Musical Theatre Factory's HIGH 5 Celebrated 5 Years Of Being Down To FAC

Musical Theatre Factory's (MTF)'s collective High Five celebrated of the first five years of the magic that is the MTF with a gala hosted by Larry Owens at Town Stages, 221 West Broadway, NYC on May 13, 2019 at 7:30pm.

MTF has come a long way in the five years since they were born in the back of a adult film studio. From flying the coop and wandering the mean streets of New York, to finding their current home as a resident company of Playwrights Horizons, MTF has continued to serve musical theatre artists by creating spaces to collaborate outside the pressures of critical and commercial success. Their work dismantles oppressive ideologies towards collective liberation - through powerful and joyful story in song. High Five gathered all members of the community with accessible tickets ranging from $25 and up with over 200 people in attendance. To celebrate this growth, the gala was a night filled with dance and song that honored Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop) and introduced the inaugural MTF Makers Cohort with work & performances by Troy Anthony (The River is Me), Melissa Li & Kit Yan (Interstate), Jillian Walker (SkinFolk: An American Show), AriDy Nox (Flawless Feminism) and Brandon Webster (Medicine for Melancholy), andJonathan Larson Award winners Tidtaya Sinutoke and Straight White Men alum Ty Defoe (Clouds Are Pillows for the Moon).

Exceptional performances and work by MTF Artists included Natalie Walker(Alice by Heart), Heath Saunders (Alice by Heart, Great Comet, NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar Live), Nikko Benson (Jonathan Larson Winner), Douglas Lyons (Beau, Polkadots), Diana Oh (my lingerie play, Clairvoyance) Preston Max Allen (Agent 355, We Are The Tigers). Directed by Brandon Powers and Sidney Erik Wright.

"We were so thrilled to celebrate five years by honoring Michael R. Jackson, a founding artist of MTF, whose incredible musical A Strange Loop is premiering now at Playwrights Horizons, where we are a resident company. We gathered our community to remember Darius Smith, uplift our incredible artists, and also succeeded in raising 1/4 of our annual budget to support our artists into our sixth year," said Mei Ann Teo, producing artistic director of MTF.

"MTF's wholehearted commitment to reimagining story-telling by creating avenues for equitable representation both onstage and offstage has transformed the face of musical theatre in New York City and beyond," said Robin Sokoloff, executive director of Town Stages. "We are thrilled to have hosted this special night honoring the extraordinary efforts of those who've contributed to Musical Theatre Factory's success."

For those who could not attend but would like to still donate they can do so at: mtf.nyc/high5

Larry Owens is a founding member of Musical Theatre Factory. He's the star of upcoming Factory developed musical A Strange Loop by Michael R Jackson, which ends the season at Playwrights Horizons. A proud member of AEA and WGA, Larry has credits spanning Off-Broadway, indie film and television writing. Most recently he was named a comic to watch by New York Magazine's Vulture.

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