The Hangar Theatre is a
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
,
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
theatre located at 801 Taughannock Boulevard in
Ithaca, NY. Its mainstage season and children's shows occur during the summer, but the Hangar, and other organizations, utilize the space year-round for special events. The tenets of the Hangar's mission statement are to enrich, enlighten, educate and entertain.
History
The initial renovation of a municipal airport hangar into a theatre by Bill Carpenter, the Ithaca Youth Theatre, and Ithaca Fire Department was completed in 1969. Bill Carpenter was hired as the first director by the Chairman of the Ithaca Festival, Tom Niederkorn, and he worked for the Board of Directors of the festival for two years. The theatre was initially called the Hangar Playfair Theatre. It continued to be renovated thanks to a grant from
Nelson Rockefeller and the joint efforts of the Ithaca Repertory Theatre,
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
,
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...
, and the
City of Ithaca in 1975. In 1986, the Hangar received another grant from the New York State Natural Heritage Trust to build an adjacent set and costume shop. The Hangar’s capital campaign in 1995 raised more than $270,000 for additional improvements to the facility.
From 1982-1996, under the artistic leadership of Robert Moss from New York’s
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work.
Under the ...
, the Hangar achieved national recognition as a professional regional theatre that produced plays and served as a learning environment for young theatre professionals. In 1988, the Hangar’s directing internship program expanded when the Drama League Project began sending emerging directors to the Hangar to direct plays in The Wedge, and in 1989 the Hangar’s Lab Company was formed.
Mark Ramont served as artistic director from 1997-2000 during a period of creative growth for the Hangar. At the same time, under Education Director Lisa Bushlow from 1991-2000, the Hangar became recognized throughout New York State and across the country for its comprehensive, year-round theatre education programs. Today, the Hangar brings a range of theatre experiences to students across New York State, with the School Tour and Artists-in-the-Schools programs. Throughout the summer, KIDDSTUFF performances and the Next Generation School of Theatre reach thousands of young people. The Hangar currently serves approximately 60,000 adults and children annually.
In 2000, the Board appointed Lisa as the Hangar’s first executive director, at which time she recommended Kevin Moriarty as the artistic director. Under their leadership the Hangar added a New Play Festival in 2001, the Hangar tent and Starlight Café in 2002, and expanded artistic and educational programming, including the commissioning of new plays.
Robert Moss returned as Interim Artistic Director for summer 2008; Peter Flynn was named Artistic Director in August, 2008. Josh Friedman, the serving Managing Director, assumed the role in 2012. During 2012, Stephanie Yankwitt served as the Acting Artistic Director through the end of the Mainstage season. Jen Waldman assumed the role of Artistic Director in 2013.
Michael Barakiva served the role of Artistic Director from 2015-2020. Shirley Serotsky joined the Hangar in 2019 as the Associate Artistic Director and Education Director. In 2020, she worked as the interim Artistic Director after Michael Barakiva left the position, and began working as the Artistic Director in 2021.
Collaboration with Ithaca College
The Hangar Theatre Company experienced an extraordinary challenge as the New York State went into lockdown in March 2020. The theatre proposed delivering a collection of streaming shows after partnering with Ithaca College Associate Professor Chrissy Guest and alumnus Griffin Schultz.
Seasons
Mainstage
2011
*''Rounding Third''
*''
Ragtime
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...
''
*''Ever So Humble''
*''
Gem of the Ocean
''Gem of the Ocean'' (2003) is a play by American playwright August Wilson. Although the ninth play produced, chronologically it is the first installment of his decade-by-decade, ten-play chronicle, ''The Pittsburgh Cycle'', dramatizing the Afri ...
''
*''
The Rocky Horror Show
''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...
''
2012
*''
Lend Me a Tenor
''Lend Me a Tenor'' is a comedy by Ken Ludwig. The play was produced on both the West End (1986) and Broadway (1989). It received nine Tony Award nominations and won for Best Actor (Philip Bosco) and Best Director (Jerry Zaks). A Broadway re ...
''
*''
Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...
''
*''Full Gallop''
*''
Next to Normal
''Next to Normal'' (stylized in all lowercase) is a 2008 American rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing ...
''
*''
The Trip to Bountiful
''The Trip to Bountiful'' is a 1985 American drama film directed by Peter Masterson and starring Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford and Rebecca De Mornay. It was adapted by Horton Foote from his 1953 play of the same ...
''
2013
*''
Last of the Red Hot Lovers
''Last of the Red Hot Lovers'' is a comedy by Neil Simon. It premiered on Broadway in 1969.
Production
The play opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on December 28, 1969, and closed on September 4, 1971, after 706 performances and si ...
''
*''
Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
''
*''
4000 Miles''
*''
Clybourne Park
''Clybourne Park'' is a 2010 play by Bruce Norris written as a spin-off to Lorraine Hansberry's play '' A Raisin in the Sun'' (1959). It portrays fictional events set during and after the Hansberry play, and is loosely based on historical event ...
