Dan O’Brien’s The Angel in the Trees added to 2010 season!

I’m incredibly proud to announce that our next production will be The Angel in the Trees by Dan O’Brien. I’ve loved this wonderful play for many years — and an opening in our season, plus a chance meeting with Dan at this year’s Humana Festival combined to make this late-season addition possible. We’ll return to our unofficial home at Manhattan Theatre Source in July 2010, for this evocative one-woman show about ghosts, God, and the American South.

Also, we’re continuing our work with Australian playwright Lally Katz on her new play Goodbye New York, Goodbye Heart, commissioned especially for our company and directed by Kara-Lynn Vaeni. We’re looking forward to kicking off our sixth season with this piece in November 2010.

As you probably know, we can’t do any of this without your support. Ticket sales cover only a fraction of our production budgets and by helping us in whatever way you can, you’re ensuring the continued viability of a company that is absolutely devoted to bringing full productions of great new plays by US and Australian playwrights to life.

Please make a tax-deductible donation today to help us bring these great plays and playwrights to the stage. It’s fast and easy to donate online! Thanks for your continued support and enthusiasm! With your help, we’ll look forward to a great summer production of The Angel in the Trees…and more!

Best wishes — and hope to see you at the theater!

Mark Armstrong
Artistic Director

NY Press raves and author Courtney E. Martin joins us tonight, as Meg’s New Friend continues!

MORE GREAT REVIEWS FOR MEG’S NEW FRIEND, plus a lively postshow discussion tonight with Courtney E. Martin, Felice Belle and Tammy Oler!

“[F]ew plays manage to be both as viciously insightful into the ways in which people rationalize their casual racism and laugh-out-loud funny as Meg’s New Friend…Director Mark Armstrong has conquered MTS’s awkward playing space and elicited strong performances from his quartet of actors…[Actress Megan] McQuillan has clearly found a friend in [playwright Blair] Singer, because most actresses would kill for the role of Meg. Transformed from a shallow lifestyles reporter into a strong-willed woman who unflinchingly makes life-changing decisions, McQuillan invests Meg with so much heart and likeability…All great shows entertain and enlighten, but Meg’s New Friend does something else: It makes you eagerly anticipate what everyone involved will do next. — New York Press”

“Friend unfolds in ways both unexpected and not, but it is far from skin deep. Though gender and race factor into the play, these issues remain on the periphery. And while Friend would work splendidly as sheer entertainment, [playwright Blair] Singer digs deeper; this is a play about people, not themes, and the playwright makes sharp observations…The crux of Friend is chiefly how people connect and the role language plays as both tool and weapon in their interactions with each other. These characters are hyper-articulate [and] masters at the politics of talking, manipulating words to their advantage…It’s hard to tell whether Singer’s writing, a uniformly marvelous ensemble, or [director Mark] Armstrong’s vision is responsible for this polished staging, so perfectly do all of these elements gel in a production at Manhattan Theatre Source that flirts with perfection.” — offoffonline

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Monday, December 7 (TONIGHT!): Post-Show Talkback: The Feminist Perspective, featuring a lively discussion with Courtney E. Martin, Felice Belle and Tammy Oler immediately following tonight’s performance.

• Every Monday night, Meg’s New Friend is pay-what-you-can for theater industry workers, but you must reserve in advance! (Email markarmstrong@productioncompany.org.)

• Thursday, December 10: The League of Professional Theatre Women hosts a postshow discussion with Meg’s New Friend designers April Bartlett, Carolyn Wong and Deanna Frieman, along with producer Gabriella Willenz.

NOW THROUGH DECEMBER 20! TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

“Comedy runs on light feet — and Meg’s New Friend positively floats!”

GREAT REVIEWS FOR MEG’S NEW FRIEND!

“Comedy runs on light feet, the gurus of humor say, and Meg’s New Friend positively floats! Director Mark Armstrong has crafted a wily, laugh-inducing romp that fits handsomely into the intimate Manhattan Theatre Source. [P]laywright Blair Singer’s Meg’s New Friend is steeped in detail and immediacy…featuring rat-a-tat dialogue that overlaps with an easy, naturalistic patter. [T]he superb Damon Gupton commands every moment he appears on stage. This is a show worth seeing.” –nytheatre.com

“Topicality is at the heart of Blair Singer’s new play Meg’s New Friend. The time is now, the characters are immediately recognizable, and the playwright’s original theme is of the moment. Singer is a sleek, naturalistic writer [and] under Mark Armstrong’s skillful direction, all four performers create convincing contemporary characters: [Mary] Cross with her anger, [Michael] Solomon with his heartbreak, [Damon] Gupton with his smooth talk, and especially [Megan] McQuillan, who presents a detailed portrait of a sympathetic, bewildered woman of 2009.” — Backstage

“Meg’s New Friend is really, really funny! The cast is extraordinary, and I simply can’t say enough about Megan McQuillan, [who] was masterful with the language, punching and reeling and setting the tempo for each scene. This is a serious look at the world that we’re waking up to, a serious attempt to deal with America in 2009… and it’s hilarious. You should go see it.” — Sean Rants

NOW THROUGH DECEMBER 20! TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

THANK YOU! Meg’s New Friend will open Sunday with a sold-out performance!

