Matt & Ben
| Hours: | Hours Vary see below |
| Ages: | Teens, Adults |
| In/Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Cost: | $ see below |
| Category: | Theater & Shows |
We all know the story: Best friends from Cambridge write a screenplay, star in the hit movie, win the Academy Award, and suddenly the world can’t get enough of them. But what’s the real story behind Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s breakout success?
Can fame literally land in your lap? MATT & BEN comes home to Cambridge with a sharp skewering of celebrity culture and an affectionate look at Boston’s favorite bromance. Warning: The f-bomb is dropped.
When Good Will Hunting captured the 1998 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay before 1 billion television viewers, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck rocketed from struggling young actors to household names and icons of hard-earned success. They had made their own way, penning a script with roles for themselves that forever changed their lives. Hometown boys who had made the big time, Damon and Affleck became Boston’s – and the nation’s – “Matt & Ben”.
Fast-forward to the summer of 2001. Recent Dartmouth College graduates Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers are camped out in their apartment in Astoria trying to beat the heat wave outside. They notice that Ben Affleck’s face is on the cover of almost every tabloid on the newsstands or in their mailbox. Immersing themselves in the gossip, they realize with curiosity that Damon and Affleck had not shown screenwriting promise before Good Will Hunting. So how did they do it? Around this skepticism they begin to improvise the plot for their own artistic vehicle, featuring Kaling as Ben and Withers as Matt.
MATT & BEN had its world premiere at the New York Fringe Festival in 2002, where it won “Best in Fringe” (Best Overall Production). In 2003, it began a successful Off-Broadway run, where it was named one of Time magazine’s “Top Ten Theatrical Events,” was on Rolling Stone’s “Hot List”, and was the only play invited to appear at the HBO sponsored U.S. Comedy and Arts Festival in Aspen, CO. Since then, the play has been produced around the United States and abroad.
Tickets are purchased by calling (866) 811-4111, online at centralsquaretheater.org, or at the CST box office. For box office hours, group discounts, and more information call (617) 576-9278 x210.
| HOURS | ↑ top |
Performances are Tuesday through Fridays at 7:00 PM, Saturdays at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM; and Sundays at 12:30 PM and 4:30 PM (note exceptions: added matinees at 2:00 PM on Wed., Oct. 26 and Friday, Nov. 25; no 4:30 PM show on Sun., Oct. 30; no performances on Wed., Nov. 23 and Thurs., Nov. 24).
| COST | ↑ top |
$40 for weeknights (including Sunday nights); $45 for Weekends (including Fridays), $35 for seniors (ages 62+), $25 students (with college ID), and $15 youth (ages 18 and under)
| WEBSITE | ↑ top |
| LOCATION | ↑ top |
450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139 map
Phone: (866) 811-4111
Central Square Theater
653 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02139
| RELATED LINKS | ↑ top |
- Profiles
- Localities
Info changes frequently. We cannot warrant it. Verify with Matt & Ben before making the trek. If you find an error, please report it...