Category Archives: Season Announcements

MCP President Lara Gonzalez announced the 2023 Season of productions that will occur in the group’s 50th year. The official announcement was made at the group’s picnic on June 11, 2022.

PUFFS
The first show of MCP’s 50th Season of Shows will be Puffs directed by Trish Courtney. Puffs is a parody. It’s subtitle is Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic. Popular off-Broadway, it was written by Matt Cox and came to the stage in 2015. It is the story of the “others” who populated a famous wizarding school; specifically the Hufflepuffs. It has been dubbed “a fast-paced romp” and acclaimed as “never going more than a minute without a laugh.” The show requires a cast of varied ages from 14 to infinity. Puffs will occupy the winter slot.

THE DINING ROOM
The Spring show will be The Dining Room by A.R. Gurney. It will be directed by Gail Rudolph. The Dining Room is comedy of manners. It is set in a single dining room where 18 scenes from different households overlap and intertwine. Each story is focused around a different family during different time periods who has in their possession the same dining room furniture set, manufactured in 1898. It is the setting for breakfasts, dinners, and all special occasions for each of the families who gather round the table. Traditionally, a cast of only six actors portray of 50 characters, though directors choose to invite as many actors as they desire to bring the characters to life.

COMPANY
Company, a popular work by Stephen Sondheim, will be the summer musical. It will be directed by Jim Cronin. This show is a fitting choice because it was first produced in 1970, and that is the decade that MCP was born. The show was awarded Best Musical in 1971, garnering five other Tony Awards from its 14 nominations. It was considered one of the first popular concept musicals and one of Sondheim’s most beloved works. Company is a treatise on marriage as seen through the eyes of a bachelor. All of his friends are married or engaged as he approaches and celebrates his 35th birthday. The reflections of the bachelor and of his friends are both comic and thought-provoking.

ESCANABA IN DA MOOLIGHT
The Fall show will be Escanaba in da Moonlight directed by Ray Lebowski. Dubbed a “super Yooper comedy” and “a hunting story to beat all hunting stories,” Escanaba is a tall tale set in  Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The story is based upon the woes of thirty-five-year-old Reuben Soady, who is the oldest member of the Soady clan to have failed to bag a buck. Filled with humor, this unique play by Jeff Daniels, also provides thoughtful introspection. Escanaba promises to hit home and hit you in the heart!

GENDER BENDER 5.0
Closing out the 2023 Season will be Gender Bender 5.0. It will be slated to take the boards during the Halloween Season and will be under the direction of Bonnie Emmer, Jon Scheiding, and Peyton Hahn. Those who were slated to appear in the 2021 version of the show will be invited as performers for this version. In addition, the song selections will come from shows that MCP has performed over its 50 year history. It will be a fitting closure to a wonderful year of celebrating MCP and its contributions to the arts in Mason!