MRT’S 45th season continues with ‘Porch on Windy Hill’
Lowell’s Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) welcomes “The Porch on Windy Hill” to the Liberty Hall stage April 3-21.
The production is conceived and directed by Sherry Stregack Lutken, and written by Stregack Lutken, Lisa Helmi Johanson, Morgan Morse, and David M. Lutken.
It tells the story of bi-racial Korean classical violinist, Mira, and her music history, grad-student boyfriend, Beck, as they escape COVID isolation to the mountains of North Carolina. Their journey takes a surprising turn when they meet Edgar, and Mira faces a flood of memory, pain, hope, and discovery that follows. It was first staged at The Ivoryton Playhouse in Connecticut.
The idea for “The Porch on Windy Hill” emerged during the pandemic when Lutken started to write a 3-act play “wound around an American family’s cultural and generational divisions, isolation, self-examination and the hope of reunion, with music as the catalyst.”
She recruited Johanson, Morse, and David Lutken early in the process, and writing the play occurred over Zoom. It came to fruition six months later, with a world premiere in September 2021 at Ivoryton Playhouse.
“The idea grew out of the pandemic, the current events swirling around us, and the desire to tell a story that reflected what was happening in our country. The Ivoryton Playhouse had been unable, due to financial fallout on the theater from the pandemic, to produce a larger show that I was scheduled to direct, and we were presented with an extraordinary chance to create something completely original for their fall production. Our ‘play with music’ resulted from that opportunity,” said Lutken in an interview with Northlight Theatre’s artistic director B. J. Jones.
Tickets for The Porch on Windy Hill are available now on mrt.org, as well as by contacting the Enterprise Bank Office at 978- 654- 4678 or box_office@mrt.org. Other discounts are also available. Box office hours are Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In the wings
‘COMPANY’ PLAYS OPERA HOUSE: Let’s drink to that! It’s a favorite line from Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Company,” and the national tour of the revelatory new production of the groundbreaking show arrives at Boston’s Citizens Bank Opera House April 2-14. It’s Bobbie’s 35th birthday party, and all her friends keep asking, Why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right man and isn’t it
time to settle down and start a family? As Bobbie searches for answers, she discovers why being single, being married, and being alive in 21st-century New York could drive a person crazy. For tickets visit www.broadwayinboston.com or call 866523-7469
SEASON ANNOUNCEMENTS: ‘ Tis the season for season announcements, and the Stages in-box is filled with them this week. First up is the Hanover Theatre’s new Broadway Series, announced on Monday in Worcester. The lineup includes “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical,” Oct. 18-20; “Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations,” Nov. 8-10; “Dear Evan Hansen,” Jan. 1012; “The Cher Show,” Feb. 14-16; TBA on May 6, April 4- 6; and “Come from Away,” April 11-13. Visit https://thehanovertheatre. org/shows-tickets/2425-broadway-subscriptions/?utm_campaign=march25on25&utm_ source=3-25-2024-bway-an
nounce&utm_medium=email to learn about subscriptions… Broadway in Boston’s announcement, made Tuesday, includes shows playing Citizens Bank Opera House and Emerson Colonial Theatre. At the Opera House, the seven show, 2024-25 subscription season includes “& Juliet,” Nov. 5-17; “Peter Pan,” Jan. 21-Feb. 2; “Funny Girl,” Feb. 4-16; “Shucked,”
April 8-20; “Back to the Future: The Musical,” July 8-20; and “The Wiz,” Aug. 12-24. “Kimberly Akimbo” plays the Colonial May 6-18. Returning shows that can be added to a season subscription include “Mamma Mia!” Sept. 24- Oct. 6, 2024, and “Book of Mormon,” April 22-27, 2025, at the Opera House, and “Six,” Dec. 3-29, 2024, at the Colonial. For information on Broadway in Boston programming, upcoming performances and to subscribe please visit https://broadwayInboston.com/subscriptions or call 866-523-7469 (Monday —
Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.) New subscriptions now on sale.