Lucy Thurber, Jocelyn Bioh, Neil LaBute Plays Set for New MCC Theater Season

MCC Theater has announced the titles for its upcoming 2017-18 season.

The season kicks off with Philip Dawkins' Charm, directed by Will Davis. It will run August 31-October 8 and follows the story of a black, transgender woman who takes it upon herself to teach an etiquette class at Chicago’s LGBTQ community center.

Next up is the world premiere of Jocelyn Bioh's School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play, directed by Rebecca Taichman. Running November 2-December 10, it tells the story of Paulina, the reigning Queen Bee at Ghana's most exclusive boarding school, who has her sights set on the Miss Universe pageant. But the mid-year arrival of Ericka, a new student with undeniable talent and beauty, captures the attention of the pageant recruiter — and Paulina’s hive-minded friends.

J.C. Lee's Relevance, directed by Liesl Tommy, follows, February 1-March 11. The play is described as follows: "Theresa Hanneck is a celebrated author and veteran feminist warrior; Msemaji Ukweli is a promising young writer who is quickly becoming the leading cultural critic on race, class, and gender for a new generation. When a heated exchange between the two women goes viral, Theresa finds herself ill-equipped to manage her message in the era of 140 character tweets — especially against a rival whose time may have come. "

Lucy Thurber's Transfers, directed by Jackson Gay, will run April 5-May 13. It follows two students from the South Bronx who are competing for a life-changing scholarship at an elite northeast university.

The season concludes with Leigh Silverman's production of Neil LaBute's Reasons to Be Pretty Happy, a follow-up to his plays Reasons to Be Pretty and Reasons to Be Happy. Greg and Steph return to their hometown for their 20th high school reunion and to a dramatic encounter with Kent and Carly. Old secrets and new lies become increasingly difficult to hide as the evening (and the drinking) goes on. It runs August 16-September 23.

For tickets, click on the title of a show above.