York Theatre Company Announces 2018-19 Season

The York Theatre Company has announced the lineup set for its 49th season at the York Theatre at Saint Peter's.

The first mainstage production will be the off-Broadway premiere of Midnight at the Never Get, directed by Max Friedman. The new musical, co-conceived by Sam Bolen, features a book, music, and lyrics by Mark Sonnenblick, and is presented by arrangement with Visceral Entertainment and Mark Cortale Productions. Performances will run from October 2-November 4 with an official opening set for October 11.

Midnight at the Never Get tells the story of singer Trevor Copeland and songwriter Arthur Brightman who have the perfect New York romance, and that's swell. In 1965, it's also against the law. So in the back room of the Never Get, an illegal Greenwich Village gay bar, they put together a show called Midnight — a nightclub act where Trevor sings Arthur's love songs with their male pronouns intact. But, as the lovers hurtle toward the end of the decade, they find themselves caught in a passion they can't control and a political revolution they don't understand.

The musical was produced in the 2016 New York Musical Festival, followed by a six-week engagement in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in 2017, with the Never Get created as a fully immersive club venue.

The York then celebrates the holiday season with a mainstage production of Christmas in Hell, featuring a book, music, and lyrics by Gary Apple, and directed and choreographed by Bill Castellino. Performances will run December 4-30 with an official December 9 opening.

Christmas in Hell is described as follows: "Looking for a sweet, wholesome holiday musical? Well, this ain't it! On Christmas Eve, little 6-year-old Davin is mistakenly taken down to Hell. When he returns, not only has he missed Christmas, but he is devilishly changed. To set things right, his father embarks on a bizarre odyssey that eventually leads him down to Hell itself where he makes a wager with Lucifer he can't possibly win."

The winter season continues with the York's Musicals in Mufti series, celebrating legendary librettist and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner with a look at three of his musicals: Carmelina (January 26-February 3, 2019), and two lesser known Lerner musicals to be announced shortly.

The company has additionally scheduled its 27th Award Gala for Monday, November 12, at Signature Theatre, honoring five-time Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman with the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre. York associate artistic director Michael Unger will direct the evening's celebration.