Marisa Tomei and Oscar Isaac to Star in Benefit Reading of Beirut; MCC Announces Additional Virtual Events

MCC Theater has announced the creation of MCC VIRTUAL EVENTS, a new online property of MCC Theater programing. Kicking off the newly announced program will be a benefit reading of Alan Bowne’s Beirut, starring Marisa Tomei and Oscar Isaac, on Tuesday, April 28 at 7:30 PM ET.

Tomei, most recently seen on Broadway in The Rose Tattoo, will reprise her award-winning performance as Blue, which she first played in MCC Theater’s One Act Play Festival in 1987. Isaac, who was scheduled to appear in New York Theatre Workshop's Three Sisters alongside Greta Gerwig before the COVID-19 pandemic, will play Torch.

Beirut tells the story of a New York where those who have been diagnosed as carriers of the AIDS virus are forced to stay in a closed-off neighborhood. Following a young man named Torch (Isaac), who has no sign of AIDS except a positive blood-test result, and Blue (Tomei) an AIDS-free woman who sneaks into the forbidden zone to be with the man she loves, Beirut is the play that launched MCC in 1987.

The reading will support MCC’s Be Our Light Campaign and will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the MCC Board. A limited number of tickets will be available for $5.00 each. Additional tickets will be allocated and available at $15.00 and $25.00, on a first come, first served basis. All information and tickets can be found here.

MCC also announced the creation of weekly play readings called LIVE LABS: ONE ACTS, happening every Wednesday at 5:00 PM EDT from May 13 for at least six weeks. Each week, one act, under 45 minutes in length, will be read and live streamed for free to the MCC Theater audience. Participating playwrights include Robert Askins, Aziza Barnes, Peter Hedges, C.A. Johnson, Matthew Lopez and Talene Monahon. The readings of new or existing one acts aim to fulfill MCC’s mission to spark conversations that may not otherwise happen. A complete schedule and streaming details will be announced at a later date.

Every Thursday, MCC Theater hosts either an Open Mic Night or a Creative in Quarantine session, where artists can come together and support each other in creation of new work. On Thursday April 23 at 6:00 PM EDT, there will be a panel discussion called The Art of Resilience where leaders from four theater institutions discuss how they are charting their course through the COVID-19 crisis. Panelists include Will Cantler, co-Artistic Director of MCC Theater; Jelani Buckner, Managing Director of The Billie Holiday Theatre; Jonathan McCrory, Artistic Director of The National Black Theater; and John Sheehy, the Director of Institutional Advancement for The 52nd Street Project.