- By Thena Gitlin, Hangar Theatre
- Entertainment
Print 
The Hangar Theatre Company opens its 46th summer season (and first ever virtual season), with a reading of The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder on Saturday, May 23rd. The cast consists of over 20 artists who live in the Ithaca area, or who have appeared in a Hangar Mainstage production. The Skin of Our Teeth is a one-time, live virtual performance that viewers can enjoy from their homes. Thornton Wilder's 1942 play The Skin of Our Teeth is a wildly theatrical piece about the history of mankind told through the story of one family, the Antrobuses. While living a seemingly normal life in early-20th century New Jersey, the Antrobuses narrowly escape the catastrophic events of an Ice Age, a Great Flood, and finally, a devastating war. Meet George and Maggie Antrobus (married only 5,000 years); their two children, Gladys and Henry (perfect in every way!); and their maid, Sabina (the ageless vamp) as they overcome ice, flood, and war — by the skin of their teeth. The cast also includes dinosaurs, a fortune teller, Moses, Plato, and a corp of volunteer ushers.
Completed by Wilder on December 7, 1941, The Skin of Our Teeth won the 1943 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Since then, each generation has found what the New Yorker called an "optimistic catastrophe" a source of comfort and amusement during unsettling times.
The director (Hangar Theatre's Artistic Director), Michael Barakiva, conceived the Hangar production of The Skin of Our Teeth with the community in mind.
"This is a play about how our species survives times of extraordinary change. The word relevant comes to mind," he says.
He was also excited to share the platform of the experience with the Hangar audiences.
"This virtual format allows us to continue serving the community and carrying out our mission in a responsible and safe way." Barakiva states, "these virtual offerings are all live, streaming events created collaboratively by individual artists interacting virtually from their homes. We look forward to this new platform both artistically, and we hope to expand our audiences globally."
Cast
Adara Alston: IVY
Austin Jones: DINOSAUR/CONVEENER #4
Susannah Berryman: FORTUNE TELLER
Greg Bostwick: FITZPATRICK
Stephen Cross: MR. ANTROBUS
Chantelle Daniel: HESTER
Sandrinne Edström: GLADYS
Barbara Geary: ASSISTANT
Miles Guitierrez-Riley: HENRY
Cynthia Henderson: MRS. ANTROBUS
J.G. Hertzler: HOMER
Lilli Komurek: CONVEENER #3
Celia Madeoy: BROADCAST OFFICIAL
Bob Moss: ANNOUNCER
Sally Ramírez: MISS T. MUSE(s)
Darcy Rose: SABINA
Colin Smith: CONVEENER #5
Erica Steinhagen: MISS T. MUSE(s)
Jacob White: TREMAYNE
Courtney Young: CONVEENER #2
Additional Cast Members: Emma Bowers, Robert Denzel Edwards, Jennifer Herzog, Rodney S. Hudson, Joshua Sedelmeyer
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