Hype Man: a break beat play

WEST COAST PREMIERE

The Fountain Theatre presents

HYPE MAN: a break beat play
by Idris Goodwin

directed by Deena Selenow

February 23 - April 14, 2019
Previews Feb 20-22, 2019

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

Ovation Honors Award: Musical Composition for a Play

Ovation Nominations: Best Lighting Design, Best Sound Design, Best Season (The Fountain Theatre)

StageScene LA Awards: Outstanding Production of a Play with Songs, Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Production Design, Outstanding Performance by an Actor (Matthew Hancock and Chad Addison), Outstanding Performance by a Featured Actress (Clarissa Thibeaux)

Stage Raw Award: Original Music

Stage Raw Nominations: Leading Male Performance (Matthew Hancock), Supporting Female Performance (Clarissa Thibeaux)

LA Times: "..heartfelt and cathartic.. Buoyed by superb technical elements.. director Deena Selenow elicits first-rate performances from her tight-knit cast, including galvanic rap sequences.."

Theatre Notes: “A fast-paced, hyperenergetic, serio-comic wonder… brings the hip-hop scene to vivid life…  thrilling, consciousness expanding, humanizing, and educational… keen, fast-paced direction… extraordinary performances.” 

LA Splash: "..director Deena Selenow does a superb job.. HYPE MAN is clearly a group effort – and all the parts came together just right." 

Stage and Cinema: “..a powerful, funny and meaningful drama.. don’t miss this very important production, superbly directed by Deena Selenow.”

USC Annenberg Media: "..thoughtful direction by Deena Selenow.. an endearing and high-energy piece of art with poignant relevancy."

Discover Hollywood: "Director Deena Selenow keeps the emotions and the intelligence turned up on high.. Hype Man is the way it is today, and we need to listen."

Curtain Up: "Deena Selenow's production is by turns angry and compassionate, never short of riveting."

KPFK Interview with the cast

featuring Chad Addison, Matthew Hancock, and Clarissa Thibeaux

Scenic Design | James Maloof
Lighting Design | Chu Hsuan Chang
Sound Design | Malik Allen
Costume Design | Michael Mullen
Props Design | Shen Heckel
Original Beats | Romero Mosley

A hip-hop trio is on the verge of making it big on national TV when a police shooting of a black teen shakes the band to its core, forcing them to confront questions of race, gender, privilege and when to use artistic expression as an act of social protest.