MISCAST23 to Take Place in April, Honoring Vanessa Williams and Lianny Toval
The biggest stars of stage and screen will take to the stage at Hammerstein Ballroom, performing songs from roles in which they would not traditionally be cast.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Dec. 15, 2022
MCC Theater has announced that Miscast23 will take place at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Monday April 3, 2023. The evening will honor Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award® nominee Vanessa Williams and MCC Youth Company alumna Lianny Toval.
Miscast is one of the most anticipated and exciting theater events in New York each year. This spring, the biggest stars of stage and screen will take to the stage at Hammerstein Ballroom, performing songs from roles in which they would not traditionally be cast.
"Vanessa's career, on stage and screen, in music, and even behind the scenes, is distinguished by a boldness that is undeniable and, frankly, thrilling," said Co-Artistic Director Bernie Telsey. "We celebrate ambitious and daring risk takers at MCC Theater and we're really excited to celebrate Vanessa Williams at Miscast23 along with MCC Youth Company Alumna Lianny Toval, whose accomplishments already have us eager to see where her own path takes her."
Tables and sponsorship packages are available now by calling Vinny Martini, Senior Manager of Special Events, at (212) 727-7722 x 205. Show-Only priority booking opens on February 7 for MCC patrons, subscribers and members. Public show-only on-sale will begin February 10. All tickets will be available for purchase at www.mcctheater.org/miscast.
To receive exclusive updates about Miscast23 and to learn more about the event, sign up at www.mcctheater.org/miscast. Additional benefits can be accessed through ticket and sponsorship packages. For more information, visit the website or e-mail vmartini@mcctheater.org.
Funds raised from Miscast23 help MCC Theater produce exciting new work Off-Broadway and support its Youth Company and in-school partnerships that serve New York City public high school students, as well as MCC's literary development work with emerging playwrights.
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 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.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT
Vanessa Williams
is one of the most respected and multi-faceted performers in the entertainment industry today, selling millions of records worldwide. Her work in music, film, television, and the Broadway stage has been recognized with 4 Emmy nominations, 11 Grammy nominations, a Tony nomination, 3 SAG award nominations and 7 NAACP Image Awards. Her platinum single, "Colors of the Wind," from Disney's Pocahontas, won the Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Her 2012 autobiography, You Have No Idea, co-written with her mother Helen Williams, was a N.Y. Times Best Seller and she released Bubble Kisses, her first picture book for children, in 2020. Vanessa recently starred in the World Premiere of Selina Fillinger's new Broadway comedy, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, directed by Tony Award-winner Susan Stroman. She is part of the star-studded panel of judges for RuPaul's Paramount+ competition series, "Queen of the Universe," which will return for a second season.
LIANNY TOVAL
was born and raised in Washington Heights. She attended the High School for Health Careers and Sciences at the George Washington Educational Campus, where she joined the MCC Theater Youth Company. Lianny was a Washington Heights Youth Company member from 2012-2016, and a Youth Company Ambassador from 2017-2018. During her time as an MCC Youth Company member and ambassador, she worked alongside Raphael Peacock, Dennis Davis, Lauren Annunziata-Piscione, Carrie Azano, and Dee Hughes in exploring and developing her artistic voice.
In 2018, she obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with a minor in Theater from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In 2020, she graduated with a Master's in Social Work with a focus in Community Organizing at Hunter College.
Lianny is currently working with the Women's Housing & Economic Development Corporation, an organization that provides holistic care to communities in need, as a Licensed Therapist providing counseling to families throughout New York City.
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