Joe Hanrahan News

Sometimes I'm amazed at the synchronicity that can occur when you see as many plays as I do. For instance, I've had weekends of shows in the past that appeared to be theme related, even though theatre companies are often mapping out their production schedules up to at least a year in advance, and tend to go in their own directions regardless of what other groups are doing. Which brings us to the Black Rep's powerful production of playwright/activist Lorraine Hansberry's work, A RAISIN IN THE SUN. At a time when our community finds itself fractured and unable to come up with solutions that can bring us together and make us whole again, we have the opportunity to see a play that shines a light on just how far we've come, and how far we still have to go.

The Midnight Company will present an Encore Performance of Eric Bogosian's SEX, DRUGS, ROCK & ROLL January 2-4, 2015 at Herbie's Vintage 72, featuring Joe Hanrahan and directed by Rachel Tibbetts, with shows in the New Year Friday, January 2 and Saturday, January 3 at 8pm, and Sunday January 4 at 7pm.

One of the really cool things that HotCity Theatre does every year is their Greenhouse New Play Festival. It not only gives a voice to new playwrights seeking to have their plays produced, but it also provides something fresh and entertaining for the theatre going public. The winner this time around is GOODBYE RUBY TUESDAY by EM Lewis, and it's a funny and touching slice of life that breezes along at a brisk 75 minutes. It's a splendid way to spend an evening, and a very entertaining play.

With NO CHILD, playwright Nilaja Sun brings to light the troubling failure of the "No Child Left Behind" program. It's a fascinating look at one teacher/artist's attempt to reach a group of student who describe themselves as the worst in the school. Conceived as a one woman play, the work gives an actress the opportunity to portray a number of characters from teachers, to students, to the principal herself, as well as a sage old custodian who acts as a sort of narrator for this play within a play within a play. The Black Rep's thoughtful production is superbly performed and directed, and is so socially relevant that it demands to be seen.

The streets of St. Louis will transform into a stage for the ST. LOU FRINGE Festival for the first time this summer. Slated for the last weekend of June 2012, the first annual St Lou Fringe Festival will take to the streets on the fringes of Grand Center, and in the Locust Business District.

MISTAKES WERE MADE is a very funny play, full of in-jokes for those in the know of theatre and the Hollywood scene for sure, but also for those who are aware of the history of the French revolution. Although essentially the ravings of one man, the part of his secretary keeps him in check and adds a bit of sanity to the proceedings. In any event, Joe Hanrahan and Emily Piro are terrific in this 90 minute peek into the world of a desperate Broadway producer who works his wiles as he tries to get a show off and running by tying it to a hot Hollywood commodity. The Midnight Company's current presentation is playing at the Kranzberg Arts Center, and it's a must-see event.

The Midnight Company will present the St. Louis premiere of Craig Wright's riotous theatre comedy MISTAKES WERE MADE, August 18 through September 3, At The Kranzberg Center, 501 N. Grand, with performances Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm, and Saturdays at 7 and 9 pm.

RUINED is one of those plays that lingers in your mind long after it's over. There's a reason that playwright Lynn Nottage won the Pulitzer Prize for drama with this powerful story, and once you've seen it yourself, it may well haunt you too. Because, even though this tale about the plight of civilians caught in a civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may seem far removed from your own sense of reality, the kinds of atrocities that are being related here are still happening all around the world, and with far-reaching consequences. The Black Rep's current production of this disturbing and harrowing work is buoyed by fine performances and insightful direction.

Though not as frequently performed or fondly remembered as some of the classics in the Shakespearean canon, PERICLES is an interesting tale nonetheless. While it's usually cataloged along with the romances and comedies, its circumstances are really quite tragic, until it reaches for a fairytale ending that neatly resolves matters in a satisfactory manner. The Black Rep's inspired re-imagining of this piece makes for a very captivating evening of theatre, as the characters travel back and forth in time, and locations are altered from the original text to include scenes in Haiti, Cuba, Sapelo Island, Georgia and New Orleans.

William Shakespeare's PERICLES, a sweeping tale of politics and intrigue, laughter and tears, loss and reunion, lies and treachery, exhilaration and sex, magic and mystery, and death and miracles will be presented by The Black Rep, January 5 through January 30, 2011, at the Grandel Theatre, with performances Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, with matinees Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm.

The Midnight Company will present the St. Louis premiere of Mickle Maher's AN APOLOGY FOR THE COURSE AND OUTCOME OF CERTAIN EVENTS DELIVERED BY DOCTOR JOHN FAUSTUS ON THIS HIS FINAL EVENING at Dressel's Pub in the Central West End, June 2-24. A lean, tragicomic version of the Faustus story, AN APOLOGY... presents Doctor Faustus in the last hour of his final night on earth - irritated, whining and repentant of nothing save his failure to keep a proper diary. Over the course of this hour, he rails against his silent servant Mephistopheles and tells the fantastic tale of his life - a life filled with wonders, as well as an immeasurably vast evil.

The classic German legend of Faust gets an interesting re-imagining with playwright Mickle Maher's An Apology for the Course and Outcome of Certain Events Delivered by Doctor John Faustus on This His Final Evening. This is an hour spent in the company of a very regretful Doctor John Faustus, along with his ever present servant of the past twenty-four years, Mephistopheles. The Midnight Company has crafted an engaging and intriguing production of this play that's driven by a splendid performance by Joe Hanrahan.

The Midnight Company will present the St. Louis premiere of Mickle Maher's AN APOLOGY FOR THE COURSE AND OUTCOME OF CERTAIN EVENTS DELIVERED BY DOCTOR JOHN FAUSTUS ON THIS HIS FINAL EVENING at Dressel's Pub in the Central West End, June 2-24. A lean, tragicomic version of the Faustus story, AN APOLOGY... presents Doctor Faustus in the last hour of his final night on earth - irritated, whining and repentant of nothing save his failure to keep a proper diary. Over the course of this hour, he rails against his silent servant Mephistopheles and tells the fantastic tale of his life - a life filled with wonders, as well as an immeasurably vast evil.

The Midnight Company will present the St. Louis premiere of Mickle Maher's AN APOLOGY FOR THE COURSE AND OUTCOME OF CERTAIN EVENTS DELIVERED BY DOCTOR JOHN FAUSTUS ON THIS HIS FINAL EVENING at Dressel's Pub in the Central West End, June 2-24. A lean, tragicomic version of the Faustus story, AN APOLOGY... presents Doctor Faustus in the last hour of his final night on earth - irritated, whining and repentant of nothing save his failure to keep a proper diary. Over the course of this hour, he rails against his silent servant Mephistopheles and tells the fantastic tale of his life - a life filled with wonders, as well as an immeasurably vast evil.

Seventeen different stage productions were honored at the third annual Kevin Kline Awards ceremony. Ten St. Louis area theater companies - double the number of last year's recipients - were recognized with awards. Four of those ten theaters were multiple award winners.

Twenty-four theater companies in the St. Louis area received 118 nominations in 22 different categories. Forty-five different productions received nominations; twenty-five productions receive multiple nominations the Awards Ceremony will be held on March 31 at the Loretto-Hilton Center