Merrimack Repertory Theatre

History

Merrimack Repertory Theatre was co-founded in 1979 by Barabara Abrahamian, John Briggs, and Mark Kaufman, who had met at working at a New Hampshire summer stock theatre (where a young Michael Chiklis, a Lowell native who would go on to appear in several MRT productions before moving on to a film career, was appearing in a production of Bye Bye Birdie). They conceived the idea of a professional non-profit theatre company in Lowell, Massachusetts and formed the “Committee for Legitimate Theatre in Lowell.”

The company was incorporated as Merrimack Regional Theatre on February 1, 1979. MRT’s first venue was Mahoney Hall at the University of Lowell (now University of Massachusetts Lowell). Its first production, The Passion of Dracula,opened on October 23, 1979. Nancy Donahue assumed presidency of the company. Mark Kaufman and John R. Briggs were the theatre's first Producing Artistic Directors.

Dan Schay was hired as Producing Artistic Director in 1982, and in 1983, the company moved to its current location at Liberty Hall, changing its name to Merrimack Repertory Theatre. Schay produced MRT’s first world premiere (Jack Neary’s First Night) in 1987, and has been succeeded by David Kent (1989-2001), Charles Towers (2001-2015), and Sean Daniels (2015–present).

In 2012, the theatre underwent an extensive $750,000 renovation. Improvements included wider seats with more legroom (the overall number of seats was reduced from 309 to 279), a refurbished theatre lobby and concession area, and a larger, more accessible box office. The theatre was named in honor of founder Nancy L. Donahue.

Notable Productions

2015-16 Season

2014-15 Season

2013-14 Season

2012-13 Season

2011-12 Season

2010-11 Season

2009-10 Season

2008-09 Season

2007-08 Season

2006-07 Season

2016-17 Season

MRT’S 38th season focuses on local stories, with three of the seven productions on New England themes. The seven plays are:

Artistic Development and Patriot Program

In 2015, Merrimack Repertory Theatre launched the Patriot Program, an artist residency program conceived by Artistic Director Sean Daniels. The MRT Patriots are a group of 69 theatre artists and professionals, from across the country, with access to short-term residencies at MRT throughout the year. The MRT Patriots use MRT resources and housing while developing new work for the stage.

Education and Community Engagement

MRT offers student matinees (daytime performances available only to student groups). Many of these groups are eligible for grant funding through the Partners in Education (PIE) program.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre has offered a summer youth theatre program called Young Company (originally Young Artists at Play), since 1997. Young Company was suspended for the summer of 2015, but is set to resume in July 2016 and will focus on participant-generated work. The program will extend beyond the summer, with year-long student participation in workshops and open rehearsals at MRT.

In 2015, MRT launched the Cohort Club, an audience engagement program modeled after a similar initiative at Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, NY. The Cohort Club is composed of community members who are given access to a show’s entire rehearsal and production process, and are then asked to write about their experiences in a format of their choice.

Other programs include post-show discussions, and open-invite receptions before and after select performances.

Select Awards

1989 - Boston Drama Critics Award for production of Waiting for Godot.

1990 - New England Theatre Award for Excellence.

1990-94 - Four Boston Drama Critics Awards for Filumeni.

1992-93 - The Survivor:A Cambodian Odyssey named Best Play at Humana Festival of New American Plays.

1996 - All in the Timing wins Boston Drama Critics Award for Best Play

1996 - Hamlet wins Best of Boston Award

1997 - 'night, Mother wins Best of Boston

1998 - Nixon's Nixon wins Best of Boston

2005 - Harold Pinter's The Homecoming named to the Best of 2005 list of the Boston Globe, Boston Phoenix, Boston Courant, Edge Boston and Lowell Sun.

2008 - A Delicate Balance receives seven Independent Reviewers of New England Awards, including best production and best director for Artistic Director Charles Towers.

2009 - Bad Dates wins Elliot Norton Award from Boston Theatre Critics Association for Outstanding Solo Performance.

2010 - The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead wins an IRNE (Independent Reviewers of New England) Award for Best Solo Performance.

2012 - Daddy Long Legs wins the Independent Reviewers of New England Award for Best Musical, Large Theatre.