Off-Broadway Premiere of MR. PARKER to be Presented at Theatre Row

Penguin Rep Theatre announced today the Off-Broadway premiere of Mr. Parker, a new play written by Michael McKeever (Daniel's Husband) and directed by Joe Brancato. Performances will begin Wednesday, June 1, 2022, for a limited engagement through June 25, 2022, at Theatre Row - Theatre 1 (410 West 42nd Street). Opening Night is Monday, June 6, 2022, at 7:00PM.

At 54 years old, Terry Parker finds himself at a crossroads in his life. After the loss of his partner of 30 years, he finds himself suddenly single and unable to adjust to a world that has moved on without him. After a heavy night of drinking, he wakes up with a 28-year-old bartender/uber-driver. These two very different people begin a tentative relationship, and what starts out as a one-night stand becomes a journey of self-discovery for a man trying to let go of a past and move forward, while dealing with the pleasures of being middle-aged, gay, and alone in the ever-changing landscape of today's America. Mr. Parker had its world premiere at Island City Stage in Miami, FL in June 2018 and its New York premiere at Penguin Rep Theatre in Stony Point, NY in September 2019.

The cast of Mr. Parker is Mia Matthews (After, "Every Witch Way"), Davi Santos ("Good Sam," Power Rangers Dino Charge), and Derek Smith (The Green Bird - Tony nominee, The Lion King).

The creative team is David Goldstein (set design), Myra Oney (costume design), Todd Wren (lighting design), and Max Silverman (original music & sound design). The production stage manager is Michael Palmer. Casting by Cindi Rush.

"The joy of working on a play by Michael McKeever is the reminder that the specificity of a play through character and location gives way to the goal of any great theatre experience... a universality in its message, which is exactly what he delivers," shares Mr. Brancato. "His works encompass experiences recognizable to everyone, not one specific demographic. Daniel's Husband was one such voyage with McKeever, and I'm grateful for this opportunity to bring his new play, a beautiful story of loss, love, and renewal, to audiences. I've long awaited the chance to work with Tony-nominee Derek Smith, and watching him bring Mr, Parker to life is a theatre gift in itself."

Mr. Parker will play the following performance schedule: Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm & 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm.

Tickets are priced at $25 for performances June 1-5 and $49 for performances June 6-25 and may be purchased online here. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Theatre Row box office (Monday - Sunday: 12:00pm - 15mins after last curtain or 6:00pm, whichever is earlier). General Rush: $25 cash-only at the door 30 minutes prior to performance; subject to availability. Further information about Theatre Row here.

BIOS

Michael McKeever (Playwright) has written thirty full length plays that have been produced at theaters around the world, including Primary Stages, Penguin Rep, Marin Theatre Company, NCTC, Phoenix Theatre, Stage West, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Florida Studio Theatre, Komödie Dresden (Dresden, Germany), Och-Teatr (Warsaw, Poland) and Theater in der Josefstadt, Kammerspiele (Vienna, Austria). Plays include Daniel's Husband, After, Clark Gable Slept Here, Stuff and Mr. Parker. He has been nominated for an Off Broadway Alliance (OBA) Award for Best New Work and has been nominated four times for the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics New Play Award. He is a three-time finalist for Humana Festival's Heideman Award and an NEA Residency Grant recipient. He has won numerous Carbonell and Silver Palm Awards, and is a co-founder of Zoetic Stage, a Miami-based theater company dedicated to developing new work. Michaelmckeeverplays.com. The Author is a member of The Dramatists Guild.

Joe Brancato (Penguin Artistic Director/ Director), cited by The New York Times as "one of America's most insightful directors," recently directed Michael McKeever's After, which transferred from Penguin to 59E59 Theaters, and McKeever's Daniel's Husband, which moved from Penguin to Primary Stages at the Cherry Lane Theatre and then to The Westside Theatre. Other Off-Broadway: Frederick Stroppel's Small World at 59e59; Erasmus Fenn's Drop Dead Perfect; Angelo Parra's The Devil's Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Off Bway Alliance & Audelco Award nominee), which he also staged at the Montreal Jazz Festival; Tom Dudzick's Miracle on South Division Street; Fall to Earth; Freed (Audelco Award nominee); Tryst(Outer Critics nomination for Best Play); Cobb (Drama Desk winner) in NYC and LA; From Door To Door; One Shot, One Kill; Two and a Half Jews; My Italy Story; Ricky Ian Gordon's The Matter of Minutes; Escape from Happiness (with Marsha Mason); The Big Swing (with Madeline Kahn, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Marisa Tomei); Dr. Valentine's Waltz (with John Turturro, Laura Linney, Jane Alexander);Hold the Wedding, produced by Joseph Papp. Regional: Royal Manitoba Theatre Center, George Street, Seattle Rep, Cleveland Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Alley Theatre, Hartford Stage, Westport Playhouse, Delaware Theater Co., Rubicon Theatre, Capital Rep, Florida Repertory, Hartford TheatreWorks, Cape Playhouse, and Passage Theatre. As founding artistic director of Penguin Rep Theatre, he has directed nearly 150 productions. He directed the world premiere of The Man Who Was Peter Pan, which became the Broadway musical and film Finding Neverland. Joe was named Best Director by L.A. Scene for Santa Claus is Coming Out (The Santa Closet), received two Rockland County Executive Awards, and was nominated for Helen Hayes and New England's IRNE Awards. www.joebrancato.com

