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Hangar Theatre Announces 2023 Summer Season

Feb 23rd, 2023

The Hangar Theatre is thrilled to announce a 3-show mainstage lineup for the 2023 Summer Season, featuring uplifting and timely stories that illuminate artistic passion, family, and the resilience of the human spirit. Artistic Director Shirley Serotsky (she/her) is working with the Hangar’s creative team to create an inviting theatrical experience that celebrates community, connection, and 49 years of Hangar Theatre history. In this spirit, the Hangar Theatre team is excited to join forces with other Ithaca-area arts organizations to bring live theatre to our community. In support of our beloved arts, we hope the community will join us, and come to the theatre this summer! Artistic Director Shirley Serotsky says this year’s lineup creates unique opportunities for collaboration with a variety of Tompkins County cultural organizations. “Having an active arts scene is one of the many aspects of Ithaca that make people want to live, work, and play here,” Serotsky observed. “We are all stronger when we find ways to work together and highlight the incredible community of artists, performers, musicians, and creatives that call Ithaca home.” With this in mind, Serotsky presents a compelling roster that will delight audiences and build lasting community through a celebration of our local arts. “In 2023, we’re focusing on the Hangar Theatre legacy and its future. We are committed to sharing beautifully-executed, relevant, and dynamic theatrical productions with the community,” Serotsky shared. “We’re doing fewer shows this year so that we can do just that, with a reimagined producing model that directs our resources into creating exceptional, memorable shows, the kinds of theatrical experiences the community has come to expect from the Hangar. We’ve been doing this for 49 years–we want to be able to continue doing it for 49 more!” The Summer 2023 Season will open with Heidi Schreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me, a witty, relevant, and hilarious examination of the U.S. Constitution and its effects on four generations of women. This season kick-off will be a co-production with the Kitchen Theatre Company, in a landmark collaboration between the two treasured Ithaca-area professional theatres. In July, Billy Elliot: The Musical will take the stage, with music by the legendary Elton John and a book and lyrics by Lee Hall, telling a powerful story about discovering passion, following your dreams, and the challenges and inspirations that meet you every step of the way. This hit musical, based on the beloved film of the same name, provides the opportunity to showcase some of Ithaca’s young artists in its pivotal central roles. The season will close with a musical spectacular celebrating 49 years of Hangar Theatre history. The Impossible Dream: A Broadway Pops Concert will feature artists and songs from a variety of the 53 iconic musicals performed over the last 49 years at the Hangar Theatre. This momentous performance, which will feature a fuller and more robust orchestral accompaniment than typically experienced on the Hangar stage, will celebrate the end of an exciting 49th season and will lead the Hangar ever-so grandly to its upcoming 50th Anniversary year. “Since the start of the pandemic, I have found myself drawn to stories on stage that celebrate the resilience of the human spirit and the awesome potential of community,” Serotsky noted. “This lineup does just that, both through the actual storylines and in the manner in which we’ll be bringing the community together to create the productions. We hope you’ll join us for this summer’s joy-filled, inspiring productions.” Hangar Theatre Summer 2023 Mainstage Productions What the Constitution Means to Me By Heidi Schreck Co-produced with the Kitchen Theatre Company May 30 - June 11 at Kitchen Theatre Company June 15 - June 24 at The Hangar Theatre Fifteen-year-old Heidi paid her way through college by debating the merits of the U.S. Constitution across the Midwest. Now, as an adult, she is reexamining her teenage convictions, tracing that pivotal document’s profound effect on four generations of women in her family in a witty and stunningly relevant piece of theatre. This HILARIOUS, DYNAMIC, and UPLIFTING award-winning show was nominated for two Tony Awards and named a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Appropriate for ages 12 and up. Billy Elliot: The Musical Music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall July 6 - July 15 When young Billy Elliot discovers his talent and passion for dance, it shakes up his world and his British coal mining family in both wonderful and challenging ways. Based on the hit film of the same name, this HEARTWARMING and POWERFUL MUSICAL, set against the backdrop of a landmark 1984 miners’ strike, combines spectacular dance moments with a dynamic score by Elton John to create an INSPIRING EXPERIENCE for the whole family. Appropriate for ages 11 and up. The Impossible Dream A Broadway Pops Concert: 49 Years of Hangar Theatre History July 27 - July 30 Over the last 49 years of Hangar Theatre productions, artists from multiple generations have graced the Niederkorn Stage to bring you 53 iconic musicals. This summer, celebrate the Hangar’s history with a STAR-STUDDED ENSEMBLE as they perform FAVORITE MUSICAL MOMENTS from this incredible roster of productions, bringing to life the very evolution of musical theatre. Appropriate for all ages. It is our pleasure to invite you to join us for this spectacular summer season. Your patronage is powerful. By purchasing a subscription to the Summer 2023 Mainstage Season for yourself or a loved one, you will help to support the Hangar Theatre and will ensure that arts in our community continue to grow strong. Purchase your Summer 2023 subscription now at hangartheatre.org/subscriptions (special early pricing is only available until February 28). In addition to priority seating, no processing fees, discounts, and unlimited free exchanges, new this year, your subscription offers you the opportunity to share the joy of theatre with a friend, by redeeming 1 free guest ticket for any single Hangar Theatre performance for a non-subscriber. Tickets to individual shows will be available starting in April. More information about this summer’s KIDDSTUFF performances and FutureNow Wedge Festival will be coming soon. Registration for the Next Generation School of Theatre is now open. See a full description of summer sessions for students in grades 1-12, and register at hangartheatre.org/Next. Email “subscribe” to info@hangartheatre.org to receive important information about upcoming performances, news, events, and ticketing. The Hangar team is looking forward to welcoming patrons back to the indoor Neiderkorn Stage for this summer’s Mainstage productions, and our community’s health and wellbeing are our top priority. To ensure the safest and most enjoyable experience during your visit, please go to hangartheatre.org/safety/ to review the Hangar’s most up-to-date COVID-19 Safety Plan. We hope to see you at the Hangar Theatre this summer! About the Hangar Theatre Company The Hangar Theatre, located at 801 Taughannock Blvd, produced its first fully-realized performances in the summer of 1975 in a newly-renovated theatre space converted from a Works Progress Administration (WPA)-era airplane hangar–once an essential training ground for WWII pilots–on the shores of beautiful Cayuga Lake. The project was community-driven from the start, led by Ithaca area theatre lovers aspiring to create a vibrant central arts campus for regional audiences and tourists alike. Now, a year-round venue approaching its 49th season, the Hangar Theatre Company offers professional theatrical productions during an expansive and diverse summer season (June-August) and hosts local and national musical acts, community arts groups and events, and education programs off-season (September to May). Hangar Mission The Hangar Theatre creates and presents performances of exceptional quality in New York’s Finger Lakes region while training the next generation of theatre artists. We inspire our community with work and classes that enrich, entertain, and enlighten. We believe in the power of theatre to transform liv

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