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‘Hype Man’ comes to the A.R.T.

Hype Man.

Photo by Paul Fox

1 min read

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University announces today that it will join Company One Theatre (C1) to present a reimagined digital version of C1’s critically acclaimed, Elliot Norton Award-winning production of “Hype Man: a break beat play” by Idris Goodwin. The story of friendship, hip-hop, and protest will be filmed this winter by The Loop Lab.

The production will stream as part of A.R.T.’s Virtually OBERON series in Spring 2021. Tickets will go on sale in February at AmericanRepertoryTheater.org/HypeMan.

The new intimate and cinematic version of the world-premiere production directed by Shawn LaCount will be film-directed by John ADEkoje, who received the 2006 Roxbury Film Festival Award for emerging local filmmaker, and incorporate animation by Barrington S. Edwards.

Original cast members Kadahj Bennett, Rachel Cognata, and Michael Knowlton will reprise their roles.

Returning original creative team members include Kadahj Bennet for music direction, Lawrence E. Moten III for scenic design, Lee Schuna for sound design, and Cassandra Cacoq for costume design. Sean Pieroth for lighting design also joins the team. Misha Shields was choreographer and Jessie Baxter was the dramaturg for the 2018 production, respectively.