Background
Stephen Mo Hanan was born on January 7, 1947, in Washington, District of Columbia, United States.
Stephen Mo Hanan, actor, dancer, singer, author.
Cambridge, MA, United States
Stephen Hanan graduated from Harvard University in 1968.
Kelly Zekas, Cheri Wicks, and Natalie Doyle Holmes, and Stephen Mo Hanan in King Lear.
Stephen Mo Hanan and Rebecca Joy Fletcher in "Kleynkunst!".
Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, Peter Land, Gordon Stanley, J. Bernard Calloway, and Stephen Mo Hanan.
Stephen Mo Hanan, Alexandra Aron, and Lipa Schmeltzer.
Stephen Mo Hanan (leftmost) and others at York Theatre Company celebration of the Opening Night of Dear World.
Stephen Hanan, actor, dancer, singer, author.
Kelly Zekas, Cheri Wicks, and Natalie Doyle Holmes, and Stephen Mo Hanan in King Lear.
Stephen Mo Hanan and Rebecca Joy Fletcher in "Kleynkunst!".
Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, Peter Land, Gordon Stanley, J. Bernard Calloway, and Stephen Mo Hanan.
Stephen Mo Hanan, Alexandra Aron, and Lipa Schmeltzer.
Stephen Mo Hanan (leftmost) and others at York Theatre Company celebration of the Opening Night of Dear World.
Stephen Hanan, actor, dancer, singer, author.
Cambridge, MA, United States
Stephen Hanan graduated from Harvard University in 1968.
(Stephen Mo Hanan created the role of Gus the Theatre Cat,...)
Stephen Mo Hanan created the role of Gus the Theatre Cat, including the completely new Growltiger sequence that was specially created for his unique talents, in the original New York production of what became the longest-running show in Broadway history, Cats. Hanan kept a diary of every day's work from the first rehearsal through the opening.
https://www.amazon.com/Cats-Diary-Broadway-Production-Theater/dp/1575252813/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1607284783&refinements=p_27%3AStephen+Hanan&s=books&sr=1-1
2001
(Scarpia's Kiss begins at the 1946 reopening of La Scala w...)
Scarpia's Kiss begins at the 1946 reopening of La Scala when Miranda Baltazar and Samuel Krandall, the star singers, fall in love on stage. Concealing their affair from his family, she seeks seclusion for her pregnancy on an isolated Caribbean island, where her aunt is a midwife to a Mayan village without phones or electricity. Over the pregnancy course, the lovers pursue separate paths, communicating by letter, examining the past, and imagining a future in the light of new love. The romance is knocked askew by the arrival of a charming Swiss adventurer researching Mayan culture.
https://www.amazon.com/Scarpias-Kiss-Stephen-Mo-Hanan/dp/1543931626/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&qid=1607288599&refinements=p_27%3AStephen+Hanan&s=books&sr=1-2
2018
Stephen Mo Hanan was born on January 7, 1947, in Washington, District of Columbia, United States.
Stephen Hanan graduated from Harvard University in 1968.
Longtime New York stage actor Stephen Mo Hanan originated the roles of Asparagus, Growltiger, and Bustopher in the first American production of the musical fantasy Cats in the early 1980s. As a part of this unique production, Hanan kept a diary throughout rehearsals as the production made its way to Broadway. Although he never intended for it to be published, his journal, called A Cat's Diary: How the Broadway Production of Cats Was Born, made it to bookstores in 2001 and provides an inside look at developing a smash musical hit on Broadway. "I came home so tired I can hardly find my way to bed," writes Hanan of one day during his work in the musical. Not only were rehearsals tough in terms of the long, demanding hours put in to rehearse dancing and singing but, as Hanan points out, the emotional toll was just as difficult. The actors, dancers, singers needed to be highly improvisational in their work and, under the direction of Trevor Nunn, endured a good bit of psychological inquiry as they progressed into a tight-knit, seamless performing troupe. For Hanan's part, he wrote often about being on the verge of tears. The author also reveals much about his relationships with others in the production and details many of the technical aspects of producing such a difficult musical. In addition to his writing about Cats in particular, Hanan reflects on the art of acting and on theatre in general. Hanan also waxes philosophical, as when he writes, "The life that the theatre seeks to illuminate rests upon ever-shifting foundations of achievement and regret. But the world turns forward only; the past recedes, the future approaches.
After originating the role in Cats, Stephen Hanan has also played the villainous Thénardier in Les Miserables and Captain Hook in Peter Pan. He has also had a titular role in Shakespeare's King Lear, an acting challenge often compared to scaling the Himalayas due to its physical and emotional demands. When asked about taking on such a famous and difficult role at this point in his career, Hanan responded in a concise manner, quite unlike the verbose king, saying, "Better late than never." To prepare for the production, Hanan said he began memorizing the script before the first rehearsal. Physically he prepared by swimming and practicing yoga, and mentally and psychologically he was willing to examine and funnel his own experiences of disappointment and outrage. Hanan had read and seen the play numerous times, but he said he re-read the script as if it were new, asking himself about King Lear's motivations as well as those of the other characters around him. He also watched videos of other performances of the play and read some scholarly essays, noting that he did not always agree with Harold Bloom. One of the most famous scenes in King Lear is the king’s mad scene in the woods, which Hanan said he prepared for by observing people in New York who are viewed as mentally unstable. An aspect of King Lear Hanan said that resonated strongly with him was the references Lear makes to the "unmanly quality of weeping."
Hanan has also written several plays and essays for various newspapers and magazines. Of special note is his musical play Jolson & Co., which he co-authored with Jay Berkow. Through songs, monologues, and various dramatic scenes, Jolson & Co. reveals the life of the renowned musical entertainer Al Jolson. The musical, in which Hanan plays Jolson, provides a look at the entertainer from his boyhood in Lithuania to his Broadway success to his sagging career and comeback in the 1930s. He has also appeared in film and television productions, including Malcolm X, 1992.
(Stephen Mo Hanan created the role of Gus the Theatre Cat,...)
2001(Scarpia's Kiss begins at the 1946 reopening of La Scala w...)
2018
