Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Left to right: Gretchen Vosburgh (Miss Beatrice), Sara Cuozzo-Gonzalez (Mama Wuluman), Natalie Myrick (Lily Wuluman), John Manolis (Papa Wuluman), Megan Tomei (Young Girl) Photo by Rachel Philipson
The Hangar Theatre Company continues their KIDDSTUFF season with Lily Plants a Garden by José Cruz González, with performances from July 4 through July 6.

On a distant planet, gardens once flourished with the bluzulu seeds of Zobeings in the wuludirt of Wulu-landers. But now these two civilizations have been waging war for centuries, and no one can remember why. Lily, a child of both cultures, bridges the divide, and plants a magical garden where broken toys grow into beautiful plants of memory, imagination, and optimism. The play deals with the themes of discrimination, refugees, and hope.

Though written for a youth audience, due to its war-zone setting and serious subject matter surrounding the struggles of navigating life in such a setting, Lily Plants a Garden may not be appropriate for our youngest viewers. Parental discretion is advised.

Lily Plants a Garden is directed by Drama League Directing Fellow Ismael Lara Jr., who says, "This is a children's play that doesn't hide the truth of our world. Instead, it encourages us to continue to plant seeds of hope, having faith in our future generations to be resilient and to always find the light."

The first four KIDDSTUFF shows feature the work of the Hangar's Drama League Directing Fellows and members of the Hangar Theatre Lab Company, a troupe of rising artists from across the nation. In the KIDDSTUFF series, Lily Plants a Garden will be followed by Jack and the Beanstalk (July 11-13), Unicorn Girl (July 25-27), and a final musical, Mary Poppins Jr., presented by the Hangar's Next Generation School of Theatre (August 1-3).The Directing Fellows and Lab Company members also produce The Wedge series of free, cutting-edge plays at The Cherry Artspace (for adults). hangartheatre.org/the-wedge

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