Charissa Bertels News

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) will wrap up its 2016-17 Season with the delightful new musical "My 80-Year-Old Boyfriend," based on the true story of performer Charissa Bertels. The show chronicles the unlikely friendship between twenty-something actress Charissa and eighty-something millionaire Milton, featuring a book and lyrics by Christian Duhamel, and music and lyrics by Edward Bell.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) continues its 2016-17 Season with the absolutely off-the-wall "Women in Jeopardy!". The riotous comedy follows Mary and Jo, two middle-aged women who jump to the rescue when their best friend Liz falls for a creepy (and potentially murderous) dentist. MRT Artistic Director Sean Daniels, who helmed the 2015 world premiere at Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, NY, returns to direct.

Emily Drennan (Mamma Mia!, New York Spectacular, Voca People, Toxic Audio) has just released a new holiday album, A Mother Daughter Christmas, with her mother, Patti Drennan.

This holiday season, Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) presents the world premiere of the one-of-a-kind Christmas Red Sox play "Going to See the Kid." This latest offering from playwright Steven Drukman centers around two Boston Globe reporters on a journey to meet legendary ballplayer Ted Williams in 2001. With great humor and affection, "Going to See the Kid" takes a fresh look at a beloved Boston icon-and is filled with  holiday spirit to boot. MRT Director of New Play Development Alexander Greenfield directs.

This fall Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) presents the regional premiere of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's 'Abigail/1702', the haunting play that asks what might have happened ten years after the Salem witch trials. At the center of the story is Abigail Williams, the young accuser of 1692's Salem Village, as she tries to begin a new life after the hysteria has subsided-yet remains haunted at every turn by terrors of the past. Tlaloc Rivas directs.

After 312 performances in 25 cities across the United States, the National Tour of If/Then concludes its run today in Atlanta, GA. At seven select cities, the tour featured several of the stars from the original Broadway run, including Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, LaChanze, and James Snyder.

IF/THEN, the original Broadway musical which reunites composer Tom Kitt, book writer/lyricist Brian Yorkey, and director Michael Greif, the creative team behind the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, Next to Normal, will play its final performance on tour in Atlanta this weekend. To mark the occasion, the cast put together a hilarious 'Drunk History' parody. We don't know about you, but we think this should become the Broadway community's next viral trend. Click below to watch the silliness!

Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Atlanta announced today that tickets for the National Tour of IF/THEN, which was named the "Best Musical of the Year" by New York Magazine, will go on sale Sunday, May 22. IF/THEN will perform a limited one week engagement from August 9-14 at Atlanta's Fox Theatre to close the 2015/2016 Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Atlanta Series.

As the inaugural season of Merrimack Repertory Theatre's Patriot Program approaches its end, artistic director Sean Daniels has announced the addition of 14 new theatre artists to the company's network of collaborators. The new class of Patriots includes a mix of local and national artists who can now count MRT as one of their theatrical homes.

This spring, Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) will celebrate one of its most successful seasons and look ahead to the future at its annual fundraising event, the 2016 Set the Stage Celebration. The evening will feature musical performances by Benjamin Scheuer, whose performance of The Lion kicked off Sean Daniels' inaugural year as MRT's artistic director and broke several box office records. Scheuer will perform a mix of songs from The Lion and others previously unheard by MRT audiences. Joining Scheuer will be Charissa Bertels, whose one-woman musical, My 80-Year-Old Boyfriend, was recently announced as the closing production of MRT's 2016-17 Season. Bertels is currently on the national tour of the Broadway musical If/Then.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) has announced its 2016-17 Season, the second under Artistic Director Sean Daniels.

The National Tour of IF/THEN, which was named the 'Best Musical of the Year' by New York Magazine, will perform a limited engagement at Detroit's Fisher Theatre, March 29 - April 10, 2016.

An incredible opportunity has presented itself to the cast of If/Then upon arriving in St. Louis last Tuesday to carry out a 2 week run at The Fabulous Fox Theatre (March 15-27th). After sitting and talking with Anthony Rapp (star of If/Then, RENT), he told us that the Hard Rock Cafe contacted them and offered to donate their space for them to perform in, if they could find a use.

Hard Rock Cafe in St. Louis presents IF/THEN's 'Now/Then: A Benefit Cabaret for BC/EFA', Monday, March 21 at 7pm to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. 

The National Tour of IF/THEN, which was named the 'Best Musical of the Year' by New York Magazine, will perform a limited engagement at Detroit's Fisher Theatre, March 29 - April 10, 2016.

Original Broadway Cast member Jackie Burns (If/Then, Wicked, Hair), Tamyra Gray (American Idol Season One Finalist, Rent), and Matthew Hydzik (Side Show, West Side Story, Grease), will join Original Broadway Cast member Anthony Rapp (Rent, Six Degrees of Separation, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) and the rest of the previously announced cast in the National Tour of IF/THEN, playing at the Fabulous Fox Theatre March 15 - 27.

Original Broadway Cast member Jackie Burns (If/Then, Wicked, Hair), Tamyra Gray(American Idol Season One Finalist, Rent), and Matthew Hydzik (Side Show, West Side Story, Grease), will join Original Broadway Cast member Anthony Rapp (Rent, Six Degrees of Separation, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) and the rest of the previously announced cast in the National Tour of IF/THEN, starting tomorrow,Wednesday, January 27 at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas.

Hennepin Theatre Trust announced today that tickets for the Minneapolis debut of the national tour of If/Then, named the "Best Musical of the Year" by New York Magazine, will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 8, 2016.

The L.A. Premiere engagement of IF/THEN, starring Tony Award-winner and Broadway superstar Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent, Frozen, Glee), began performances at Hollywood Pantages Theatre on December 8, 2015 for a limited four-week engagement through January 3, 2016. Menzel recently stopped by FOX 11 Los Angeles to talk about the show. Click below to watch her interview!

Producer David Stone and the Nederlander Organization present the L.A. Premiere engagement of IF/THEN starring Tony Award-winner and Broadway superstar Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent, Frozen, Glee), opening at Hollywood Pantages Theatre on December 8, 2015 for a limited four-week engagement through January 3, 2016.  Check out the red carpet arrivals below!