Photo Flash: Inside Opening Night of LCT3's STOP HITTING YOURSELF

LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater's presentation of STOP HITTING YOURSELF, created by Rude Mechs, the Austin, TX based theater collective, opened last night, January 27. This world premiere features Thomas Graves, Heather Hanna, Joey Hood, Hannah Kenah, Lana Lesley, E. Jason Liebrecht, and Paul Soileau. Commissioned by LCT3, STOP HITTING YOURSELF is written by Kirk Lynn and directed by Shawn Sides and will run through Sunday, February 23 at the Claire Tow Theater (150 West 65th Street). All tickets are $20. BroadwayWorld brings you a look back the opening night festivities below!

Part Pygmalion, part Busby Berkley, part self-help lexicon, STOP HITTING YOURSELF borrows from the plots of 1930's musicals to dig deep into the contemporary conservative dilemma: how to honor steely individualism without disavowing the virtue of charity -- all the while tap-dancing around a queso fountain.

Once a year, at the Charity Ball, a single worthy cause is chosen to benefit from the Queen's Annual Good Deed. Prominent families compete to find citizens deserving of assistance. This year, a Socialite has discovered a Wildman in the forest and tries to improve him. The Wildman's desire to save the natural world and usher in an era of love and harmony is a sure-winner. Now the Socialite must teach him how to eat, dance and behave in society so that his cause can be victorious.

An ensemble-based theater collective, Rude Mechs has created a mercurial slate of original theatrical productions that represent a genre-defying cocktail of big ideas, cheap laughs, and dizzying spectacle. They perform their productions at their home base in Austin, Texas, as well as nationally and internationally. Rude Mechs productions seen previously Off-Broadway include Method Gun and Dionysus in 69.

Photo credit: Jenny Anderson