Joey Hood, Jon Cook, and Jude Hickey in in HPT's The Aliens, by Annie Baker. Photo copyright Bret Brookshire, 2012.

Hyde Park Theatre presents

The Aliens
by Annie Baker


directed by
Ken Webster

March 22 - April 21, 2012

Check out this two-minute trailer for HPT's production of The Aliens, by Annie Baker.

"The Aliens" at Hyde Park Theatre from Eric Graham on Vimeo.

Critical raves for our production of The Aliens, by Annie Baker!

Wayne Alan Brenner of The Austin Chronicle said:

"That's the first thing that's beautiful about this show, that Baker's script captures the milieu and the people perfectly."

"The second thing that's beautiful about this show is the acting; but if you've seen Jude Hickey or Joey Hood perform before, then that'll come as no surprise. Except that, damn, what other role--and he's had many good ones over the years--has allowed Hickey to show what he's capable of at such variety and length?"

"It's all so relentlessly, satisfyingly, fucking natural! . . .From Annie Baker and Hyde Park Theatre to your personal sensorium, where a fierce work of theatre feels like unrehearsed life at its most casual and intense and fraught with potential."

Elena Passarello of The Austinist said:
"It is doubly wonderful to see Baker's work in the hands of such a deft team. Ken Webster . . . has very forcefully conducted every note of this script's wonky music.

"As Jasper, Joey Hood is tightly-wound and piercing."

"And as the eccentric and friendly KJ, Jude Hickey is stunning. . . . I couldn't take my eyes off him."

Michael Meigs of Austin Live Theatre said:
"A dazzling, offbeat oratorio. . . Playwright Annie Baker creates these characters with such loving care and unexpected detail that they acquire their own scruffy nobility."

"Ken Webster's direction makes a spellbinding evening of this combination of powerful acting talent."

"If you haven't discovered the ill-kept secret of the genius of Ken Webster and the cast and crew at the Hyde Park Theatre, this is the time to get yourself down here to the odd, intimate space at 43rd St. and Guadalupe. Ia Ensterä's set, all by itself, is worth the modest price of the ticket; and on top of that you get to spend time with [Jude] Hickey, [Joey] Hood and [Jon] Cook."

And Spike Gillespie of Spike Speaks said:
"I'm so grateful to Hyde Park Theatre for putting [Annie] Baker on my radar. . . . Hickey and Hood are two of Austin's mightiest stage talents, and The Aliens lends further proof to this truth. They have a natural, easy chemistry that makes their characters' friendship utterly believable, and watching them perform is a true joy."

". . . Cook, a UT senior, does a truly amazing turn here--his face is so expressive, at turns so naïve, open, curious, confused, joyful and torn, as he totally nails the sort of real life coming of age characters that haunt coffee shops everywhere."

"Days later, the portraits of KJ and Jasper and Evan still burned vivid in my mind."

Annie Baker, the finest young American playwright and author of the 2010 HPT hits Body Awareness and Circle Mirror Transformation, weaves an extraordinary evening from a simple tale of three young slackers talking behind a coffeehouse.

The New York Times called it "Gentle and extraordinarily beautiful." The Aliens shared the 2010 Obie Award for Best New American Play with Circle Mirror Transformation.

The HPT production is directed by Ken Webster and stars Jude Hickey (The Pillowman, The Lonesome West) and Joey Hood (The Atheist, bombs in your mouth) as two guys hanging out behind a coffeehouse, along with newcomer Jon Cook as the worried barista they pull into their beautifully strange and comical orbit.

The show runs at 8:00 PM on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, March 22 - April 21, 2011. Every Thursday is Pay What You Can Night; Friday, and Saturday tickets are $19 ($17 for students, seniors, and ACOT members), except for the final weekend (April 19-21), when ticket are $21 ($19 for students, seniors, and ACOT members). For reservations, call 479-PLAY or purchase tickets online.

Hyde Park Theatre is located at 511 W. 43rd Street. Covered off-street parking for the patrons of HPT is available in the lot at 4315 Guadalupe Street, just north of The Parlor. You can drive through The Parlor's parking lot to reach it. Evening HPT parking also available at Kenneth's Hair Salon, just south of HPT, and at the Hyde Park Church of Christ on the northeast corner of 43rd & Avenue B. We are grateful to them all for their generosity.


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Many thanks to our 2011-2012 season sponsors:
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This project is funded and supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division, believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin's future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com. HPT is also supported in part by an award from The National Endowment for the Arts.

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