Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Complementing the 2013 Mainstage season, the Hangar Theatre presents a magical series of live theatre for young audiences based on favorite children's stories. KIDDSTUFF series continues this summer with jazzy toe-tapping musical A Year with Frog and Toad playing July 18-20 at 10am and 12pm.

Based on Arnold Lobel's popular book series, this fun-filled musical follows the woodland adventures of two best buddies, playful Frog and worrisome Toad. Join these lovable characters and their animal friends as they laugh and play, celebrating their differences and taking on challenges throughout the four fun-filled seasons!

The summer KIDDSTUFF season continues with sparkling performances of the beloved children's favorite James and the Giant Peach August 1-3 and The Wiz, a super soul musical version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, August 15-17. Performances run Thursdays through Saturdays at 10am and 12pm. Most KIDDSTUFF performances are recommended for children aged 4 and up. James and the Giant Peach is recommended for children aged 7 and up.

WILLIE REALE (Book and Lyrics) is a freelance writer living in New York. He has collaborated with his brother, Robert, on a musical called Once Around The City, which was produced by New York Stage and Film and at the Second Stage Theatre in New York. Quark Victory, another musical written with his brother, was produced by the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Other plays have been produced at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Actors Theatre of Louisville, and Circle Repertory Company. With his brother he has written A Year with Frog and Toad, which was performed at the Children's Theater Company in Minneapolis, the New Victory Theatre, and the Cort Theater on Broadway. Willie received two Tony nominations for his book and lyrics. In 1981, he founded The 52nd Street Project, an organization that brings inner-city children together with professional theater artists to create theater. He served as the theater's artistic director for 18 years. With the Project, he produced hundreds of plays. The programs of The 52nd Street Project are currently being replicated at 12 sites across the country through a series of publications entitled The Kid Theater Kit. For the kit he wrote "52 Pick Up," the Project how-to manual, as well as numerous plays and the lyrics to hundreds of songs, including two full-length musicals, all of which are available through Dramatists Play Service. In June of 1994, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in recognition of his ingenuity in creating theater and theater education programs for young people.

For television, Mr. Reale has written for the NBC dramas Homicide: Life on the Street, Deadline and Mr. Sterling. For Fox he has written for Keen Eddie and The Jury. He created a series called Out There for Sesame Workshop and the BBC, which shot in Australia. His work on the show was recognized by an Australian Film Institute Award (The Australian Emmy) and Prix Jeunesse and Writers' Guild of America nominations. He has taught at New York University and the Yale School of Drama. Willie is married to producer Jenny Gersten. They have two children, Augustus and Leonardo.

ROBERT REALE (Music) Musicals-Broadway: A Year with Frog and Toad (Tony nomination). Off-Broadway: Once Around The City (2nd Stage), Quark Victory (Williamstown Theater Festival). Music for plays: Richard Dresser's Rounding Third (directed by John Rando), Diva (WTF), Salvation's Moon. Film: Ten-13, Passing Over, Wigstock, Dealers Among Dealers, The Victim, others. Television: PrimeTime, 20/20, Inside Edition, Out There (theme), Invent This (theme), Mugshots, Crime Stories, The System, The Mailman and the Pirhana, Case Closed, Beating The Rap, The Royals: Dynasty or Disaster?, others. As a composer and record producer, he has worked with Julie Andrews, Mel Torme, Sid Caeser, and Imogene Coca.

WILL GARRETT DETLEFSEN (Drama League Director)graduated from New York University with a BFA in Drama and trained as a director at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School. Will is the founder and artistic director of a theatre company called MultiPurposeRoom for which he has directed Televise THIS!, BUILDINGS, Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, and YEAR of the HIPPO. Additional directing credits include Thornton Wilder's The Happy Journey..., the world premiere of XIX written by the TEAM's Jessica Almasy, and Authentic Lesbian Cuisine by Jeremy Hersh. Will has assisted on projects with Rachel Chavkin, Young Jean Lee, Robert Moss, and Sanaz Ghajarrahimi.

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