| Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere production of Dakar 2000 begins performances | |
| Last Edit: Official_Press_Release 06:38 pm EST 02/05/25 | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 06:33 pm EST 02/05/25 | |
|
|
|
| MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB'S DAKAR 2000 A WORLD PREMIERE PLAY WRITTEN BY PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST RAJIV JOSEPH DIRECTED BY MAY ADRALES BEGINS PERFORMANCES TONIGHT, FEBRUARY 5 AT NY CITY CENTER, STAGE I PRODUCTION STARS ABUBAKR ALI AND MIA BARRON (New York, NY – February 5, 2025) – Performances begin tonight, Wednesday, February 5 for the Manhattan Theatre Club—Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director and Chris Jennings, Executive Director—world premiere of Dakar 2000, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time Obie Award winner Rajiv Joseph (Broadway: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo; Off-Broadway: King James at MTC, Guards at the Taj, Describe the Night) and directed by May Adrales (Vietgone and Poor Yella Rednecks at MTC). Opening night is Thursday, February 27, 2025 at New York City Center, Stage I (131 West 55th Street). The production stars Abubakr Ali (Film: Anything's Possible; Television: "Law & Order: Organized Crime," "Walking Dead: World Beyond") and Lucille Lortel and Obie Award winner Mia Barron (Off-Broadway: The Coast Starlight, Hurricane Diane). In Senegal on the eve of Y2K, an idealistic Peace Corps volunteer (Ali) survives a mysterious car accident. An imposing State Department operative (Barron) arrives at his hospital where she immediately takes command of the situation and his safety. Though they couldn't be more different, they form an unlikely relationship. But when it becomes clear that they both have secrets, the volunteer is roped into a darker side of public service – one he can't come back from. Unpredictable at every turn, this world-premiere thriller was commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club. The design team includes Tim Mackabee (Scenic Design), Emily Rebholz (Costume Design), Alan C. Edwards (Lighting Design), Bray Poor (Sound Design), Shawn Duan (Projection Design), Tommy Kurzman (Hair and Make-up Design), and Merrick A.B. Williams (Production Stage Manager). MTC's Beyond the Stage Series Manhattan Theatre Club's Beyond the Stage series enriches and expands the impact of MTC's productions and theatrical storytelling by offering members of our local and virtual communities free opportunities to engage with leading artists, scholars, and cultural influencers, and to participate in events that connect them to our plays' cultural and historical contexts. These community-building conversations and experiences provide fresh insights and novel perspectives, leading to a deepened understanding and celebration of our shared humanity. Peace Corps Night February 15th is Peace Corps Night, inspired by the events of Dakar 2000 and playwright Rajiv Joseph's time as a Peace Corps Volunteer! Purchase your ticket and join us to gather with fellow Peace Corps alumni and current members before the curtains rise. Then, come hang out with us at Whiskey Trader Bar after the show! Dakar 2000 @ Drama Book Shop Tony Award nominated playwright Joshua Harmon (Prayer for the French Republic and We Had a World at MTC), and Rajiv Joseph are joining forces with MTC and the Drama Book Shop on February 18th for a special behind the scenes discussion about their work! Reserve your spot now to hear Harmon and Joseph with moderator Samantha Tuozzolo (Survival Jobs: A Podcast host) discuss their rich relationship with MTC, how real-life events can inspire scenes on stage, and how exciting it is for both shows to be running concurrently at City Center. Fordham Night @ Dakar 2000 Fordham students, start taking notes! Purchase your tickets to Dakar 2000 on February 20th and join us after the show for an exclusive talkback with playwright Rajiv Joseph and director May Adrales, moderated by Liam Lonegan. Tickets are on sale now. To purchase single tickets, visit nycitycenter.org. Subscriptions for MTC's 2024-25 season are available by visiting manhattantheatreclub.com/join, or by calling the MTC Clubline at 212-399-3050. MTC's 2024-25 Season MTC's 2024-25 Broadway season features Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, produced in association with CMI and Daryl Roth, starring Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, devised by Cameron Mackintosh, with choreography by Stephen Mear, musical staging and direction by Matthew Bourne, side by side with Julia McKenzie at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. MTC's remaining Off-Broadway season also includes the world premiere of We Had a World by Tony Award nominee Joshua Harmon, directed by Trip Cullman, starring Andrew Barth Feldman, Tony Award winner Joanna Gleason, and Jeanine Serralles at New York City Center, Stage II. BIOGRAPHIES ABUBAKR ALI (Boubs) starred in Anything's Possible (MGM/Orion) director Billy Porter and was the titular lead in Netflix/Dark Horse's series, "Grendel." Additional selected credits include Kathryn Bigelow's upcoming Netflix film, "Law & Order: Organized Crime" (NBC), "Walking Dead: World Beyond" (AMC), "Power Book II" (Starz), and "Katy Keene" (CW). Theatre credits include Toros (2nd Stage), Inherit the Wind (Pasadena Playhouse), We Live in Cairo (A.R.T.), Kiss (Yale Rep), Twelfth Night (Yale Rep) and work with The 24 Hour Plays, Primary Stages, NYTW, Atlantic Theater Company, The Public, and others. Abubakr is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. MIA BARRON (Dina Stevens) won a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Performer in The Coast Starlight at Lincoln Center, an Obie Award for her performance in Hurricane Diane at New York