For its American premiere production of Rebecca Prichard’s Yard Gal, the Manhattan Class Company Theatre (MCC) has initiated a special 7 PM Monday evening early bird performance for the convenience of industry patrons.
"Industry professionals and people with families can’t always make an 8 PM curtain on a traditional schedule," explained MCC’s artistic director Robert LuPone and associate artistic director Bernard Telsey. In a joint statement, LuPone and Telsey said that Yard Gal runs 90 minutes with no intermission so that "patrons can be home at a reasonable hour."
By contrast, while the producers of the show are accommodating the needs of theatre patrons with families and making it easy for them to be home early, Yard Gal tells the tale of two adolescents running riot through the streets of London. The award-winning CleanBreak Theatre Company and Royal Court Theatre production of Rebecca Prichard's Yard Gal starts previews April 18 at the Manhattan Class Company (MCC). The limited engagement opens April 26 and runs through May 21.
Directed by Gemma Bodinetz, Yard Gal features Sharon Duncan Brewster and Amelia Lowdell, who both appeared in the original CleanBreak/Royal Court production. Brewster's credits include Ashes and Sand, and Babies at the Royal Court, as well as the United Kingdom tour of Caught in the Act. Co-star Lowdell's credits include Coming Back at the Edinburgh Festival and London's Drama Studio production of Arcadia. Director Bodinetz helmed the New York Theatre Workshop production of Shopping and Fucking and the original production of Yard Gal.
Playwright Prichard’s plays include Essex Girls, It Could Be You,and Fair Game. She recently completed a radio play Touched and is developing films for Hal/Miramax and Dan Films. Originally commissioned by CleanBreak Theatre Company in association with the Royal Court Theatre, Yard Gal premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in May 1998.
Now in its 14th season, MCC has produced the sell-out run of Marsha Norman’s Trudy Blue, and Jose Rivera’s critically acclaimed Sueno.
Tickets are $35. The MCC Theater is located at 120 West 28th Street. For tickets call the MCC Theater Box Office at (212) 727-7765, for information visit www.mcctheater.com.
-- By Murdoch McBride