''
2014
*''Red''
*''Around the World in 80 Days''
*''
Little Shop of Horrors''
*''Other Desert Cities''
2015
*''
God of Carnage
''God of Carnage'' (originally in French ''Le Dieu du carnage'') is a play by Yasmina Reza that was first published in 2008. It is about two sets of parents; the son of one couple has hurt the son of the other couple at a public park. The paren ...
'' - By
Yasmina Reza
Yasmina Reza (born 1 May 1959) is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays Art and ''God of Carnage''. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. The 2011 blac ...
*''
Spring Awakening''
*''The Hound of the Baskervilles''
*''
Talley's Folly
''Talley's Folly'' is a 1980 play by American playwright Lanford Wilson. The play is the second in ''The Talley Trilogy'', between his plays '' Talley & Son'' and ''Fifth of July''. Set in an boathouse near rural Lebanon, Missouri in 1944, it i ...
''
2016
*''I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti'' - Adapted by Jacques Lamarre from the memoir by
Giulia Melucci
Giulia Melucci (born May 28, 1966) is an American writer living in Brooklyn, New York.
Biography
Melucci graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1988. Her first book, ''I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti'', was published by Grand Central Publishi ...
*''
In The Heights
''In the Heights'' is a musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Dominican American neighborhood of ...
'' - by
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and '' In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animat ...
*''
Third'' - by
Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 ...
*''
Constellation'' - by
Nick Payne
Nick Payne (born 1984) is a British playwright and screenwriter.
Early life and education
Payne studied at the University of York and subsequently at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He is also a graduate of the Royal Court Young Writ ...
2017
*''
Disgraced
''Disgraced'' is a 2012 play by novelist and screenwriter Ayad Akhtar. It premiered in Chicago and has had Off-Broadway and Off West End engagements. The play, which won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, opened on Broadway at the Lyceum The ...
'' - by
Ayad Akhtar
Ayad Akhtar (born October 28, 1970) is an American playwright, novelist, and screenwriter of Pakistani heritage, awarded the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His work has received two Tony Award nominations for Best Play, an Award in Literature fr ...
*''
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' - by
Stephen Sondheim
*''Dégagé'' - by Mimi Quillin
*''
The Foreigner'' - by
Larry Shue
Larry Howard Shue (July 23, 1946 – September 23, 1985) was an American playwright and actor, best known for writing two oft-performed farces, '' The Nerd'' and '' The Foreigner''.
Early life
Shue was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and grew up ...
*''Shakespeare’s R & J'' - Adapted by Joe Calarco
2018
*''Fortune'' - by Deborah Zoe Laufer
*''
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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'' - by
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Riv ...
,
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...
&
John Kander
John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...
*''Pride and Prejudice'' - Adapted by
Kate Hamill
Kate Hamill is an American actress and playwright.
Hamill is known for writing and acting in innovative, contemporary adaptations of classic novels for the stage, including Jane Austen’s '' Sense and Sensibility'' and ''Pride and Prejudice'' a ...
*''
A Doll's House, Part 2
''A Doll's House, Part 2'' is a 2017 play written by Lucas Hnath. The play premiered at the South Coast Repertory, in April 2017, before transferring to Broadway at the John Golden Theatre. The play "picks up after Henrik Ibsen's 1879 play ''A ...
'' - by
Lucas Hnath
Lucas Hnath ( ) is an American playwright. He won the 2016 Obie Award for excellence in playwriting for his plays ''Red Speedo'' and ''The Christians''. He also won a Whiting Award.
Biography
Hnath grew up in Orlando, Florida. He moved to New Yor ...
*''
Xanadu'' - by
Douglas Carter Beane
Douglas Carter Beane is an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Beane now lives in New York. His works include the screenplay of ''To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! J ...
,
John Farrar
John Clifford Farrar ( ; born 8 November 1946) is an Australian music producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and guitarist. As a musician, Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs (1963–64), The Stra ...
&
Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has cont ...
*''Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol'' - Adapted by Aoise Stratford
KIDDSTUFF
2011
*''
Alice in Wonderland''
*''
If You Give a Pig a Pancake
Laura Joffe Numeroff (born July 14, 1953) is an American author and illustrator of children's books who is best known as the author of ''If You Give a Mouse a Cookie''.
Early life
Numeroff was born in Brooklyn, New York, and is the youngest of t ...
''
*''Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type''
*''
Goodnight Moon
''Goodnight Moon'' is an American children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It was published on September 3, 1947, and is a highly acclaimed bedtime story.
This book is the second in Brown and Hurd's "cla ...
''
*''Willy Wonka Jr.''
2012
*''
The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...
''
*''The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon''
*''Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells''
*''Batman Smells!''
