Archive: Arts & Entertainment

February 20, 2007 – (ITHACA) The wait is over! The Hangar Theatre is proud to announce that this summer’s Mainstage season will open with John Patrick Shanley’s award winning play, Doubt. “After many months of negotiating, we’re thrilled to finally be able to announce that the Hangar is bringing this captivating play to Ithaca,” says Artistic Director, Kevin Moriarty. “Doubt is the most lauded play of the past ten years,” he explains. “It is the winner of every major theater award, including the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and it has just recently completed its sixteen-month run on Broadway.” The Hangar production, which runs from June 6th through the 16th, will be the play’s regional premiere and one of the first regional productions of the play anywhere in the country.

Set against the backdrop of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, Doubt is the mystery-tinged story of a strong-minded nun faced with a difficult decision. Should she voice concerns about a priest’s behavior, even if she's not entirely certain of the truth? Writing in Newsday, Linda Winer called Doubt, "the #1 show of the year.” She praised it for being, “blunt yet subtle, manipulative but full of empathy for all sides…Doubt is a lean, potent drama...passionate, exquisite, important, and engrossing." Howard Kissel of the New York Daily News lauds the play as, “the richest piece of theater we've had in years." The New York Times referred to Doubt as “remarkable! Inspired, extraordinary, tight, absorbing … a superb new drama.”

According to Moriarty, opening the season with Doubt continues a long Hangar tradition: “Along with our commitment to presenting world premiere plays, fresh interpretations of classics, and much-loved musicals, the Hangar is committed to presenting the most significant award-winning plays from Broadway and across the country for our regional audience.” From Dinner With Friends and Proof to Topdog/Underdog and I Am My Own Wife, the Hangar has been the first theater in the region to present the Pulitzer-Prize winning dramas from the past six years. “We’re proud to have an audience that clamors for us to present the most dynamic, exciting and talked-about plays in the country,” Moriarty explains.

In addition to writing Doubt, John Patrick Shanley is the Academy Award winning author of the film Moonstruck, as well as the author of numerous plays, including Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and Savage in Limbo. He is currently adapting Doubt into a major Hollywood film.

From the award winning drama of Doubt, the Hangar’s eclectic Mainstage season continues with the enchanting Disney’s Beauty and the Beast from June 21st to July 7th, the rock musical Hair from July 12th to July 28th, the world premiere drama Bleeding Kansas from August 1st to the 11th, and the raucous comedy All the Great Books (abridged) from August 15th to September 2nd.

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