Archive: Arts & Entertainment

The Hangar Theatre announced its 2015 Mainstage Season.  Opening the summer season is GOD OF CARNAGE by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton. This 'comedy of manners...without the manners' runs June 11 - 20.

Waldman explained, "This is the perfect play to open our 41st season. It is a fast, furious, and very, very funny comedy. When I saw this play in New York, I literally doubled over with laughter. I kept thinking to myself, 'I can't believe they just did that!'"

GOD OF CARNAGE tells the story of the aftermath of a fight between two 11-year-old boys on the playground. Their parents meet over cocktails to resolve the situation with civility and reason. But manners are quickly forgotten, and all hell breaks loose as the evening devolves into a laugh-out-loud train wreck. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best Comedy and the Tony Award for Best Play, GOD OF CARNAGE has been hailed as "first class" (the New York Times), "the best play in town!" (New York Post), and "scabrously funny" (USA Today). This show contains strong adult language and mature themes.

The next show will be the Tony Award─winning musical SPRING AWAKENING with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik. This groundbreaking coming-of-age rock musical will run from June 25 - July 11. SPRING AWAKENING celebrates the hot-blooded journey from youth to adulthood. In this electrifying musical, a group of 19th-century German students navigate the highs and lows of self-discovery, love, and loss. The winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, SPRING AWAKENING has redefined contemporary musical theatre. Based on the 1892 Frank Wedekind play-banned in Germany for two decades after its publication-SPRING AWAKENING challenges and thrills with a "shivery, sensual allure unmatched by anything in the theater right now" (the New York Times). This show contains strong language and mature content.

Next up is a mysterious comedy...with a bite! THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, adapted by Steven Canny and John Nicholson, will take the Hangar stage from July 16-25.

Waldman says, "If you love plays like THE 39 STEPS and AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES is for you. It celebrates the amazing artistry of theatrical clowns who are masters of the quick change."

An ancient family curse, a desolate moor, a spectral hound, and a deranged killer on the loose...the game is afoot! Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson journey to the English countryside to investigate the mysterious case of the Baskerville family. One by one the male heirs are dropping dead. But why? And who-or what-is responsible? In this hilarious and madcap take on the most famous detective of all time, a trio of actors plays dozens of roles in a production that is 'a master class in funny' (Florida Weekly).

Rounding out the season is one of the most-loved romances of the American Theatre, TALLEY'S FOLLY, by Lanford Wilson. Running from July 30─August 8, TALLEY'S FOLLY takes place on July 4, 1944 in Lebanon, Missouri. Matt Friedman has arrived to declare his love for Sally Talley and ask her to marry him, but their differences make it nearly impossible for Sally to envision a future together. Piece by piece, their defenses unravel, and it becomes clear that these two kindred spirits have truly found their match. TALLEY'S FOLLY is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, "It is perhaps the simplest, and the most lyrical play Wilson has written-a funny, sweet, touching and marvelously written and contrived love poem for an apple and an orange" (the New York Times).

"I am so thrilled to share this season with our audience. Putting this four-play lineup together was truly a labor of love," Artistic Director Jen Waldman told the Hangar Board of Directors. "We are offering a sharp-witted comedy, an edgy rock musical, a classic whodunit with a twist, and one of the greatest love stories of the American stage. These are plays that grab ahold of you and take you on a journey. Some will make you laugh, some will make your cry, and at least one will make you laugh so hard that you cry. But all four of these plays will make you feel alive and proud to be a part of the live theatre experience that is the Hangar."

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