THE GRIPPE to Have Developmental Staged Reading at Main Street Theater
The performances will take place October 5 & 6, 2025 at 7:30pm.
Main Street Theater will present a developmental staged reading of a new play with music, The Grippe, by James P. Mirrione. The play will be fully produced later this season in New York. “We're excited to be part of the creation of this stirring new piece,” shares MST Executive Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden. “It's especially timely as this is our 50th Season and as we reflect on our history, Main Street has always been about offering theater you can't find anywhere else and supporting new works.” The readings are a benefit for Main Street Theater.
About the Play
The staged reading is directed by James P. Mirrione with music direction and accompaniment by Eugene Gwozdz.
The Great Influenza of 1918-20, which caused the deaths of fifty million people worldwide and over 600,000 Americans, has been forgotten as it was subsumed within the greater context of World War I. Thus, how to address this issue through the medium of theatre; one that resonates with our most recent experiences of the previous pandemic?
Based on actual events, The Grippe, written by James P. Mirrione, is a new play with music that chronicles the Great Influenza of 1918-1920 - the so-called “Spanish Flu.” The work, with a cast of 11 actors who play more than twenty-five characters, weaves several stories throughout the context of the play to capture the potency of those times and to reveal its relevancy for today. Through both words and music, The Grippe follows the valiant efforts of John Pascal, an astute reporter who uncovers the early warning signs of the Great Influenza of 1918 prior to it becoming a pandemic. With the help of a young nurse, Helen Adams, they work together to try to alert the Wilson administration to the oncoming pandemic before it is too late - and, of course, they fall in love along the way.
The play also presents a time when the role of African-Americans was erased from the historical record. The character of Mr. Sweets – the head butler in the White House - serves as a narrator and guide to the events unfolding in the words and music of the play.
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