The Gamm Stages New England Premiere Of Martin McDonagh's Comedy-Mystery Hit HANGMEN

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) stages the New England premiere of Hangmen, a deliciously dark comedy-mystery by award-winning playwright and filmmaker Martin McDonagh. Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella directs this dark tale of capital punishment as only McDonagh can pen it.

Hangmen runs from November 2-26 at 1245 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick, R.I. Tickets: $55-$65; preview performances (November 2-5) just $38. Information about Friday night pay-what-you-wish rush tickets, as well as discounts for seniors, students, groups and more at gammtheatre.org/discounts Tickets: 401-723-4266 or gammtheatre.org/hangmen

A fictional story set in northern England during the actual final days of hanging in the U.K., Hangmen boasts a cast of uproarious and unforgettable characters. Steve Kidd (Sweat, Ironbound) plays hangman and pub owner Harry Wade, whose profession has just been made illegal and whose regulars want to know what the “second-best hangman in the country” will do next. Among the pub's revolving visitors are a young reporter (Gamm newcomer David Ensor) eager for a scoop, Harry's guilt-ridden former assistant, Syd (Gabriel Graetz, Assassins, Gloria), and a mysterious, swaggering stranger named Mooney (John Hardin, Bad Jews), all lurking with very different motives.

British-Irish playwright turned Oscar-nominated filmmaker McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), is known for his absurdist black humor as staged to critical and popular acclaim at The Gamm over many seasons (The Lonesome West, The Pillowman, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, A Skull in Connemara). Hangmen, winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play, rode its West End success to the U.S. in 2018, making its Off-Broadway U.S. premiere at the Atlantic Theatre Company (New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Foreign Play). A 13-show Broadway run followed but was cut short by the global pandemic. It resumed with a limited 10-week run in 2022.

Estrella said he feels privileged to bring McDonagh's Broadway hit to New England audiences.

"This is our fifth production of Martin McDonagh's work since 2007. That makes him second only to Shakespeare here at The Gamm,” Estrella said. “No playwright in the last 25 years has brought more thrills and sheer, shocking joy to audiences around the world. I was fortunate to see both the London and New York premieres of this staggering work and I am so excited to bring this masterpiece to The Gamm in its New England premiere."

It's 1965, and the death penalty has just been abolished in the U.K. In a small town in northern England, everyone wants to know what Harry Wade, the second-best hangman in the country, has to say about it. As the news breaks, Harry's pub is overrun with a motley crew of sycophants and a cub reporter hungry for a quote…until attentions turn to Mooney, a smiley, inscrutable visitor with mysterious motives. From Martin McDonagh — award-winning playwright (The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Pillowman) and screenwriter (The Banshees of Inisherin; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) — this dark comedy-mystery is a criminally fun and macabre delight!

Hangmen

By Martin McDonagh, Directed by Tony Estrella+

CAST

Harry…..Steve Kidd*

Charles…..John Cormier

Albert Pierrepoint…..Jim O'Brien*

Peter Mooney…..John Hardin*

Shirley Wade…..Abigail Milnor Sweetser*

James Hennessey/Clegg..…David Ensor

Bill…..Jack Clarke

Arthur…..Bruce Kaye

Inspector Fry…..Steven Liebhauser*

Alice Wade…..Karen Carpenter*

Syd Armfield…..Gabriel Graetz*

CREW

Set Design/Director of Production Jessica Hill Kidd

Costume Design Katie Hand

Lighting Design James Horban

Sound Design Hunter Spoede

Dialect Coach Candice Brown

Fight Direction Normand Beauregard

Stage Manager Robin Grady*

+Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Founded in 1984, the non-profit Gamm Theatre is proud to tell stories that entertain, provoke, and engage seriously with the most important issues of our time. The Gamm further serves the public with educational programming that enriches the cultural and civic life of our community. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tony Estrella and Executive Director Jason Cabral, The Gamm is a regionally recognized, award-winning theater and a proud member of New England Area Theatre (NEAT), a bargaining unit of the Actors' Equity Association.

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