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The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe
by Jane Wagner
October 2, 2024 – October 20, 2024
Intertwining colorful, complex, and hysterically funny characters, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe is a timeless play about what makes us human. In a role originated by the formidable Lily Tomlin and written by Emmy Award Winner Jane Wagner, the story holds lasting and quick-witted power as an examination of American society.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
By David Catlin
November 8, 2024 – November 24, 2024
A dark evening of ghost stories springs to haunting life in this adventurous adaptation of Mary Shelley’s famous novel. Replete with love, horror, power and unholy experimentation, Frankenstein illuminates the question: what makes us monsters?
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill
By Lanie Robertson
February 5, 2025 – February 25, 2025
March 1959. Billie Holiday gives the greatest concert of her life in a South Philadelphia bar. And you have a front row seat. One of MRT audiences’ favorite plays of all time, Lady Day elucidates the life and artistry of Billie Holiday. With songs like Strange Fruit and God Bless the Child, this intimate cabaret experience will leave you breathless.
The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel)
By The Reduced Shakespeare Company
March 12, 2025 – March 30, 2025
Nothing is rotten in the state of Denmark as young Hamlet leaps into action to save the nunnery with Ophelia and Yorick the jester—nothing could go wrong. A fast, funny, and physical extravaganza filled with scary ghosts, wee Scots, singing nuns, and a mysterious vassal in the castle. MRT friends, The Reduced Shakespeare Company, take a deep, irreverent dive into the greatest play ever written.
What You Are Now
By Sam Chanse
April 23, 2025 – May 11, 2025
Set in Lowell, What You Are Now follows Pia, a passionate young researcher investigating new ideas about how to heal the mind from traumatic memories. Her interest is deeply intertwined with her family’s history. When a figure from the past shows up, urging Pia’s mother to testify about her experiences during the violence of 1970s Cambodia, unresolved histories are brought to the surface. what you are now is a thrillingly insightful new play that asks the audience to move through the shifting dance between the past and present, and to consider how with new understanding we might change “who you were then” to “what you are now.”
A Christmas Carol
By Courtney Sale
December 14, 2024 – December 29, 2024
A holiday treat for the entire family. Experience Dicken’s timeless story of redemption, featuring Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, ghosts, and all your favorite characters including some played by local youth. Spooky, heartwarming, and joyful—with a touch of Lowell lore, it’s the perfect way to recapture the spirit of Christmas and make it last throughout the year.
Elephant and Piggie’s “We are in a Play!”
Book and Lyrics by Mo Willems
Music by Deb Wicks La Puma
January 8, 2025 – January 24, 2025, | School Performances
January 25, 2025, | Public Performance
When Gerald and Piggie get together, anything is possible. They might get invited to a fancy pool costume party, learn a crazy new dance, or decide to spend the day skipping and playing ping-pong in silly hats. These two pals and their devotion to each other through ups and downs will remind you of how good it feels to put friends first.
Ticket information
Ticket information can be found on mrt.org, as well as by contacting the Enterprise Bank Box Office at 978-654-4678 or box_office@mrt.org. Discounts are also available, including student discount ticket prices of $15 to any show, in person, by phone, or online. Student ID proof is required for ticket pickup. Recurring discounts include the $5 first night, $10 Lowell night, educator, group, military discounts, and much more. For further information, visit www.mrt.org/discountsandevents or contact the Enterprise Bank Box Office.
About Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Currently celebrating its 45th Season, Merrimack Repertory Theatre has been Merrimack Valley’s professional theatre company since 1979 and is an integral part of Lowell’s identity as the cultural heart of the region. MRT’s mission is to create remarkable new and contemporary plays that bring joy to our art form while engaging, entertaining, and enriching our community. A multi-show season runs through May in the intimate 279-seat Nancy L. Donahue Theatre. MRT is one of 72 theatres nationwide (one of three in Massachusetts) with membership in LORT (the League of Resident Theatres).
Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Performance Space: The Nancy L. Donahue Theatre at Liberty Hall
(Adjacent to Lowell Memorial Auditorium)
50 E. Merrimack Street
Lowell, MA 01852
Box Office: 978-654-4678 | mrt.org
Now on Stage
Spiritus/Virgil’s Dance will be running at MRT from May 8th through May 26th. Latin for breath, “Spiritus” is often used figuratively to mean spirit. In Dael Orlandersmith’s solo piece Spiritus/Virgil's Dance the word takes on a metaphorical meaning for a soul on a quest. In conversation with Dante’s Divine Comedy, we meet Virgil in the middle of an ordinary life. With their father’s passing, Virgil reframes death and finds the extraordinary they’ve been searching for.