MRT Announces Cast For TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS

By: Aug. 20, 2019
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Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) today announced the cast for the buoyant Tiny Beautiful Things, Nia Vardalos' stage adaptation of The New York Times' bestseller Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed, directed by Jen Wineman, from September 11 to October 6 at the Nancy L. Donahue Theatre, according to Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas and Interim Artistic Director Terry Berliner.

Lori Prince will lead the cast in the role of Sugar. Appearing as various letter writers will be Shravan Amin, Caroline Strang, and Nael Nacer. For tickets to Tiny Beautiful Things, co-conceived for the stage by Marshall Heyman, Thomas Kail, and Vardalos, call the MRT Box Office at 978-654-4678, or visit mrt.org.

As "Dear Sugar," author Cheryl Strayed answered hundreds of letters for two years with surprising candor and an often bruising, brutal honesty as an advice columnist. This stage adaptation of her memoir is a hopeful and heartbreaking tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.

Strayed's other credits include Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which became the Academy Award-nominated film Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon; Brave Enough; "The Sweet Spot" advice column with Steve Almond for The New York Times; and the "Dear Sugars" podcast for The New York Times/WBUR Radio.

Adaptor Vardalos said, "Sugar and the writers of the letters reveal themselves, and we find ourselves in their conundrums and sorrows, in their lives lived and roads traveled. As I read the letters exchanged, I wept, smiled, and was astonished by the raw and extraordinary candor. I yearned to be as bold, audacious and willful."

Lori Prince will lead the cast in the role of Sugar. Her credits include performances Off-Broadway in Lyric Is Waiting and Sarah, Sarah (Manhattan Theatre Club) and numerous appearances on "Law & Order: SVU." The cast also includes Shravan Amin (The Hard Problem at Studio Theatre, Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare Theatre Company); Caroline Strang (The Bluest Eye at The Guthrie Theatre, Cinderella: A Musical Panto at People's Light of San Francisco); and Nael Nacer (45 Plays for 45 Presidents at MRT and Bedroom Farce at Huntington Theatre Company).

Director Jen Wineman (Dog Man: The Musical at TheaterWorksUSA, My Heart is in the East at La Mama ETC) leads the creative team, which includes Tim Mackabee, Scenic Designer (The Elephant Man and Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth on Broadway); Leon Dobkowski, Costume Designer (Dublin Carol and The Dead/1904 at Irish Rep Off-Broadway); Marie Yokoyama, Lighting Designer (Daybreak at Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Do You Feel Anger? at Vineyard Theatre); and Emily Auciello, Sound Designer (Ain't No Mo' at The Public Theater). Maegan A. Conroy serves as Production Stage Manager.

Circle Health serves as the 2019-20 Season Sponsor with WBUR-NPR as the Media Sponsor for this show.

Single tickets range in price from $24 to $66. Season Subscriptions for all seven plays range in price from $140 to $357, with student subscriptions at $70. Four-show packages start at $87. To purchase, visit www.mrt.org or contact the MRT Box Office at 978-654-4678.

For the 2019-20 Season, all seven of MRT's plays are either written or co-written by women. The series also includes the East Coast premiere of Lauren Yee's Cambodian Rock Band and the world premiere historical drama The Lowell Offering about Lowell's "Mill Girls" by Andy Bayiates and Genevra Gallo-Bayiates. Other works include The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon; Maytag Virgin by Audrey Cefaly, Nina Simone: Four Women by Christina Ham, and Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End by Allison Engel and Margaret Engel. Full listings at www.mrt.org.



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