Complete Casting Announced for Taylor Mac's THE HANG

HERE has announced full casting for The Hang, featuring book and lyrics by Taylor Mac, music by Matt Ray and directed by Niegel Smith. Co-presented with PROTOTYPE: Opera | Theatre | Now, The Hang will begin performances on Friday January 7, 2022, on the HERE Mainstage (145 Sixth Avenue, NY, NY 10013) for a run through Sunday February 20, 2022.

The Hang is a ritual celebration of queerness, questions, and the eternity of the moment. Rooted in the jazz tradition and operatic form, it imagines the final hours of Socrates' life as he asks his friends to stay with him a little while longer. The Hang imagines these final moments as a centuries-long communal consideration of virtue (full of all styles of food, jazz, dance, debates, and queer romps). Through this foray into the calamities of our past intelligentsia, Taylor Mac, Matt Ray and their collaborators invite the audience to their party and create a performance, which advocates for a more inclusive and joyous world.

The Hang features a book and lyrics by Taylor Mac, music by Matt Ray, with direction by Niegel Smith and choreography by Chanon Judson.

The Hang will feature scenic and costume design by Machine Dazzle, lighting design by Kate McGee and sound design by Cricket S. Myers. Elis Cesar Arroyo Jamie serves as Production Stage Manager, with Morgan Jenness as Dramaturg.

The The Hang band includes Matt Ray on Keys, Gary Wang on Bass, Joel E. Mateo on Drums, J. Walter Hawkes on Trombone, Lisa Parrott on Alto Saxophone, Greg Glassman on Trumpet, Jessica Lurie on Baritone & Tenor Saxophone and Jonathan Beshay on Tenor Saxophone.

The cast of The Hang will include Taylor Mac as Socrates, Kenneth Ard as Mizuna, El Beh as Oooeee Oooeee, Ryan Chittaphong as Plato, Kat Edmonson as Cebes/S'wonderful. Queen Esther as Aristophanes/Decatur the Greater, Wesley Garlington as Skittles, Synead Cidney Nichols as Paillette and Trebian Pollard as Iann Eonism.

The performance schedule for The Hang is as follows:

January 7 - 16, 2022: Wednesday - Saturday at 7:00pm, Sunday at 2:00pm

January 19 - February 20, 2022: Wednesday - Saturday at 8:30pm, Sunday at 2:00pm

Tickets to The Hang begin at $35 and go on sale November 10, 2021, at here.org/shows/the-hang.