Thank you to all our supporters! We’ve had more advance sales for Meg’s New Friend than we have for any production in our five-year history. Our opening night performance is now SOLD OUT and tickets for other performances are going fast! As we head into the Thanksgiving weekend, we wanted to give you one more change to grab tickets at a savings — If you buy your tickets before Friday, you can use the discount code Early to get $20 tickets for performances through December 11!

This company — Megan McQuillan, Damon Gupton, Michael Solomon and Mary Cross — is truly incredible and we’re being wonderfully supported by our great design and stage management team. Meg’s New Friend is a timely play that indelibly captures our contemporary moment and we’re really looking forward to sharing it with audiences.

Throughout the run, we’ll also be hosting special guests who will continue the dialogue generated by the play in postshow conversations. We’ll be updating you as we confirm these speakers, but I’m thrilled to announce that after the December 7 performance, we’ll be joined by Courtney E. Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters and a writer for Feministing, to converse with us about the play. I’m a big fan of Courtney’s work and I’m incredibly honored that she’ll be talking with us about Meg’s New Friend.

Big month. Lots of excitement. Looking forward to sharing it with you.

Best wishes and hope to see you at the theater,

Mark Armstrong
Artistic Director

A message from company member Megan McQuillan

Hello TPC Supporters!

Company member Megan McQuillan here. I’m playing “Meg” in Meg’s New Friend and I’m writing you from deep within the rehearsal process. We are about halfway to opening night, and just last night we had our very first run-through! I was shocked, amazed and humbled (to paraphrase a line from our awesome playwright Blair Singer) by all the great energy in the room yesterday. We’ve got a tremendous group of artists all collaborating on this show–and everyone is bringing their very best.

As you may imagine, I find myself in an incredible position– having my name on this play, being given the opportunity to create a beautiful role, working with super-talented actors and having a great director at the helm. Please join me at Manhattan Theatre Source beginning Nov 29th to share with us the fruits of this wonderful process.

If you buy your tickets by this Thursday, November 19th, you can use the discount code Early to get $20 tickets for performances through December 11!

Looking forward to seeing you at the show!

Megan McQuillan
New York, NY

A message from playwright Blair Singer

Dear Friends:

I want to write you a short letter expressing how grateful I am that The Production Company has given me an artistic home. Like many playwrights in New York City, I had been stalled in the rings of Hell known as the development process– reading upon reading, workshop after workshop. And, while I am thankful for the opportunities I’ve been afforded by various theaters in town, I needed to see my work in production to truly find out whether my plays did or did not work in front of a paying audience.

I am a better writer because of the production opportunities that this company, its ensemble members, their Board and their donors have made available to me. This past September, I had a world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, a 525-seat Equity theater in Los Angeles starring Matthew Modine and it never would have happened without the backbone of support I’ve received from The Production Company.

I am thrilled to be back in rehearsal with them on a play, Meg’s New Friend, that I wrote specifically for Mark Armstrong to direct and for the company members to act in. It is, simply, the best play I have ever written (he says humbly) and I would never have arrived at this play without knowing that I had a home to bring it to when I was finished.

The Production Company has been nothing short of a career miracle for me and I will never forget the blood and sweat that is given on a daily basis so that my work can be presented to an audience.

I hope you’ll be able to join us for the production of Meg’s New Friend, which opens on November 29, and I’d like to extend a special discount. We have an advance block of tickets on sale via Theatremania that are good for shows through December 11. Use the discount code Early to get $20 tickets for those performances — a 20% savings if you purchase them by November 19, as well as a guarantee that you won’t be turned away without a seat in our intimate 44-seat house.

Best wishes and hope to see you at the theater,

Blair Singer
Brooklyn, NY

Meg’s New Friend starts rehearsal — and a special offer!

We’ve completed our first week of rehearsals for Meg’s New Friend and I’m really in awe of the fantastic group of artists that have come together for this production. Being in a room with this group of creative, dedicated and generous people has already been an incredibly powerful experience for me and I’m looking forward to the next several weeks of exploring this latest play by Blair Singer, who also penned our 2008 hit The Most Damaging Wound.