*''How I Became a Pirate''
*''
Seussical
''Seussical'' is a musical comedy by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, based on the many children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most of its plot being based on ''Horton Hears a Who!'', '' Gertrude McFuzz'', and ''Horton Hatches the Egg'' while in ...
Jr.''
2013
*''PINKALICIOUS the Musical''
*''With Two Wings''
*''
A Year With Frog and Toad
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
''
*''
James and the Giant Peach
''James and the Giant Peach'' is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The first edition, published by Alfred Knopf, featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. There have been re-illustrated versions of ...
''
*''
The Wiz
''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...
''
2014
*''Yo''
*''Vikings''
*''Bunnicula''
*''Hare and Tortoise''
*''The Little Prince''
*''The Pirates of Penzance Jr.''
2015
*''The Emperor's New Clothes''
*''Stuart Little''
*''Red Riding Hood''
*''Charlotte's Web''
*''
Bye Bye Birdie
''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart.
Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored ...
''
2016
*''Journey to Oz''
*''
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). Among all the ...
''
*''
Louis Braille
Louis Braille (; ; 4 January 1809 – 6 January 1852) was a French educator and the inventor of a reading and writing system, named braille after him, intended for use by visually impaired people. His system is used worldwide and remains virtua ...
''
*''
The Velveteen Rabbit
''The Velveteen Rabbit'' (or ''How Toys Become Real'') is a British children's book written by Margery Williams (also known as Margery Williams Bianco) and illustrated by William Nicholson. It chronicles the story of a stuffed rabbit's desire ...
''
*''My Son Pinocchio Jr.''
2017
*''Lilly's Plastic Purple Purse''
*''Furry Tails, With a Twist''
*''The Journey of Lewis and Clark and Other Tales from Way Out West''
*''
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...
''
*''Alice in Wonderland Jr.''
2018
*''Playing Peter Pan'' - by Christopher Parks
*''The Amazing Tale of the Backyard Overnight Adventure'' - by
Rachel Lampert
*''The Transition of Doodle Pequeño'' - by Gabriel Jason Dean
*''Snow White'' - by Marjorie Sokoloff
*''
Seussical
''Seussical'' is a musical comedy by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, based on the many children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most of its plot being based on ''Horton Hears a Who!'', '' Gertrude McFuzz'', and ''Horton Hatches the Egg'' while in ...
Jr.'' - by
Lynn Ahrens
Lynn Ahrens (born October 1, 1948) is an American writer and lyricist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years. She won the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle ...
&
Stephen Flaherty
Education Programming
The Hangar Theatre promotes arts education through year-long programming for children and families.
KIDDSTUFF
Every year the Hangar Theatre features live theatre based on favorite children's books and stories that is created for young audiences. The KIDDSTUFF season occurs during the summer and usually features five performances, the last of which is performed by students of the Hangar's Next Generation summer theatre camp.
Next Generation
Next Generation is a summer camp for students entering grades 3-12. The camp offers a wide variety of classes taught by professional artists who work nationally in the performing arts. Students of the camp are featured in the last KIDDSTUFF production of the season.
Spring Break-a-Leg
Spring Break-a-Leg is a week-long camp for students in 4th through 6th grade. At the end of the camp, students present an original musical theatre piece.
Artists-in-Schools and School Tours
The Hangar offers programs that bring theatre arts into the schools of children in the Ithaca area. Artists-in-Schools initiatives bring Hangar artists into elementary and middle schools to collaborate with classrooms in creating original plays with music.
School tours present theatre arts productions at schools in the Ithaca, NY area. "We Carry the Dream", a new play based on the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr., toured Newfield Elementary School, Dryden Elementary School, Lansing Elementary School, Groton Elementary School and Trumansburg Elementary School in March 2013.
Lab Company and Lab Academy
The Lab Company
Since 1989 the Hangar Theatre has been home to the Lab Company, a theatre-training program for young professionals in acting, directing, choreography, design, and play writing. The Lab Company is a training ground for emerging artists where the focus is on professional experience, preparing new artists for a career in the theatre.
Lab Company actors work in the Hangar Mainstage & KIDDSTUFF series, as well as develop new work in the Hangar Pilot Reading Series, over the course of one summer.
The Lab Academy
The Lab Academy, created in 2013, is geared towards advanced undergraduate actors, directors, dramaturgs, playwrights, and choreographers with an emphasis in education. All Lab Academy members participate in multiple master classes and workshops in acting, collaboration, voice and speech, dance, movement, and professional skills taught by professional artists from across the nation.
Lab Academy actors act in the Hangar's experimental Wedge Theatre, its KIDDSTUFF series, and work projects throughout the summer. Academy actors may also understudy Mainstage roles. Academy Directors, Dramaturgs, Playwrights, & Choreographers participate in the same classes with the rest of the company. They participate in one MAINSTAGE experience, as well as projects in their particular field of study.
[Lab Company & Lab Academy. The Hangar Theatre, 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2013..]
References
External links
*
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Theatres in New York (state)