The Renegade Company Presents THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME: A MUTE PLAY, Now thru 9/22

Coming off the heels of their sold-out run of Bathtub Moby-Dick last fall and a successful world premiere of Grimms' Juniper Tree, The Renegade Company proudly presents a new work titled The Hunchback of Notre Dame...A Mute Play, conceived and directed by Michael Durkin.

The Renegade Company explores the familiar in unfamiliar ways by distilling iconic works. To enhance these works, The Renegade Company infuses Unconventional Community Collaborations that foster deeper, resonating productions in the greater Philadelphia area and beyond. The Renegade Company continues to explore non-traditional performance spaces by performing Hunchback..at the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia's sanctuary space. In the past Renegade has produced The Amish Project (co-produced with Simpatico Theatre at the Walnut's Studio 5 and was nominated for the Virginia Brown Martin Award). Other past productions include Glass: Shattered at the new Luna Theater, Hamletmachine and Medeaplays at Underground Arts and A Prometheus Bound: A Folk Musical at Society Hill Playhouse.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." What happens when we let obsession pulsate through our veins? Are we capable of denouncing our beliefs for the sake of lust? Inspired by the silent films of the 1920's and told through the deafened and disfigured perspective of Quasimodo, Renegade will transform Victor Hugo's novel into a nightmarish expressionist landscape begging the question, what does it mean to be a monster?

The Renegade Company has been attracted to the idea of distilling classic stories and finding new one-of-a-kind ways to tell the story. In the past Renegade has explored Puppetry, Commedia mask work, folk musical, punk rock, and solo styles. For Hunchback we continue this exploration of storytelling by presenting a speechless, movement based re-imagination of Victor Hugo's novel. We will also be infusing the style and aesthetics of the expressionist silent films of the 1920's and 30's .

This production stars Doug Greene (Mauckingbird Theatre Company's The Tempermentals), Dan Higbee (Pig Iron School, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre), Shamus Hunter McCarty (Luna Theater Company's A Clockwork Orange), Lee Minora (EgoPo Classic Theater's Lady From the Sea),Rob Neddoff (EgoPo Classic Theatre), Eric Scotolati (Commonwealth Classic Theatre's 12th Night), and Anna Zaida Szapiro (Azuka Theatre's Tigers Be Still).

The production is conceived and directed by Mike Durkin (Renegade's Artistic Director, Bathtub Moby-Dick). Original composition by sound artists, Joo Won Park and Adam Vidiksis with Adam creating live foley and percussion during the performances, movement by Mason Rosenthal (dancer, and performance artist), and lighting by Eric Baker (Azuka Theatre, Ritz Theatre Company).

Now with it's 5th partnership, Renegade's Unconventional Community Collaboration (UCC) Series features Fishtown's Le Puppet Regime. Each production we partner with a local artisan(s) to create a new way to experience the themes and subject matter of the production. Le Puppet Regime will be created expressionist visuals to be incorporated into the production. Past partnerships include: The Random Tea Room/Mutter Museum (Grimms' Juniper Tree), The Medicine Womyn Mixology School (Bathtub Moby-Dick), Little Baby's Ice Cream (Glass: Shattered), and Graffiti Artists from The Tyler School of Arts of Temple University (Hamletmachine and Medeaplays). Le Puppet Regime will be conducting a puppet creation workshop after the Monday September 15th performance.

Le Puppet Regime is the brainchild of animator, illustrator and glass artist Genevieve Geer. Each handcrafted, glass puppet is created using a combination of old stained glass techniques, modern day fusing techniques and tricky engineering. The result is one of a kind, singular characters that take on their own personality as they make their way from sketch to glittering completion. Showgirls, Royalty, Warriors, Mermaids and Strongmen inhabit a world where "You never know whose pulling the strings". www.genevievegeer.com.

PERFORMANCE DATES
• Thursday, September 11th (Preview)
• Friday, September 12th (Opening)
• Saturday, September 13th
• Sunday, September 14th
• Monday, September 15th (Post-Show Curated Experience with Le Puppet Regime)
• Wednesday, September 17th
• Thursday, September 18th (Post-Show Discussion)
• Friday, September 19th
• Saturday, September 20th
• Sunday, September 21st
• Monday, September 22nd (Closing, Industry Night)

All performances at 6 PM. RUN TIME: 60 Minutes

Hunchback will be performed at the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia 201 S 21st St, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Tickets available: https://pafringe.secure.force.com/ticket/#details_a0Si0000004Yln8EAC

For More Information log on to their website, www.therenegadecompany.org.

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