The outline of the play follows Meg, a local New York television features reporter who realizes that, in the age of Obama, she doesn’t have one African-American friend. She meets her best friend’s new beau, a sexy African-American yoga teacher, Meg thinks she’s found exactly what she was looking for. In exploring this play, we’ve generated meaningful conversations about the way we all live together in this country at this time. When we share this play with audiences, we’re looking forward to continuing that conversation with you, in the theater, which seats 44 people each night.That’s right — I said 44 people. And only 20 performances. Performing at Manhattan Theatre Source allows us to share the sort of brave, honest acting that this cast excels at in an incredibly intimate way. For those of you who loved The Most Damaging Wound — or were turned away in our final weekend of sold-out performances! — we’re offering an early opportunity to make sure you’re one of the people who’s able to share this experience with us.We open on November 29 and we have an advance block of tickets on sale via Theatremania that are good for shows through December 11. Use the discount code Early to get $20 tickets for those performances –  a 20% savings if you purchase them by November 19, as well as a guarantee that you won’t be turned away without a seat!More dispatches from rehearsal will follow. We simply can’t wait to share this experience with you.

Love pre-show fundraiser this Saturday

We are having a pre-show party this Saturday 21 March at 6:30pm.  Tickets are $75 at the door and $50 online (via our donation button).  Party goers will then be our guests to the 8pm performance of the Australian play Love.

Show showdown review

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Most Damaging Wound

photo: Deanna R. Frieman

Here’s a rarity: a bunch of guys (all hetero, save one) dealing with their issues of “masculine intimacy” in a play that isn’t out to damn them or to damn testosterone in general. In this sometimes poignant and largely cliche-free dramedy (by Blair Singer) the buddies who reunite some years after college over drinks and pizza are believable regular guys whose bonds with each other, formed in post-adolescence, have been revised in the transition to adulthood. Some of their conflicts, such as the strain between the now-sober musician and the eternal drunk who used to be his best friend, seem like they’re going to be been-there done-that but the resolves are not what you expect; others, such as the realization that a long-standing friendship had been based on idolatry, are things that guys are too seldom depicted talking credibly about. The actors give finely detailed performances that make it very clear that each of the characters’ relationships to the others has been thought out: five guys, and one gal who shows up unexpectedly, add up to a high number of interpersonal dynamics and yet my bullshit detector almost never went off. Mark Armstrong’s direction allows the drama and humor of the piece while keeping it all grounded in so believable and clear a reality that you could chart the rise of the liquor buzz just by how the actors move around the room. The level of acting is generally impressive in its detail but I must make special mention of Chris Thorn, who plays the kind of sometimes inappropriate, sometimes juvenille goofball you can’t help but like no matter how hard you try. He not only puts over most of the play’s funny business, he also precisely nails a dead-honest drunk dramatic monologue that is one of the play’s most memorable highlights.

Posted by Patrick Lee at 12:39 AM

Backstage.com critic pick review

Photo by: Deanna D. Frieman

The Most Damaging Wound

November 11, 2008
Reviewed by A.J. Mell
Like the characters it portrays, Blair Singer’s The Most Damaging Wound acknowledges the need for men to bond with each other emotionally while viewing the whole process with a self-conscious and slightly embarrassed eye.

The setting is a soon-to-open restaurant on the Upper East Side, where 30-something proprietor GG (Michael Solomon) is hosting a boy’s night out with his old college buddies. Kenny (Ken Matthews) is a new father who has come late, to say the least, to the drum-beating “men’s movement” popularized by Robert Bly; Dicky (Chris Thorn), who rejoices in the nickname Dicky Dog, is the perpetual adolescent of the group; Bo (Bard Goodrich) is a gay, good-natured musician; and Alan (Michael Szeles) is a yuppie lobbyist whose fetching mistress Christine (Megan McQuillan) unexpectedly crashes the boy’s club. Together they embark on a night of pizza, Jägermeister shots, and mutual recrimination, culminating in a ceremonial farewell to their lost youth.

Any play that features a gang of regular-guy types hugging and saying “I love you” is practically begging for trouble, but somehow this production navigates skillfully between the twin pitfalls of sappiness and easy mockery. The early scenes aren’t terribly promising, with lots of drinkin’, cussin’, and whoopin’ that corresponds more to popular clichés of maleness than to the genuine article. Happily, the play broadens and deepens as it goes along, and the cast, under Mark Armstrong’s vigorous direction, shows real vitality and comic flair. Dicky Dog is easily the showiest part, and Thorn’s combination of overbearing swagger and hangdog vulnerability suggests a taller, more macho Nathan Lane. Still, this is very much an ensemble piece, with Singer’s motley assemblage of characters revealing an underlying cohesion. We have no trouble believing that despite the disparate paths they’ve taken, these are real friends with a long and complicated history.



Presented by the Production Company

at Manhattan Theatre Source, 177 MacDougal St., NYC.

Nov. 7-29. Wed.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 3 and 8 p.m.

(212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, www.theatermania.com, or www.productioncompany.org.