McKinley Belcher III and Mandi Masden to Star in MCC's THE LIGHT

MCC Theater announced today the complete cast and creative team for the first show at their new 52nd Street home: the New York Premiere production of The Light, written by Loy A. Webb, and directed by Logan Vaughn.

The cast will feature Drama Desk Award winner McKinley Belcher III and Mandi Masden. The creative team for The Light includes scenic design by Kimie Nishikawa, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by Ben Stanton, sound design by Elisheba Ittoop, and casting by Telsey + Company/Adam Caldwell, CSA, William Cantler, CSA, Karyn Casl, CSA. The Production Stage Manager is Erin Gioia Albrecht and the Stage Manager is Kasson Marroquin.

The Light begins performances on Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at the Susan & Ronald Frankel Theater at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space (511 West 52ndStreet), with an official opening night set for Sunday, February 10, 2019.

As part of MCC Theater's "Let's Talk" series, there will be talkbacks following the Thursday, January 31st and Wednesday, February 13th (evening) performances, as well as Audience Conversations following the Friday, February 1st, Saturday, February 16th (matinee), and Wednesday, March 13th performances.

Not every marriage proposal goes as planned. Loy A. Webb's The Light introduces us to Rashad and Genesis on what should be one of the happiest days of their lives, but their joy quickly unravels when ground-shifting accusations from the past resurface in this gripping two character drama. Can their relationship survive the growing divide between them over who- and what - to believe? Directed by Logan Vaughn, The Light is a reckoning that unfolds in real-time and peels away the layers of truth, doubt, pain, and ultimately the power of love.

The Light was originally developed at The New Colony (Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder, Co-Artistic Directors; Stephanie Shum, Managing Director) in Chicago, Illinois. The New Colony presented the world premiere at The Den Theatre in January 2018, director, Tom Langston.

Priority Booking has begun for MCC Theater Patrons & Subscribers, and will go on sale to the general public on Dec 12th.

Loy A. Webb (Playwright) is a Chicago born playwright and theatre journalist. Her debut play The Light premiered in January 2018 at The New Colony, where it was cited as one of the highest rated shows in Chicago by Theatre in Chicago. Her newest play, His Shadow, is currently in development at Chicago Dramatists where she is an inaugural Tutterow Fellow. Her one-act plays have been produced at Black Ensemble Theatre, American Theater Company, 20 Percent Theatre Company Chicago, GI60 International One Minute Play Festival, Modern-Day Griot Theatre Company New York, and the Black Lives, Black Words International Project. As a theatre journalist she is a member of the Association of Women of Journalist-Chicago, a past mentor with the AWJ-Chicago/Goodman Theatre's Cindy Bandle Young Critics Program, and a contributing theater critic for Newcity. Loy holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a J.D. from The John Marshall Law School.

Logan Vaughn (Director) is a New York based Artist and Director. In 2008 Logan was awarded the Goodman Theater's prestigious Joyce Arts Fellowship in Casting and subsequently worked as an Associate in the Tony Award winning theater's casting department for five seasons. Logan was Playwrights Horizon's Director in Residence 2012-2013. In 2012 Logan was also named a Member of the Director's Lab, Lincoln Center. As a Director she has worked with Geva Theatre, Playwrights Realm, Baltimore Center Stage, Mosaic Theatre, 59E59, National Black Theatre, and NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Logan, most recently directed the World Premiere of Mat Smart's The Agitators at Geva Theatre where it became the Best Selling World Premiere in Geva Theatre's history.

McKinley Belcher III (Rashad) recently wrapped filming on The Art of Racing in The Rain, directed by Simon Curtis, starring Amanda Seyfried, for Fox 2000. He will next star in the upcoming FOX series "The Passage." He is best known for his lead role in the period medical drama series "Mercy Street." His television credits include guest and recurring roles on numerous network and cable television series. Most notably, he starred in David Simon's cable miniseries, "Show Me a Hero," and in the cable drama "Power." McKinley made his film debut in John Sayles' 2013 independent film Go for Sisters. He recently appeared in the biopic Mapplethorpe, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Currently, McKinley can be seen in a recurring role on the streaming series "Ozark." Raised in Atlanta, he currently resides in New York City.

Mandi Masden (Genesis). Broadway: Saint Joan, Jitney (MTC, 2017 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play). Off-Broadway: Our Lady of Kibeho, The Piano Lesson(Signature Theatre Company); A Midsummer Night's Dream (TFANA). Film/TV: Trouble, A Midsummer Night's Dream, "NCIS: New Orleans," "Madam Secretary," "Law & Order: SVU," "Blue Bloods," "The Knick." M.F.A., National Theatre Conservatory. For support or information on surviving sexual assault please contact RAINN.org or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE. Free and confidential. For those who sit silently. For those who scream justice.

www.mcctheater.org

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