“Hands on a Hardbody" at the Timber Lake Playhouse -- August 7 through 16.
Friday, August 7, through Sunday, August 16
Timber Lake Playhouse, 8215 Black Oak Road, Mt. Carroll IL
A three-time Tony Award nominee that the New York Times said "sings sincerely and with a rough-edged humor of the dusty margins of American life," Hands on a Hardbody makes its area debut with an August 7 through 16 run at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, the high-energy show with a book by Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner Doug Wright also hailed by New York Magazine as "musical theatre heaven."
Inspired by the true events of the acclaimed 1997 documentary of the same name by S.R. Bindler, Hands on a Hardbody finds a new lease on life for 10 hard-luck Texans so close they can touch it. Under a scorching sun for days on end, armed with nothing but hope, humor, and ambition, they'll fight to keep at least one hand on a brand-new truck in order to win it. In the hilarious, hard-fought contest that is Hands on a Hardbody, only one winner can drive away with the American Dream.
With its book by I Am My Own Wife music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green, and lyrics by Amanda Green, Hands on a Hardbody was adapted into a musical commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, California. The show subsequently premiered on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on March 21, 2013. Directed by Neil Pepe, the production featured Keala Settle (famed for singing lead on "This Is Me" in the 2017 film The Greatest Showman), Keith Carradine, Hunter Foster, Jay Armstrong Johnson and Dale Soules. Time magazine's rave review stated that Anastasio and Green "have contributed a flavorful country-Western score that is tuneful, well integrated and evocative of the setting," adding that "choreographer Sergio Trujillo had found inventive ways to keep the stage active, despite the obvious restrictions." On April 30 of 2013, Hands on a Hardbody received three nominations (for Settle, Carradine, and the original score) at the 67th Tony Awards, and also scored nine 58th Drama Desk Award nominations including Outstanding Musical, winning in the Outstanding Sound Design category.
Hands on a Hardbody runs at the Mt. Carroll theatre August 7 through 16, with performances at 2 and/or 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Admission is $36-64, and more information and tickets are available by calling (815)244-2035 and visiting TimberLakePlayhouse.org.
