Kicking off the season will be the New York premiere of Grace, by Mick Gordon and the philosopher AC Grayling, presented Aug. 29-Oct. 20. Also on tap is Spain, a romantic comedy by Jim Knable, presented Jan. 23-March 8, 2008.
Iconis and Maddock are both recipients of the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award. Press notes describe their musical The Black Suits as such: "Haunted by the prospect of a dead-end life in a working-class Long Island suburb, Chris decides to push forward with his dream. He relentlessly rehearses his band in the garage with the goal of a breakthrough from hopelessness to fame and escape. Problem is…nobody in the group wants it as much as he does."
Grace, performed at London's Soho Theatre in 2006, is written by an intriguing pair of writers. Grayling is a Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, and is known for engaging with contemporary issues and making philosophy understandable to lay readers, having written a column in The Guardian called "The Last Word." Gordon has served as artistic director of the Gate Theatre and as associate director at the National Theatre under Trevor Nunn, directing the company's Transformations season.
In Grace, according to press notes, "When noted scientist Grace Friedman learns that her son Tom has decided to become a Christian minister, she is forced to confront the meaning of both her atheist convictions and maternal impulses. Tom's father and pregnant girlfriend are caught in the cross-fire between mother and son."
Spain was previously performed at the 2006 Summer Play Festival and at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre, among other venues. Knable's other plays include Saltimbanques, True and Solid Ground and The Travesty of Hamlet. According to press notes, in Spain, "Barbara, reeling from a recent divorce, retreats into her very active imagination and there meets, of all things, a sexy Conquistador. Together, they embark on a fanciful journey to a country she has long dreamed of visiting."
MCC's 2007-08 season at a glance:
Grace
By Mick Gordon and AC Grayling
Aug. 29-Oct. 20
Spain
By Jim Knable
Jan. 23-March 8, 2008
The Black Suits
By Joe Iconis and Robert Maddock
May 14-July 5, 200
The next play for MCC — the last in its current 2006-07 season — is the world premiere of Neil LaBute's In a Dark Dark House, running May 16-June 23, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. New subscribers for the 2007-08 season can get discounted $33 tickets to the play.
As previously announced, MCC recently appointed a new executive director, Blake West, who has been the director of development at the theater since February 2006. MCC's artistic directors are the casting director Bernard Telsey and the actor Robert LuPone.
*
Now in its 21st season, MCC is "committed to presenting New York and world premieres each season." MCC highlights include the 2004 Tony-winning production of Bryony Lavery's Frozen; Neil LaBute's Fat Pig; Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living; Marsha Norman's Trudy Blue; Margaret Edson's Pulitzer prize-winning Wit; Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone and Alan Bowne's Beirut.
Individual tickets to MCC productions are available at www.ticketcentral.com or at (212) 279-4200. For subscriptions, call Jessica Crone at (212) 727-7722 ext. 224. For more information visit www.MCCTheater.org.
