Photo Flash: HANKY PANKY Plays M.I.T.F.

HANKY PANKY - a hilarious and touching dark comedy by Kansas City playwright Vicki Vodrey - focuses on the Gunther family as they descend upon the Flowering Fields Nursing Home where the life of their patriarch - Gus Gunther - is coming to an end. While the clan gathers, old wounds are re-opened and new battle lines are drawn, which proves there is no appropriate way to act in the face of death.

HANKY PANKY premiered in 2010 at the Kansas City Fringe Festival to enthusiastic reviews and sold out houses. Robert Trussell of the Kansas City Star called it "a cleverly constructed play that sneaks up on you...these gifted actors, under Richard Dines' direction, get the most out of the material," the Kansas City Free Press said, "Playwright Vicki Vodrey skips the simmering, and goes to comic boiling," Paul Proffett of Examiner.com said "Hanky Panky should be remembered for one of the funniest death bed scenes in memory...a satisfying family comedy." Additionally, HANKY PANKY was one of only seven productions asked to extend their run during the Kansas City Fringe.

Directed by Richard Dines, the cast of HANKY PANKY includes: Rusty Sneary, Herman Johansen, Craig Benton, Peggy Friesen, Jen Mays, Cynthia Hyer, Evan White, Diane Bulan, Christina Parke and Bob Vega.

Vicki Vodrey has worked as an actor and acting coach in Kansas City, Los Angeles and New York. Her play TREMBLES was a winner in the '99 Gorilla Theatre Playwriting Competition, received readings in Kansas City and has also been produced as a benefit for KC Hospice. Her play, HANKY PANKY, was a top-rated play at the 2010 Kansas City Fringe Festival.

Richard Dines is a theatrical producer, director and sometimes actor. Directing credits include: Poundcake! at Don't Tell Mama, Hanky Panky (developmental reading) and multiple casts in the national tour of the hit Girls Night: The Musical. Richard currently serves as the Managing Artistic Director of Springfield Contemporary Theatre and the Vandivort Center in Springfield, MO. For SCT Richard has directed the Vandivort productions of The Cripple of Inishmaan, Talk Radio, The Pillowman, Lend Me a Tenor, Striking 12, Speech & Debate, Urinetown: The Musical, The Vagina Monologues, The Rocky Horror Show and many more.

The Midtown International Theatre Festival, now in its twelfth year, celebrates the diversity of theatre.

The MITF welcomes theatrical storytelling across a broad spectrum of genres, forms, identities, cultures, and appetites. The MITF seeks to nurture these new ideas, perspectives, and stories on its stages, with an eye set on guiding these productions toward future success and longevity. The festival, traditionally held in summer, represents a fantastic, often paradoxical, adventurous and intriguing cross-section of the forefront of the Theatre World. The MITF proudly hosts production companies from across the country and around the globe, uniting talent in one of the biggest theatre capitals in the world.

John Chatterton created the MITF, a Midtown alternative to other theatre festivals, in 2000 as a way to present the finest off-off Broadway talent in convenience, comfort, and safety. In 2008, the Festival added two 99-seat theatres and inaugurated the Commercial Division for upwardly mobile shows with commercial ambitions. The MITF's artistic emphasis is on the script itself and therefore the Festival requests minimal production values.

The Midtown International Theatre Festival's 2011 Season runs from July 11 - 31, as part of it HANKY PANKY will perform on Saturday, July 23 at 3:00pm; Sunday, July 24 at 8:00pm; Monday, July 25 at 8:00pm; and Tuesday, July 26 at 8:00pm at TBG Arts Center Main stage (312 W 36th Street, 3rd floor). Tickets are $15-18 and are available at www.midtownfestival.org or by phone at 866-811-4111.

For more information about HANKY PANKY, please visit www.HankyPankythePlay.com.

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