4th Wall closes season 18 with HANDS ON A HARDBODY - New Jersey Stage
That simple list is what makes up the essence of the musical Hands on a Hardbody. The movie detailed the story of a disparate group of characters desperate to win a Depression -era dance marathon. While the movie was non-fiction, Hands on a Hardbody , is based on a very real contest that took place for many years in Longview, Texas. In the musical --with a book by Doug Wright, music by Amanda Green and Trey Anastasio, and lyrics by Amanda Green --we meet a diverse group of 10 people that are all driven to compete in an endurance/sleep deprivation contest. They share their stories, and their dreams-- the biggest of which is to outlast every other person by standing for days on end, with at least one hand on a Nissan hardbody truck and to walk away the winner. Kate Swan, 4th Wall’s artistic director and also the director/choreographer for Hands put it like this “On the surface, this show appears to be about a disparate bunch of people trying to win a truck in a contest. It’s a terrific American musical about trying to win a small piece of the American dream and finding out that winning is more about knowing who you are deep down inside. Source: www.newjerseystage.com
