MCC Theater Announces Talkbacks For WILD ANIMALS YOU SHOULD KNOW

MCC Theater (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) announced today that the world premiere production of Wild Animals You Should Know, will host a series of post-show talkbacks, beginning Tuesday, November 8 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC). Immediately following select performances, audience members are invited to join in conversation with artistic staff, invited guests, cast members and others. Participants include Jon Robin Baitz (playwright, Other Desert Cities), James Dale (Boy Scouts of America vs. Dale, 2000), Alice Ripley, Patrick Breen, playwright Thomas Higgins, cast members of Wild Animals You Should Know, Co-Artistic Director of MCC Theater, Will Cantler, and MCC Theater Executive Director, Blake West.

The full schedule for the talkback series includes:

Tuesday, November 8
Playwright Thomas Higgins and mentor Jon Robin Baitz (playwright, Other Desert Cities) discuss the beginnings and evolution of Wild Animals You Should Know.
Moderated by MCC Theater Executive Director, Blake West.

Tuesday, November 22
James Dale and Thomas Higgins discuss the landmark Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 2000 case, regarding a gay man (Dale) who was removed from his post as assistant scoutmaster.
Moderated by MCC Theater Director of Marketing, Ian Allen.

Tuesday, November 29
Wild Animals You Should Know cast members John Behlmann, Patrick Breen, Gideon Glick, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Alice Ripley, and Daniel Stewart Sherman (subject to availability).
Moderated by MCC Theater Co-Artistic Director, Will Cantler.

For updates and complete information, visit www.mcctheater.org.

Matthew (Jay Armstrong Johnson) and Jacob (Gideon Glick) are an unlikely pair of friends. Matthew is a soccer star, full of brio and teenage swagger. Jacob is, well, not. Beneath the surface, though, the two are locked in an innocently erotic game of cat and mouse. When Matthew's reluctant father, Walter, (Patrick Breen) is wrangled by his wife Marsha (Alice Ripley) into chaperoning the boys' trip to a wilderness scout camp, he finds himself drawn into their adolescent game. But Matthew has secretly decided just how far he's willing to go for his final act of scouting and everyone might do well to heed the scouts' motto: Be Prepared.

The cast of Wild Animals You Should Know includes John Behlmann (The 39 Steps), MCC Theater founding member Patrick Breen (The Normal Heart), Gideon Glick (Spring Awakening), Jay Armstrong Johnson (Catch Me If You Can), Tony Award-winner Alice Ripley (Next To Normal), and Daniel Stewart Sherman (Desire Under the Elms). The production is directed by Trip Cullman (A Small Fire, Bachelorette). Playwright Thomas Higgins makes his New York debut with this tale of ruin and redemption that takes a magnifying glass to the sometimes blurry line between predator and prey.

The design team includes Andromache Chalfant (scenic design), Jenny Mannis (costume design), David Weiner (lighting design), and Fitz Patton (sound design).

Later in the season, MCC Theater will present the newly reworked and fully re-imagined production of Carrie, the musical. Individual tickets for Carrie are priced at $89 and individual tickets for Wild Animals You Should Know are priced at $65, with premium tickets available for both. A two-play subscription, priced at $99, is also available now through November 28. Go to www.mcctheater.org for more information. All performances will take place at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

MCC Theater (Producer) was founded in 1986 with the mission of bringing new theatrical voices to New York audiences. Led by Artistic Directors Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey and William Cantler and Executive Director Blake West, MCC Theater accomplishes this through three interrelated programs: a three-play Off- Broadway season committed to New York, American and world premieres; a literary Department that nurtures new and emerging writers; and an Education & Outreach Department which brings theater to nearly 1,200 NYC high school students each year. This mission is rooted in the belief that every artist-whether a student in the MCC Theater Youth Company or an experienced playwright in our Mainstage season-has a voice that is waiting to be heard. As a not-for profit theater, MCC Theater is able to take risks on tough, engrossing plays that investigate the issues and morality of our times, such as Bryony Lavery's Frozen (four Tony Award nominations including Best Play, Award for Best Featured Actor), Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone (four Obie Awards), Margaret Edson's Wit (1999 Pulitzer Prize), Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living (2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist) and Neil LaBute's reasons to be pretty (three 2009 Tony Award nominations including Best Play), Some Girl(s), Fat Pig and The Mercy Seat. To facilitate this work, MCC Theater envisions itself as a home where artists are empowered to do their best by giving them artistic freedom, a strong sense of community and full institutional support. With each season, the impressive list of artists who work at MCC Theater continues to grow, and many of the plays first produced by MCC Theater continue to be performed around the world. mcctheater.org

For more information on MCC Theater, visit www.mcctheater.org.

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