Archive: Arts & Entertainment

The Hangar Theatre’s artistic director Peter Flynn today announced the Hangar’s 36th season, which will open in the fully renovated facility in 2010.  The Hangar will present a current Broadway hit; a world premiere new work; a classic American musical; August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning play; and a quirky family musical comedy.

The current Broadway farce is the theatrical tour-de-force—Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps; the Hangar Theater has commissioned Kenny Finkle to write Penelope of Ithaca in honor of the opening of the renovated space; the classic American musical is Man of La Mancha, a nod to the production that opened the Hangar Theatre’s doors 35 years ago; August Wilson’s award-winning drama is The Piano Lesson beginning the Hangar’s presentation of Mr. Wilson’s Century Cycle: ten plays chronicling the African-American experience through the 20th century; and the charming family musical comedy is The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

“It’s an exciting time at the Hangar, renovating this beloved building to make it as vital and attractive as the talent and variety we present each summer,” says artistic director Peter Flynn.

The Hangar Theatre’s 36th season opens summer 2010, and is subject to change. Production dates are to be announced.

The 39 Steps  
adapted by Patrick Barlow
from the film by Alfred Hitchcock

A farcical homage to the Alfred Hitchcock classic suspense film.  The hilarity ensues as four actors perform the entire movie, playing dozens of characters, and creating trains, planes, and hotel rooms out of simple theatrical props.  An “absurdly enjoyable, gleefully theatrical” tour-de-force, (New York Times).

Nominated – Tony Award, Best Play, 2009
Winner – Drama Desk Award, Most Unique Theatrical Experience

Man of La Mancha                
by Mitch Leigh, Joe Darion, & Dale Wasserman

The classic American musical that opened the Hangar Theatre 35 years ago returns to christen our brand new space.  Battling the odds, laughing at nay-sayers, and dreaming the impossible dream: “The power of the human spirit to bring about transformation and redemption is at the core of Cervantes’s masterpiece…” (New York Times).

Winner – Tony Award for Best Musical

Penelope of Ithaca                 
a new play by Kenny Finkle     
commissioned for the re-opening of the Hangar Theatre

Combining the Greek myth of Penelope awaiting the return of her husband Odysseus with modern tales of life in Ithaca, Kenny Finkle uses his own nationally renowned sense of whimsy and humanity to explore our need to be loved. “Finkle gives his central characters rich detail, letting comedy arise naturally from their interactions. More than making jokes, he's crafting a story,” (Variety).

The Piano Lesson                  
by August Wilson

One of our most important American playwrights, August Wilson chronicles the story of a family coming to terms with its legacy of freedom born of slavery & determination.  Part family drama, part human comedy, The Piano Lesson “seems to sing even when it is talking,” (New York Times).

Nominated – Tony Award, Best Play
Winner – Pulitzer Prize for Drama

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee          
by Rachel Sheinkin & William Finn

This delightful musical comedy sets the audience right in the middle of one of our favorite American competitions.  Funny, poignant, and with the opportunity for actual audience members to compete, …Spelling Bee is “effortlessly endearing…Gold stars all around!” (New York Times) Original Broadway choreography, sets, & costumes created by Hangar Alumni Dan Knechtges, Beowulf Boritt, & Jennifer Caprio!
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