Sean Daniels News

Vassar & New York Stage and Film have announced initial casting for the first mainstage and first musical workshop productions of the 33rd Powerhouse Season in Poughkeepsie, NY, running from June 23 through July 30, 2017:

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) has successfully raised $47,000 over the last month during performances of 'My 80-Year-Old Boyfriend,' barreling past its goal of $35,000 which is being matched dollar-for-dollar by two anonymous donors. The campaign brings $82,000 in vital funds to the company's education programs. It is the largest matching challenge grant in MRT's history, and its success is a major milestone for the 38-year-old theatre company.

City Theatre is excited to announce the plays and events included in Momentum '17: New Plays at Different Stages, the South Side theater company's annual festival of new play development. The annual festival will run from May 31 - June 4, 2017 and will include three public presentations of plays - plus one musical - at different stages in the development process, a closed reading of new work by a Young Playwrights Festival Alumnus, a Happy Hour/Artists Meet & Greet with Urbanist Pittsburgh, and an interactive opportunity to participate in conversation with local playwright Tami Dixon for an upcoming project. The readings and events are free and open to the public. Reservations are strongly encouraged to guarantee seating and can be made at CityTheatreCompany.org or by calling the box office at 412-431-CITY (2489).

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) is preparing for its Set the Stage Celebration, the annual fundraiser which provides vital support to its education programming. In addition to live and silent auctions, cocktails, seated dinner, and live music, the evening will honor MRT's invaluable community partners UMass Lowell and Middlesex Community College, as well as Cambridge-based playwright Lila Rose Kaplan.

World premiere of MY 80-YEAR-OLD BOYFRIEND at Merrimack Repertory Theatre is based on the true story of Broadway singer/actress Charissa Bertels and her unlikely friendship with a decidedly older gentleman. The narrative is uplifting, the score floats along with the story like a raft on a lazy river, and the performer is delightful company.

Vassar & New York Stage and Film have announced the programming lineup for their upcoming 33rd Powerhouse Season, the annual summer season, which brings together some of the most influential theatrical voices working today for fully-staged productions of new plays, workshop presentations of new plays and musicals, and readings of other works in progress.

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) has announced its 2017-18 Season, the third under Artistic Director Sean Daniels.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) continues its 2016-17 Season with "Chill," the new bittersweet drama about all life throws you between 18 and 28. The play follows four Massachusetts teens across a decade of change in America, and is inspired by the real-life experiences of playwright (and Brookline native) Eleanor Burgess. Megan Sandberg-Zakian directs.

Join the Village Playwrights on February 22, 2017 from 8 to 10 pm at the LGBT Community Center for QUEERLY BELOVED, staged readings of 10 minute plays to celebrate Valentine's Day. 

Join the Village Playwrights on February 22, 2017 from 8 to 10 pm at the LGBT Community Center for QUEERLY BELOVED, staged readings of 10 minute plays to celebrate Valentine's Day. 

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.

In the program notes for the Los Angeles premiere of Benjamin Scheuer's one-man show "The Lion," he states that "a song is a powerful tool for connection. Words are how we think and music is how we feel, so songs allows us to think our feelings and feel our thoughts." As such, he masterfully shares the story of his many struggles in his autobiographical Drama Desk Award-winning solo show at the Geffen Playhouse through February 19.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) starts off 2017 with "The Making of a Great Moment," the world premiere comedy by ATCA/Steinberg award-winning playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) starts off 2017 with "The Making of a Great Moment," the world premiere comedy by ATCA/Steinberg award-winning playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb.

Singer/songwriter Benjamin Scheuer has been sharing his most recent creation - his autobiographical, one-man show THE LION playing in various cities in the US (and the UK) the last two-plus years. Benjamin will be completing his current tour with his Los Angeles premiere performances at the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) and the University of Massachusetts Lowell announce the details of a long-term partnership that will benefit both the MRT audience and UMass Lowell students. The partnership framework provides for greater sharing of resources between the organizations and increased access to theatre professionals for students.

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.

City Theatre is adding a musical CityEvent to the fall production calendar. Benjamin Scheuer, writer and star of the hit show The Lion, returns to Pittsburgh for a series of concerts with his band, featuring drummer Brian Wolfe of Sufjan Stevens and bass player Geoff Kraly of paris_monster.

City Theatre is adding a musical CityEvent to the fall production calendar. Benjamin Scheuer, writer and star of the hit show The Lion, returns to Pittsburgh for a series of concerts with his band, featuring drummer Brian Wolfe of Sufjan Stevens and bass player Geoff Kraly of paris_monster.