Alice by Heart, New Musical by Spring Awakening & Waitress Writers, Sets World Premiere with MCC Theater

That was quick! The recently reported Alice by Heart, a musical adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, has scheduled its world premiere with off-Broadway's MCC Theater. Directed by Jessie Nelson (Waitress), who co-wrote the show's book with Spring Awakening Tony winner Steven Sater (who also penned the lyrics), Alice by Heart will feature music by Sater's Tony-winning Spring Awakening collaborator Duncan Sheik. Alice by Heart will run at the Newman Mills Theater as part of MCC's inaugural season in its new permanent two-venue off-Broadway home. Performances will run from January 30 through March 10, 2019.

Alice by Heart takes place in the rubble of the London Blitz of World War II, where Alice Spencer’s budding teen life is turned upside down as she and her dear friend Alfred are forced to take shelter in an underground tube station. When the ailing Alfred is quarantined, Alice encourages him to escape with her into their cherished book and journey down the rabbit hole to wonderland. Casting for Alice by Heart will be announced at a later date. Waitress songwriter Sara Bareilles recently revealed to Broadway.com that she hopes to star.

Also newly announced for the 2018-2019 MCC season is Loy A. Webb's New York premiere The Light (January 9-February 17, 2019), directed by Logan Vaughn. The Light introduces us to Rashad and Genesis on what should be one of the happiest days of their lives, but their joy quickly unravels when ground-shifting accusations from the past resurface. The Light will run at MCC's other new venue, the Susan and Ronald Frankel Theater.

Aziza Barnes's BLKS (April 18-May 26, 2019) will make its New York premiere with MCC at the Newman Mills Theater. BLKS centers on Octavia, Imani and June—three twenty-somethings in New York City hunting for intimacy and purpose in a city that doesn’t seem to care. A director for BLKS will be announced at a later date.

Halley Feiffer's New York premiere Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow (June 27-August 4, 2019) is next up at MCC, slated to run at the Susan and Ronald Frankel Theater. Feiffer’s contemporary reimagining of Chekhov's Three Sisters follows the joys and heartbreaks of one lovably dysfunctional family over the course of several pivotal years in a world that proves to be eerily similar to the one we live in today. Trip Cullman repeats his work as the play's director from its world premiere run at the 2017 Williamstown Theatre Festival.

The 2018-2019 MCC Theater season will launch with the previously announced Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties (August 16-September 23, 2018) written by Jen Silverman and directed by Mike Donahue. That work will be the final MCC production to play the company's longtime venue, the Lucille Lortel Theatre.