PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: APRIL 13, 2016
CONTACT: Kate Brandt, kate.brandt@mrt.org
PR CONTACT PHONE: 978-654-7595
BOX OFFICE: 978-654-4678
ONLINE: mrt.org
MRT Plans Staged Reading of “2.5 Minute Ride”
Free, one-night only event part of National Jewish Theatre Foundation’s Remembrance Readings.
May 2 – 7:30 pm
Lowell, MA – Merrimack Repertory Theatre will be participating in a nationwide observance of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) with a reading of “2.5 Minute Ride” by Lisa Kron on Monday, May 2 at 7:30 pm. MRT’s reading is one of many occurring around the country as part of the National Jewish Theatre Foundation’s Remembrance Readings. The reading will be performed by Veronika Duerr and directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian. This reading, which will be followed by a post-show discussion, is supported in part by the Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation.
Tickets to the reading are free, but reservations are requested. More information can be found at http://www.mrt.org/2015-16-season/25-minute-ride.
About the Play
In “2.5 Minute Ride”, playwright Lisa Kron invites her audience on a roller coaster ride through the Kron family album. Rising and falling between high hilarity and deep disquiet, Kron demonstrates with disarming simplicity that humor and horror can share the same human moment. The play switches back and forth between Kron's journey to Auschwitz with her septuagenarian father, a Holocaust survivor; her Michigan family's annual pilgrimage to a Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park; and her brother's marriage to his Internet bride. By moving seamlessly between these three diverse recountings, Kron creates a complex and at times startling meditation on how human beings make sense of tragedy, grief, and everyday life.
About the Artists
Playwright Lisa Kron is best known for writing the Lyrics and Book to the musical “Fun Home” for which she won both the Tony Award for Best Original Score and the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. She is also an actor who performed the role of Lisa in “2.5 Minute Ride” in New York, London, and other theatres around the country.
Director Megan Sandberg-Zakian is the Director in Residence at MRT and a Princess Grace Foundation Fellowship-winner. She previously directed “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” at MRT and is slated to take the helm of “Chill” at the Lowell theatre in spring 2017.
Actor Veronika Duerr recently appeared in “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” at MRT and is currently in rehearsals for their production of “Home of the Brave.” She has worked extensively in Atlanta, where she was the co-founder of The Weird Sisters Theatre Project, a collective of female theatre artists.
Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) has been the Merrimack Valley’s professional theatre company since 1979, and is an integral part of Lowell’s identity as the cultural heart of the region. The company is known for its high production standards and for creating compelling new plays and regional premieres that reflect the lives and emotions of its audiences. MRT is one of just three theatres in Massachusetts that is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), which has 72 members nationwide.
MRT 2015-16 SEASON
“The Lion”, written and performed by Benjamin Scheuer
August 26 – September 20, 2015
“I and You” by Lauren Gunderson
October 7 – November 1, 2015
“It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” adapted by Joe Landry
November 25 – December 20, 2015
“The White Chip” by Sean Daniels
January 6 – 31, 2015
“Tinker to Evers to Chance by Mat Smart
February 10 – March 6, 2016
“The Realness: a break beat play” by Idris Goodwin
March 16 – April 10, 2016
“Home of the Brave” by Lila Rose Kaplan
April 20 – May 15, 2016
Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Performance Space: The Nancy L. Donahue Theatre
(In Liberty Hall, adjacent to Lowell Memorial Auditorium)
50 E. Merrimack Street
Lowell, MA 01852
Box Office: 978-654-4678
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