MRT Premieres BEST SUMMER EVER This May

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) dives into the lazy, hazy days of summer with a comical delight for the entire family May 4-22 with the East Coast Premiere of Best Summer Ever, written and performed by Kevin Kling, the acclaimed playwright, storyteller, and contributor to NPR's "All Things Considered," according to Artistic Director Courtney Sale and Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas.

Multi-instrumentalist Rob Witmer will play more than a dozen traditional - and sometimes, surprisingly original - instruments throughout the show. Award-winning playwright and director Steven Dietz will helm the project.

For tickets, starting at $21, and further information, contact the Enterprise Bank Box Office at 978-654-4678 or visit www.mrt.org. MRT will offer one socially distanced performance - reducing its seating capacity from 279 to 86 - at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 17. MRT's COVID-19 policy requires proof of full vaccination/booster or a recent negative test, as well as the wearing of a mask at all times. For full policy details, visit www.mrt.org/covid.

Courtney Sale, MRT's Nancy L. Donahue Artistic Director, said, "Through his words and storytelling, Kevin Kling makes magic on stage. Best Summer Ever taps into a youth space in all of us, invoking our biggest curiosities, dreams, and hopes. Kling grabs you with his winning humor and then expertly peels back the layers to reveal our deep desire to feel connected, no matter what age. I am honored to bring this show to MRT audiences, a production truly for everyone."

MRT describes the show as, "Ah, summer for a kid - sleepaway camps, lazy days at the pool, and late nights gazing at the stars. That's the life for nine-year-old Maurice until a significant loss and one little lie threaten to ruin his summer. Best Summer Ever will bring you back to your own days of limitless imagination, simple joys, and startling surprises."

Kevin Kling - playwright, author, storyteller, performer, recording artist, and longtime contributor to NPR's "All Things Considered" - tells his magical, hilarious, and tender stories through the lens of a proud Midwesterner, who was born with a congenital birth defect. His best known performance pieces include 21A, The Ice Fishing Play, and Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log. He has been awarded arts grants and fellowships by The National Endowment for the Arts, The McKnight Foundation, The Minnesota State Arts Board, and The Bush Foundation, among others. Kling is the recipient of the Whiting Award for American Drama and the National Storytelling Network's Circle of Excellence Award.

Multi-instrumentalist Witmer has worked as a musician, composer, and sound designer for Seattle Opera, Seattle Children's Theatre, Yale Rep, Berkeley Rep, The Abbey Theater of Dublin, and ACT Theatre, among others. Director Dietz is best known as an award-winning playwright, whose works include the acclaimed Off-Broadway productions of Lonely Planet, God's Country, and Fiction. He has directed productions at ACT Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkeley Rep, and McCarter Theater Center.

The creative team also includes Rowan Doyle, Scenic Designer (Rude Mechanicals, New York Theatre Workshop, Bread and Puppet Theatre); Sarah Gordon, Costume Designer (Seattle Children's Theatre, Taproot Theatre Company); Carter Miller, Lighting Designer (MRT's former Lighting and Sound Supervisor for more than 50 productions, as well Sound Designer for Dusk Rings a Bell and Lighting Designer for It's a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play); and Witmer as Sound Designer. Debra Acquavella (currently Senior Stage and Production Manager-in-Residence at Emerson College; Broadway's Metamorphoses and Master Harold . . . and The Boys) will serve as Stage Manager with Lindsey Walko as Production Assistant.

Best Summer Ever is the final show in the 2021-22 Subscription Series. MRT will present a special production of Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie June 8-26.

For tickets, contact the Enterprise Bank Box Office at 978-654-4678 or visit www.mrt.org. Tickets for Best Summer Ever start at $21. MRT will also offer its limited MRTLE 2-for-$30 special for most performances. MRT offers a $15 student ticket, and Best Summer Ever is recommended for ages 10 and older. All ticket specials are detailed at www.mrt.org/discountsandevents.

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