Hot Summer Nights Opens with The 39 Steps

After six successful seasons producing some of the Triangle's best of the best on stage, Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy is raising the bar once more; this time with lucky number seven where humor sets the stage to keep audiences in stitches and education gives them a chance to grow.

The 2011 season kicks off when Hitchcock meets hilarious with The 39 Steps (June 8-19). Directed by Richard Roland who made his directorial debut last season with the highly acclaimed Barefoot in the Park, The 39 Steps has been hailed by the The New York Times as being "Absurdly Enjoyable" and The Daily News for being a "A Dizzy Delight!" The show includes an amazingly brilliant cast including Jesse Gephart (Clown), Jason Peck (Clown), Robbie Gay (Hannay) and Betsy Henderson (Woman) portraying over 140 characters in this fast-paced comedy thriller that's great fun for ages 9-90.

"Tongue-in-cheek humor on stage has always been a guilty pleasure of mine, and the chance to put a show like The 39 Steps together with my own take on it was something I couldn't pass up," says Roland, who continued, "I love the innate theatricality of the story and the countless epic Hitchcockian characters that come and go. I wanted to try my hand at it - and not only am I dipping into the Hitchcock humor pool, but a little into the Leslie Nielsen one as well. We're laughing an awful lot in rehearsals."

Roland has also assembled a talented production team including Andy Hayworth (Production Stage Manager), Chris Bernier (Set/Lighting Design), Devra Thomas (Props), A. Christina Giannini (Costumes), Will Mikes (Sound Design), Patti DelSordo (Wig Design), Amy Wright (Assistant Stage Manager), James Duncan (Sound Operator).

While The 39 Steps is up and running, Hot Summer Nights is also bringing additional laughter to the stage with a one-night only show. On June 13, Broadway comedian, musician and Syrius/XM radio host Seth Rudetsky fills the house with his already sold-out performance of Seth's Big Fat Broadway Show. Rudetsky will also be conducting an audition master class at 3:30pm the same day; a new element that Hot Summer Nights is introducing as part of their educational programming.

"My class seems to have a great effect on newcomers and old pros. What I've seen is that people new to performing realize that being themselves is what's going to get them noticed, says Rudetsky, who added, "And for the people who have had success, most of them hate auditioning or hate their songs. I find ways for people to re-invent their songs and love them again and to actually enjoy auditioning and not leave hating themselves and/or hating the people behind the table."

The 2011 season also includes The Marvelous Wonderettes (June 29-July 10), A Field of Glory (July 20-31), Violet (August 17-28) and Oh, What a Night! (August 31 & September 1). All performances run Wednesday-Saturday at 8PM. Sunday matinees are at 3PM. Shows and classes take place at the Kennedy Theatre inside the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh. Tickets are $22.00 for general admission and $18 for senior adults, students and military. Master Class tickets are $15 to audit, $100 to participate and can be purchased at www.sethrudetsky.com Show tickets can be purchased by calling 866-811-4111 or online through the Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy website: www.hotsummernightsatthekennedy.org. 

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