The Wildly Outrageous November Opens at the Hangar Theatre

Left to right: Clarice Bernstein (Sharon Eisman), Charles Smith (Wally Dunn), and Archer Brown (Jesse Bush) in November performing June 8 -18. For tickets call (607) 273-4497 or purchase them online


June 29, 2009 (ITHACA, NY) – The regional premiere of David Mamet’s November performs July 8 through 18 at the Hangar Theatre.  An unpopular president up for re-election, Charles Smith is just days away from a major presidential election.  With a party that’s already turned its back on the commander-in-chief, an absent speechwriter, and poll numbers that are tanking, can he raise $1 million and ensure his re-election?  Smith hatches a scheme to pardon a turkey for Thanksgiving Day for a potload of cash but a myriad of mishaps stand in his way.  Taking politically incorrect to a whole new extreme, this rip-roaring comedy will sure to have audiences voting “yes.” 

The Hangar’s regional premiere of November comes on the heels of the show’s Broadway run in 2008 which starred Nathan Lane.  The playwright, David Mamet, is often referred to as the quintessential American writer. His works are known for their clever and terse dialogue and have earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glen Ross and Oscar nominations for Wag the Dog and The Verdict.

Hangar Theatre artistic director Peter Flynn directs, having staged Dirty Blonde at the Hangar earlier in the season.  Flynn previously directed the Broadway concerts of Funny Girl with Whoopi Goldberg and Idina Menzel, and Chess with Josh Groban and Julia Murney, as well as created three nationally-acclaimed musicals for TheatreworksUSA.  Flynn will also teach in the Hangar Theatre’s Next Generation School.

Wally Dunn leads the cast as the cheerfully corrupt President Charles Smith.  Dunn has been seen on Broadway in Spamalot, Gypsy as well as One' Mo Time and Master Class and in the national tours of Spamalot, All Shook Up and Master Class. His screen credits include The School of Rock, In & Out, In Dreams, Herman USA, The Opportunists, The Good Shephard, Law & Order, and Law & Order: SVU.  Sharon Eisman plays the role of the head-cold-compromised speechwriter, Clarice Bernstein. Eisman has performed throughout the tri-state area with 1812 Productions and The McCarter Theatre, and starred in the hit cult film High Life.  The Representative of the National Association of Turkey By-Products Manufacturers is played by Ithacan Greg Bostwick.  In addition to teaching and directing at Ithaca College, Bostwick has performed in over twenty-five roles on the Hangar’s Niederkorn Stage, more than any other actor in the history of the Hangar Theatre.  The President’s right-hand man, Archer Brown, is played by Ithaca-native Jesse Bush.  In addition to being the associate artist and education and outreach coordinator for the Hangar Theatre, Bush has performed in and directed numerous productions at the Hangar Theatre and Kitchen Theatre Company.  Most recently, Bush directed this season’s musical Once On This Island and performed in the The Overwhelming and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, all at the Hangar Theatre.   The mad Indian Chieftain Dwight Grackle is played by Ryan Garcia who is a member of the Hangar Theatre’s Lab Company.  Garcia is currently earning his B.F.A. acting degree from the University of Central Florida and has performed in productions at regional theatres in Orlando and at U.C.F..

The set design by Julia Noulin-Mérat will set off giggles with an off-kilter Oval Office. Mérat has recently designed Dark Play or Stories for Boys, Moonchildren, Memory House, Rhinoceros and The Firebugs.  The set is paired with costumes designed by Jennifer Caprio, who returns to the Hangar for her ninth season. At the Hangar, Caprio most recently designed costumes for Oklahoma!, Bleeding Kansas, and Doubt.  Ed Intemann is the lighting designer for the show and is the resident lighting designer at Cornell University. Eric Watkins returns to the Hangar for his third season as sound designer, having previously worked on Doubt, All the Great Books (Abridged), last season’s The Playboy of the Western World , and this season’s Dirty Blonde.  

November will appear at the Hangar Theatre at the Treman Marina of Cass Park from July 8 through 18.  The production is made possible with the support of sponsors Center Ithaca with additional support from Iron Design. Tickets may be purchased at the Ticket Center at 171 E. State St., the Commons, by calling (607) 273-4497, or online here.  For more information about November and the Hangar Theatre please click here. November contains adult language and is not recommended for children or sensitive adults.

November Performance Dates:
Wednesday, July 8 – 7:30 pm (Preview)
Thursday, July 9 – 7:30 pm (Preview)
Friday, July 10 – 8:00 pm (Opening Night)
Saturday, July 11 – 3:00 pm
Saturday, July 11 – 8:00 pm
Sunday, July 12 – 7:30 pm
Tuesday, July 14 – 7:30 pm (Tuesday Talkback)
Wednesday, July 15 – 7:30 pm (Pay-What-You-Can)
Thursday, July 16 – 7:30 pm
Friday, July 17 – 8:00 pm
Saturday, July 18 – 3:00 pm
Saturday, July 18 – 8:00 pm

Audience members are invited to come early or stay late to November and attend a free, one-act play in the Hangar’s Wedge performance space.  Please call the Wedge Hotline at (607) 273-8588 x600 and make your seat reservation. During the run of November, two Wedge shows are also being performed, The Armchair Traveller and Love in the Time of Channukah. Performances of The Armchair Traveller are Wednesday, July 15 at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, July 16 at 10:30 p.m., and Friday, July 17 at 6:00 p.m..  Performances of Love in the Time of Channukah are Wednesday, July 15 at 10:30 p.m., Thursday, July 16 at 5:30 p.m. and Friday, July 17 at 11:00 p.m.  For show descriptions and more information please visit www.hangartheatre.org.

The Hangar Theatre is a nationally respected professional theatre deeply rooted in the community that reaches people of all ages through a breadth of productions and education programs.  In June 2008 A Hangar for All Seasons capital campaign to raise $4.6 million for renovation and endowment was launched.  The capital project will result in a premier theatre facility planned to open in summer, 2010.  The Hangar for All Seasons will provide a year-round home for the theatre’s renowned education program and an extended production season. 

The theatre is located 2 miles outside of Downtown Ithaca, New York, at the Treman Marina entrance of Cass Park.

 

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