Mia Matthews (Cassandra) is so grateful to be reunited with Joe Brancato and Michael McKeever after having worked together on McKeever's After at 59E59 Theaters and his Mr. Parker at Penguin Rep. Mia created the role of Julia in After at Zoetic Stage in Miami and was awarded a Carbonell Award for Best Actress. Other Off-Broadway credits include Henry IV pts 1&2 (Public Theatre), Mizlansky/Zilinsky (Manhattan Theater Club), Circus Life (Kaufman Theatre). Regionally, Mia has performed at theaters such as Papermill Playhouse, Maltz Jupiter Theater, Bucks County Playhouse, North Shore Music Theater and Gablestage. She spent three seasons as Desdemona on Nickelodeon's internationally popular show "Every Witch Way." Other TV and film credits include Home By Spring (Hallmark), "American Soul" (BET), Boyfriend Killer (Lifetime). Her one woman show The Bombshell Show, a musical homage to sirens of the silver screen, tours nationally. Graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. Love to my legacies, Miranda and Bianca.

Davi Santos (Justin) Born in Rio De Janeiro and raised in Astoria, Queens, actor Davi Santos has channeled his diversity into a burgeoning resume. He's transitioned from Kevin Williamson's acclaimed CBS All Access/CW anthology series, "Tell Me A Story" into his latest vehicle for the CBS family, "Good Sam;" a medical procedural drama in which he stars opposite Sophia Bush and Jason Isaacs. The scrubs he wears portraying 'Dr. Joey Costa' is a drastic change from the spandex suit he assumed for his earlier role as Gold Dino Charge in the "Power Ranger" franchise. Additional television roles include the "Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders," limited series opposite Edie Falco, "Chasing Life," "Mystery Girls," "Switched at Birth," "Don't Trust the B** in Apartment 23," and a memorable appearance as 'Twenty-Something' on "Will & Grace." On the feature film front, Santos recently appeared in the indie thriller 13 Minutes opposite the likes Anne Heche and Peter Facinelli. Previously, he starred in the 2019 feature 47 Meters Down: Uncaged alongside Nia Long and John Corbett, followed by Dimension Films' Polaroid. When not filming "Good Sam" in Toronto, Santos resides in Los Angeles, when not otherwise globe-trotting for new cultural experiences. In addition to securing a double black belt in Karate, he enjoys cooking, architecture, geopolitics, and is a fellow at the Washington International Diplomatic Academy. His birthday is February 1st and you can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @2davisantos.

Derek Smith (Terry Parker) Broadway: Timon of Athens, The Government Inspector, Jackie; An American Life, Getting and Spending, Ring Round the Moon, and several years as Scar in The Lion King. Off Broadway: Sylvia (NY and LA premieres, Drama League and L.A. Ovation Awards), The Green Bird (Obie Award), Dark Rapture, Cruise Control, Ten by Tennessee, Desire, King John (Derwent Award), Dance of Death, The Witch of Edmonton (Calloway Award), The White Devil, Heartbreak House, School For Scandal, Tis Pity She's A Whore. Several regional productions, including seasons at ART in Cambridge and The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. Affiliated Artist with The Acting Company in NYC, Redbull Theatre, and The Shakespeare Theatre in D.C. Film and television include "The Good Wife," Internal Affairs, "The Equalizer", Jungle 2 Jungle, Advice from a Caterpillar. Graduate of Juilliard.

Andrew M. Horn (Executive Director/Producer) has overseen more than 150 productions, concerts and special events for Penguin Rep, including Off Broadway productions of After, Drop Dead Perfect, The Devil's Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith, Miracle on South Division Street, Freed, and Small World. He was assistant to the producer of the Theatre Hall of Fame and created the Tamiment Playhouse archives at NYU. He is a published poet, arbitrator and attorney, and commissioned the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan, which become the film and Broadway musical Finding Neverland. Andrew graduated with Honors from SUNY Purchase and has a law degree from Cardozo School of Law.

About Penguin Rep Theatre

Joe Brancato was a high school English and drama teacher in 1977 when he peered into an abandoned 1880's hay barn in Stony Point, New York, and envisioned the space repurposed into a theatre. More than 40 years later, Penguin Rep - the theatre Brancato started with Francine Newman-McCarthy and runs with executive director Andrew M. Horn -- has grown from a summer theatre to become one of the Hudson Valley's most influential nonprofit cultural institutions, reaching tens of thousands of theatergoers each year at its home, in New York City and beyond - with its work moving to Off Broadway and to stages across the country and around the world.

Penguin has presented more than 150 productions - over 100 directed by Brancato himself -- for more than 400,000 people from the Lower Hudson Valley and beyond. And Mr. Brancato has brought together accomplished professional actors - David Canary, Michael Cullen, Tim De Kay, Ann Dowd, Gregg Edelman, Michael Esper, Barbara Feldon, Tovah Feldshuh, Beth Fowler, Deborah Hedwall, Celeste Holm, Richard Kline, Andrew McCarthy, Lizbeth MacKay, Michele Pawk, and Karen Ziemba, among others - to star in new and noteworthy plays by such playwrights as Lee Blessing, Ronald Harwood, Allan Knee, Arthur Laurents, Warren Leight, Jon Marans, William Mastrosimone, Lainie Robertson, James Sherman and Elizabeth Swados.

For more information, visit www.penguinrep.org

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