Archive: Arts & Entertainment

August 21, 2007 (ITHACA, NY) - The old adage that "the show must go on" was doubly true at the Hangar Theatre last Friday night. A sudden windstorm knocked down power lines, leaving the building in a brown out shortly before the opening night performance of All the Great Books (abridged) was scheduled to begin. The audience was treated to the first act of the show-sans the 130 planned light and sound cues-before NYSEG completely cut power to the building to begin repairs on the downed lines.

More importantly, those in attendance were the first to hear the news about how the show will go on at the Hangar Theatre after the departure of current artistic director, Kevin Moriarty. Before the performance, Lisa Bushlow, the Hangar's Executive Director, thanked Moriarty for seven years of service to the organization and then announced that former artistic director Robert Moss will take over in an interim capacity for the next year.

 

Moss, who spent 15 years at the Hangar as one of its first artistic directors, retired from Syracuse Stage earlier this year.  Bushlow thinks the timing is perfect. "I am so pleased that Bob Moss accepted our offer to step in as the Hangar's interim artistic director," she says. "Bob's 25 year relationship with the theatre's artists, facilities, and our community makes him uniquely positioned to select a season for 2008 that will engage the Hangar's diverse audience." Bushlow is as excited for the audience as she is for herself.  "It will be great fun to work again with the Hangar's founding artistic father and my first professional theatre mentor;" she adds, "only this time, I'm serving as executive director of the theatre.  What an opportunity for us all!"

In June, the Hangar announced that Moriarty would be leaving the organization when the current season ends on September 2^nd.  Effective September 4^th, he will take over as the new Artistic Director of the Dallas Theatre Center in Dallas, Texas. Hangar Board President Paula Peter Sidle is confident that Moss' temporary return to the theatre will offer the stability the organization needs to initiate a nationwide search for Moriarty's permanent replacement.  "Bob Moss' willingness to serve as interim AD allows us to not miss a beat in preparing for the 2008 season, while we simultaneously conduct a careful search for that talented person who can guide the Hangar to new artistic heights," says Sidle.  "We hope to announce a permanent replacement sometime during the summer of 2008."

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