Tom Hagemann's 1946 to Premiere at Main Street Theater
By: Tyler Peterson Mar. 04, 2016
With previews March 20, 23, 24, 25, 1946 opens March 26 and runs through April 17 at Main Street Theater - Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd. Performances are on Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $39 - $36 (previews are $15), depending on date and section, and are on sale via phone at 713.524.6706 or online at MainStreetTheater.com. There is no performance on Easter Sunday, March 27.
About 1946
1946 chronicles the lives of a Texas family in the aftermath of World War II. Joyful, funny, and infused with music throughout the play, 1946 is also powerfully mournful and reflective. Inspired by Hagemann's own family and set in San Antonio, the play explores that crucial turning point in the American psyche as the country began to look forward.
About Playwright Thomas Hagemann
In his day job, Thomas Hagemann was a partner with Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in Houston. He was a trial lawyer whose practice focused on white-collar criminal matters, and he was repeatedly recognized by a variety of publications as one of the best lawyers in this area, both in Texas and nationally. Mr. Hagemann graduated in 1978 from Rice University, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and obtained his law degree from Yale. He was a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles from 1985 to 1991. There, he was nominated for the John Marshall Award - the Attorney General's highest award for trial lawyers - for his trial work in United States v. Amers, et al., the largest police corruption case in the history of Los Angeles. From 1989 to 1991, Mr. Hagemann was also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California Law School, where he lectured in Evidence.
Following his service as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Hagemann was one of fifteen young American professionals selected to be a Robert Bosch Fellow in Germany from 1991 to 1992. He spent the year focusing on German and European environmental issues - working first at the federal Environmental Ministry in Bonn and then for the state administration in Leipzig in former East Germany. When he returned to the United States in 1992, Tom worked at the Clinton-Gore campaign's national headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was primarily responsible for environmental research, as well as involved in preparation for the presidential debates. He returned to private practice in Houston in 1992.
Mr. Hagemann was a great lover of theater and performance. He had been an amateur actor since sixth grade when he starred in Herbie Gets a Haircut, although more widely known roles include Antonio in The Tempest, the Inspector in Statements after an Arrest, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Nick in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? While in Los Angeles, he also wrote an as-yet unproduced play about a murder in federal prison entitled Nothing to Lose.
His wife, Ms. Christianne Mays, is a professional actress, and his dear children Emma and Max are currently in college.
Mr. Hagemann was working on finishing a trilogy (the third of which was still in progress): 1946, Breakfast at Eight, and The End (or, Fluke's Last Chance). He died very suddenly in October of 2015 at the age of 59.
Patti Bean is the director of 1946. The cast includes Christianne Mays (Homebody / Kabul), Lisa Villegas (Fallen Angels), Scott Gibbs (The Real Thing), Bill Roberts (Henry V), Kelley Peters (Madeline's Christmas), Shane Manning (Bridge to Terabithia), Brandon Balque (Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration), Brandon Morgan (Love and Information), and Laura Salas (The House of the Spirits).
The design team includes Jodi Bobrovsky (set design), David Gipson (lighting design), Rebecca Greene Udden (costume design), Yezminne Zepeda (sound design), and Rodney Walsworth (properties design). Julie Paré is the Production Stage Manager.
Photo by Pin Lim / Forest Photography
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