HANGMEN to Open at Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre
Carl daSilva, who directed McDonagh's PILLOWMAN in 2024, leads an eleven-member cast including newcomers Dina Hagler and Kolby King.
In Hangmen, a corrosively funny black comedy filled with dramatic tension, award-winning Irish playwright Martin McDonagh opens with a 1963 prologue showing British executioner Harry Wade at work, hanging a man who dies proclaiming his innocence and cursing Harry. The show flashes forward two years, and we learn Harry is the second-best hangman in England, where hanging is about to be abolished. Performances will run August 29 – September 26, 2026.
“McDonagh's talent for bringing a group of people together, putting them in a situation that guarantees tension and letting it play out with humor, tragedy, and plenty of unexpected twists and turns is on full display in Hangmen,” said Sean Gray, Producing Artistic Director for the Playhouse. “And what better place than a pub owned by the country's second-best hangman could there be for cronies, media, family, a malicious stranger, a maligned assistant hangman, and the country's best hangman could there be to get caught up in a drama that plays out over two days and comes to a shocking conclusion.”
Madison Mooney, Playhouse Executive Director adds, “Audiences love McDonagh's plays. We've done several over the years, and they always get great reviews from audiences and critics. And his shows are perfect for our Studio Theatre which has a reputation for shows with an edge.”
Grey selected Carl daSilva to direct the play. daSilva is a Playhouse favorite and directed 2024's Pillowman, also by McDonagh, which was one of the most popular shows of the Studio Season.
Of Hangmen, daSilva said, “Although the play is rooted in a specific historical moment, its questions are strikingly relevant. Who has the authority to decide guilt? How much faith should we place in systems that are created and maintained by flawed human beings? And what happens to those whose identities are built upon institutions that no longer exist?”
The eleven-member cast includes returning performers, Noah Wagner, Trevor Hart, Karl Schott, Amanda Karr, Allen Sewell, Floyd Harden, James Rice, and James Matthis. Making their debuts are Dina Hagler, Kolby King, and Ari Hagler.
Mooney added, “Hangmen is a perfect show for closing out the summer season. This is a show that audiences will laugh, gasp, and find themselves thinking about it long after they leave the theatre.”
Photo Credit: Mike Hardy
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