HANGING GEORGIA
A new play with music about Georgia O’Keeffe
Developed by the BootStrap collaborative team that brought you Tell It Slant!

Play by Sharmon J. Hilfinger, Music by Joan McMillen
Directed by Jake Margolin

"HANGING GEORGIA roils and explodes across the stage like a Texas lightning storm." San Jose Mercury News

View a gallery of photos from the premiére production

ANNOUNCING A SECOND CO-PRODUCTION OF THIS DAZZLING PLAY

AT THE PEAR AVENUE THEATRE IN MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA

When: May 23 - June 9, 2013

Preview Thursday, May 23, 2013 8:00pm

Opening Friday, May 24, 2013 at 8:00pm with Gala Reception

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.

NO SHOW SATURDAY, MAY 25

Sundays at 2 p.m.

Sundays, May 26 & June 2Includes Talk Back with Author, Composer and Actors

EXTRA MATINEE: JUNE 1 AT 2 PM

Sunday, June 9 Closing Show

Where :

Pear Avenue Theatre

1220 Pear Avenue  Mountain View, CA 94043

Tickets:

Opening Night Gala: $30  General $25  Students-Seniors $20

Online: http://www.thepear.org/tickets.htm

Pear Box Office: (650) 254-1148

Hanging Georgia, written by Sharmon J. Hilfinger, tells the story of O’Keeffe’s love relationship and marriage with the famous photographer and art dealer, Alfred Stieglitz. At the center of the American Modern Art movement, O’Keeffe and Stieglitz live a life of passion and drama in a Bloomsbury-like environment of artists and writers. O’Keeffe’s rise to fame is astounding. How does a woman in the early 1900’s command the highest prices on the American art market and maintain her artistic independence? For O’Keeffe it is a rags to riches story, for Stieglitz, it is Pygmalion. Sparks fly when two such towering artists live and work together.

Much has been written about O’Keeffe’s artwork and music. Lewis Mumford wrote, “What distinguishes Miss O’Keeffe is the fact that she has discovered a beautiful language with unsuspected melodies and rhythms.” Following this idea, Joan McMillen is the lead musician developing music (piano, violin and voice), which is an integral part of the entire play, underscoring scenes and enhancing the emotional landscape.

The performance is highly physical with interludes of music and movement that evoke aspects of O’Keeffe’s art. The collaborative development with director, actors, and musicians takes us into new territory as we work to not only tell a fascinating historical story, but also communicate the role of the artist’s visual art through our own artistic tools as theater artists. Hanging Georgia is an exploration of the artistic process—that of Georgia O’Keeffe’s, and that of our performing ensemble!