Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Lynne Meadow has been the company’s Artistic Director and visionary since 1972. Barry Grove joined the company in 1975 and was Meadow’s partner until 2023. Chris Jennings is now Executive Director. Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-off Broadway showcase into one of the country's most acclaimed theatre organizations.
MTC's many awards include 31 Tony Awards, seven Pulitzer Prizes, 49 Obie Awards and 52 Drama Desk Awards, as well as numerous Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards. MTC has won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Achievement, a Drama Desk for Outstanding Excellence, and a Theatre World for Outstanding Achievement.
MTC produces Broadway and Off-Broadway plays and musicals.
Notable productions
Eastern Standard by Richard GreenbergRuined by Lynn NottageMauritius by Theresa RebeckLoveMusik, book by Alfred Uhry and songs by Kurt WeillBlackbird by David HarrowerTranslations by Brian FrielRabbit Hole by David Lindsay-AbaireDoubt by John Patrick ShanleyProof by David AuburnThe Tale of the Allergist's Wife by Charles BuschCrimes of the Heart by Beth HenleySight Unseen by Donald MarguliesLove! Valour! Compassion! by Terrence McNallyAin't Misbehavin', the Fats Waller musicalKing Hedley II by August WilsonNocturama by Annie Baker Constellations by Nick PayneJitney by August WilsonLackawanna Blues by Ruben Santiago-HudsonPrayer for the French Republic by Joshua HarmonJaja's African Hair Braiding by Jocelyn BiohMary Jane by Amy HerzogEureka Day by Jonathan SpectorStephen Sondheim's Old FriendsHistory
Manhattan Theatre Club is a not-for-profit theatre that produces shows in multiple venues: the 650- seat Samuel J. Friedman Theatre—formerly Biltmore Theatre—which they restored and reopened in 2003, and at New York City Center off-Broadway, where they created a 300-seat Stage I and a 150-seat Stage II. MTC productions have earned 7 Pulitzer Prizes, 30 Tony Awards, 51 Drama Desk Awards, and 49 Obie Awards, among many other honors. Lynne Meadow became Manhattan Theatre Club's artistic director in 1972, serving in that position until 2025, when she was succeeded by Nicki Hunter. Barry Grove, who retired in 2023 after 48 years as MTC's Executive Producer, was replaced that summer by Executive Director Chris Jennings.Writers who have had an artistic home at MTC and returned throughout their careers include David Auburn ; lan Ayckbourn ; Charles Busch ; Harvey Fierstein ; Richard Greenberg ; Beth Henley ; David Lindsay-Abaire ; Donald Margulies ; Terrence McNally ; John Patrick Shanley ; Richard Wesley, and Charlayne Woodard. Some who have who have made their MTC debuts in recent seasons include Bekah Brunstetter, Sarah Jones, Matthew Lopez, Martyna Majok, Dominique Morisseau, Qui Nguyen, Amanda Peet, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson.
MTC’s Artistic Development program offers dramaturgical support, readings, and workshops, as well as a wide range of commissions, which provide artists with the resources to create new work. Just a few of the MTC commissions that have bowed in recent years include Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon (Playwright), Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney, and Heisenberg and Morning Sun by Simon Stephens. MTC has also produced plays by some of America’s most heralded writers, such as Lillian Hellman and world premieres by John Guare, Elaine May, Arthur Miller, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Sam Shepard.
Since their 1978 production of Ain’t Misbehavin’ moved to Broadway, MTC has given many modern American classics their Broadway debuts, including How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel, Jitney by August Wilson, Fool for Love by Sam Shepard, Venus in Fur by David Ives, and Wit by Margaret Edson. The company has shepherded to the stage musicals such as Stephen Sondheim’s Putting It Together, Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, Alfred Uhry’s LoveMusik, and Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash’s Murder Ballad.
MTC also has a long history of bringing the work of international writers to American audiences, including world premieres by Alan Ayckbourn; Translations and Aristocrats by Brian Friel; Valley Song, The Captain’s Tiger, and many others by Athol Fugard; Ink by James Graham; The Philanthropist by Christopher Hampton; East is East by Ayub Khan-Din; The Children by Lucy Kirkwood; the world premiere of A Kind of Alaska by Harold Pinter; Ashes by David Rudkin; The Ruins of Civilization and Linda by Penelope Skinner; The Memory of Water and An Experiment with an 'Air Pump by Shelagh Stephenson; Three Birds Alighting on a Field by Timberlake Wertenbaker; and The Father and The Height of the Storm by Florian Zeller.
MTC's Learning and Community Engagement program, founded in 1989, was the first education department created by a major theatre company and runs multiple programs annually that use playwrighting and live theatre to serve learners of all ages.
Facilities
At its founding, the Manhattan Theatre Club staged off-off-Broadway productions at Stage 73, located at 321 East 73rd Street.In 1984, MTC moved to its ongoing Off-Broadway productions to New [York City Center]'s lower level. Its performance space comprises a 299-seat theatre with fixed seating and a 150-seat studio theatre with variable seating configurations.
The MTC added a venue for Broadway productions when it purchased the Biltmore Theatre in 2001; the theatre was renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on September 4, 2008, in honor of Broadway publicist Samuel Friedman. After the 2001 purchase, the MTC commenced renovations, re-opening in October 2003. With 650 seats the Friedman has about two-thirds of the capacity of the old Biltmore Theatre.