Thomas Graves, Heather Hanna, Joey Hood, Hannah Kenah, Lana Lesley, E. Jason Liebrecht and Paul Soileau are jumping into a time machine and heading all the way back to the 1930s in the new Busby Berkeley-esque extravaganza Stop Hitting Yourself by Kirk Lynn. Directed by Shawn Sides, the Lincoln Center Theater presentation will begin performances January 15 at off-Broadway’s Claire Tow Theater, with opening night set for January 27. Tickets are now available.
Part Pygmalion, part self-help lexicon, part ‘30s musical spectacle, Stop Hitting Yourself digs deep into the contemporary conservative dilemma—how to honor steely individualism without disavowing the virtue of charity—all while tap-dancing around a queso fountain. In Stop Hitting Yourself, a Socialite discovers a Wildman in the forest and tries to improve him.
Graves, Hanna, Hood, Kenah, Lesley, Liebrecht and Soileu are all members of the ensemble-based theater collective Rude Mechs, based in Austin, TX. The company has been creating original theater productions since 1995. Previous off-Broadway Rude Mechs shows include Dionysus in 69 and The Method Gun.
Stop Hitting Yourself features sets by Mimi Lien, costumes by Emily Rebholz, lighting by Brian H Scott and original music and sound by Graham Reynolds.