Kathleen Turner), Kobi Libii (Off-Broadway's CQ/CX), and Aleque Reid (Hair 1st National Tour). The play begins in the hazy aftermath of a wild party when 'the morning after' appears to be just another day in the undergrad carnival that revolves around a close circle of friends. But when morning-after gossip about privileged Davis (Lauria) and ambitious Leigh (Mamet) turns ugly, the veneer of loyalty and friendship is peeled back to reveal a vicious jungle of sexual politics, raw ambition, and class warfare where only the strong could possibly survive.

Paul Downs Colaizzo's startlingly funny, booze-soaked cornucopia, Really Really, took Washington D.C. by storm last season with its acclaimed, record-breaking run at the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre. In addition to direction by David Cromer (whose visionary take on Our Town floored New York audiences in 2009, and whose Tribes is currently one of Off-Broadway's biggest hits), this production features scenic design by David Korins (Annie), costume design by Sarah Laux (associate designer, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), lighting design by David Wiener (reasons to be pretty), and sound design by Daniel Kluger (Tribes).

All performances of Really Really will offer $25 Under 30 seating, with Front Row and Rush seats available two hours prior to each curtain, pending availability, for $25 to patrons 29 years old or younger on the day of the performance. Advanced $25 Under 30 seating is also offered online for each performance, with tickets available for pick-up at will call with valid ID. One ticket per ID. No exceptions. Additionally, $20 Student Rush tickets for full-time high school and college students, 20 minutes before curtain (cash only) with valid ID. General tickets for Really Really are $69 and are available by visiting www.mcctheater.org or calling 212-352-3101. 2-play subscriptions for the 2012-2013 mainstage productions are priced at $89 and are now available by visiting www.mcctheater.org.

As previously announced, the final show of MCC Theater's 2012-13 season will be Reasons to Be Happy (May 16 - June 23, 2013), written and directed by Neil LaBute, a companion piece to his reasons to be pretty (a 2009 Tony Award nominee for Best Play which originated Off-Broadway at MCC in 2008). Reasons to Be Happy picks up several years after the events of the first play with the same four conflicted, provocative characters. Casting for Reasons to Be Happy will be announced shortly, and tickets will go on sale at a later date.

MCC Theater - founded in 1986 as Manhattan Class Company - is committed to developing and producing new work that challenges artists and rewards audiences. Our mission is carried out through an annual season of world, American, and New York premieres, literary development programs for emerging writers, and ground-breaking education programs that enable more than 1,000 New York City high school students to find - and use - their own unique voice each year through the creation and performance of original theater pieces. Notable MCC Theater highlights include: the New York premiere of The Other Place starring Laurie Metcalf (now on Broadway, extended through March 3, 2013); the 2008 Tony Award-nominated Reasons to Be Pretty by Neil LaBute, The Pride, Fifty Words, the 2004 Tony-winning production of Bryony Lavery's Frozen, Neil LaBute's Fat Pig, Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living, Marsha Norman's Trudy Blue, Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit, Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone, Alan Bowne's Beirut, The Submission, winner of the inaugural Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for new American plays, and last season's newly reworked and fully re-imagined production of Carrie, the musical. Over the years, the dedication to the work of new and emerging artists has earned MCC Theater a variety of awards.

For a complete production history, visit www.mcctheater.org.