Theatre Workshop, and an Obie and Drama Desk Award for her work in the ensemble of The Wolves at Playwrights Realm/ Lincoln Center. She appeared on Broadway in Tom Stoppard's Tony Award-winning production of The Coast of Utopia and in QED (Lincoln Center), as well as in many premieres Off-Broadway, including The Public Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, Atlantic Theater Company, and New York Theatre Workshop. She starred in the international tour of Joan Didion's The White Album, which premiered at BAM's Next Wave Festival and internationally at the Sydney Festival. She co-created and starred in Off-Broadway's Big Times, directed by Leigh Silverman. Television work includes "Get Shorty," "NCIS," and "Law and Order: True Crime," "Shameless," "Newsroom," "Elementary," "Glee," "Blue Bloods," "Grey's Anatomy," "Medium," "Numb3rs," "Bones," "Modern Family," as well as the voice of Molotov on Adult Swim's "The Venture Brothers" (Cartoon Network). Mia is a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop and a recipient of the Joan and Joseph Cullman Award for Extraordinary Creativity at Lincoln Center Theater. MFA NYU. RAJIV JOSEPH (Playwright). Rajiv Joseph's play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama. He has twice won the Obie Award for Best New American Play, first in 2016 with Guards at the Taj (also a 2016 Lortel Winner for Best Play) and then in 2018 with Describe the Night. Other plays include King James, Letters of Suresh, Archduke, The North Pool, Gruesome Playground Injuries and Animals Out of Paper. He also wrote the libretto for the opera Shalimar the Clown, based on the novel by Salman Rushdie. He has written for TV and film and has been awarded artistic grants from the Whiting Foundation, United States Artists, and the Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal. MAY ADRALES (Director) is a director, artistic leader, teacher, and mother; she has directed over 30 world premieres. Her work has been seen most recently at Manhattan Theatre Club (Anchuli Felicia King's Golden Shield, Qui Nguyen's Vietgone and Poor Yella Rednecks), Second Stage (Rajiv Joseph's Letters of Suresh), Yale Rep (falcon girls), Guthrie Theater, Huntington Theater, Signature Theater, Lincoln Center, The Public Theater, WP, New York Theater Workshop, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Rep, Milwaukee Rep and South Coast Rep. She was awarded the prestigious Ammerman Award at Arena Stage and Theater Communications Group's Alan Schneider Award for freelance directors. She is a finalist for the SDCF Zelda Fichandler Award, Drama League Directing Fellow, Van Lier Directing Fellow, WP Lab Director, SoHo Rep Writers/Directors Lab and New York Theater Workshop directing fellow, TCG New Generations Grantee, SDC Denham Fellowship and Paul Green Directing Award. She served as an Associate Artistic Director at Milwaukee Rep; Artistic Associate at The Playwrights Center; Artistic Associate at The Public Theater; and Director of Artistic Programs and Artistic Director at The Lark. She serves on the board of Theater Communications Group. May has directed and taught at Juilliard, Harvard/ART, ACT, Fordham, NYU and Bard College. She is currently the Director of the Theatre Program and Assistant Professor at Fordham University. May has served on faculty at the Yale School of Drama and Brown/Trinity MFA program. MFA, Yale School of Drama. www.mayadrales.net. PRODUCTION HEADSHOTS ABOUT MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Director Chris Jennings, Manhattan Theatre Club produces seasons of new work for the theatre both on and Off-Broadway, and in the 2023-24 season, all three of its Broadway shows were nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play, representing three of the five nominees in the category. MTC's not-for-profit mission, which Meadow created in 1972 and has implemented over five decades of award-winning productions, is to develop and present new work in a dynamic, supportive environment; to identify and collaborate with the most promising new as well as accomplished artists; and to produce a diverse repertoire of innovative, entertaining, and thought-provoking plays and musicals by American and international playwrights. Since 1989, MTC Learning and Community Engagement, which uses the power of live theatre and playwriting to awaken minds, ignite imaginations, open hearts, and change lives, has also been an important corollary to MTC's work. MTC's over 600 world, American, New York and Broadway premieres have earned 7 Pulitzer Prizes, 30 Tony Awards, 51 Drama Desk Awards and 49 Obie Awards amongst many other honors. MTC has homes on Broadway at its Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and Off-Broadway at New York City Center. MTC is an anti-racist organization that respects and honors all voices and upholds the values of community and equity. For more information, please visit www.manhattantheatreclub.com. PRODUCTION INFORMATION World Premiere Dakar 2000 By Rajiv Joseph Directed by May Adrales Featuring Abubakr Ali, Mia Barron NY City Center Stage I Performances begin Wednesday, February 5, 2025 Opening Night Thursday, February 27, 2025 NY City Center Stage I, 151 West 55th Street WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA Website: manhattantheatreclub.com Instagram: instagram.com/MTC_NYC Facebook: facebook.com/ManhattanTheatreClub X: x.com/mtc_NYC YouTube: youtube.com/user/mtcbroadway Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/mtc-nyc.bsky.social |
|
| reply | |
|
|
|
| Previous: | re: Casting Announced for Caryl Churchill's GLASS. KILL. WHAT IF IF ONLY. IMP. - schauspieler 11:58 pm EST 02/05/25 |
| Next: | Lincoln Center Theater names Nicole Kastrinos as Producer - Official_Press_Release 06:17 pm EST 02/05/25 |
| Thread: | |
Time to render: 0.009193 seconds.