Lexington SCAPA graduate is lead actor on series streaming now on Hulu
The latest project from School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCAPA) Lexington graduate Colton Ryan is now streaming on Hulu.
In “The Girl from Plainville,” Ryan stars opposite Elle Fanning in a dramatization of what is popularly known as a texting suicide case. In 2014, Massachusetts 18-year-old Conrad Henry Roy III committed suicide after 17-year-old Michelle Carter encouraged him to do so in text messages, phone calls, and emails. In 2017, Carter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and ultimately served just over 11 months of a 15-month jail sentence.
The new eight-episode series, in which Ryan plays Roy, was shot in Savannah, Georgia last year. Before production, Ryan told Variety that he visited Fairhaven, Mass., where Roy lived and took his own life in a Kmart parking lot.
“This boy has been seen by a lot of people, but, like, 80 or 90% of his life, of who he was is not known,” Ryan told Variety. “I really wanted to just know what the other parts of the days looked like … That was my mission — to remind people that as complicated as it was, he was a boy first and foremost, and he lived a life.”
While he was making “Girl from Plainville,” Ryan was on movie screens around the country in the big screen adaptation of “Dear Evan Hansen,” the Tony Award-winning musical that was his Broadway debut.
The first three episodes of the series are out now on Hulu. The remaining five will be released weekly.
‘Hairspray’ Broadway Live series at the Lexington Opera House
Speaking of Broadway debuts, “Hairspray,” the show that marked Lexington native Laura Bell Bundy’s Broadway debut in 2002, returns to the Lexington Opera House, 401 W. Short St., April 22 to 24. Bundy was the original Amber Von Tussle, heroine Tracy Turnblad’s primary nemesis in the Broadway production of John Waters’ cult-classic film. Showtimes for the national tour of “Hairspray” stopping by as part of the Opera House’s Broadway Live series are 7:30 p.m. April 22, 1 and 7:30 p.m. April 23, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. April 24. Tickets start at $60. Call 859-233-3535 or visit lexingtonoperahouse.com for tickets.
Speaking of Lexingtonians who have been on Broadway and Hulu, Bundy is making an appearance on the streamer as well, reprising her role from the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” on its Hillary Duff successor, “How I Met Your Father.” Bundy and Kyle MacLachlan (aka Agent Dale Cooper on “Twin Peaks”) reprise their roles as Becky and the Captain in the first season’s penultimate episode, which debuted last month.
‘Donna Summer Musical’ at Norton Center for the Arts
If you’d prefer a musical with a ’70s flair, Centre College’s Norton Center for the Arts has a show for you in “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical,” loaded with hits from the Queen of Disco like “Bad Girls,” “Hot Stuff,” and “She Works Hard for the Money.” The show is at the Norton Center, 600 W. Walnut St. in Danville, for one performance only at 7:30 p.m. April 11. Tickets start at $35 and are available by visiting nortoncenter.com or calling 859-236-4692.
UK Theatre to perform ‘Bright Star’ musical
Every once in while a Broadway musical comes along that reproves the point that it takes more than big names to make a hit. “Bright Star” hit Broadway in 2016 with the pedigree of music by comic icon and unlikely bluegrass star Steve Martin and New Bohemian Edie Brickell. But, despite generally favorable reviews, it closed after just over 100 performances. Charles Isherwood wrote in The New York Times, “The shining achievement of the musical is its winsome country and bluegrass score …” raising the possibility we may like it more than the Broadway crowd.
We can see April 7 to 10 when the University of Kentucky Theatre brings “Bright Star” to the Guignol Theatre stage in the UK Fine Arts Building, 465 Rose St. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 7 and 8, 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 9, and 2 p.m. April 10. Tickets are $20 adults, $15 students. Visit scfatickets.com or call 859-257-4929 for tickets.
Sign up for Appalachia documentary
From Barbara Kopple’s Oscar-winning “Harlan County, USA” (1976) to Sally Rubin and Ashley York’s “Hillbilly” (2019), Appalachia has been a rich environment for documentary filmmakers.
Appalshop, the media arts and education center in Whitesburg, is seeking applicants to its eight-week Summer Documentary Institute for ages 14 to 22. The eight-week institute includes full-time pay and housing with the possibility of college credit for eligible participants. The program will take up to 12 participants, and applications are due April 29. Visit amiappalshop.org or call 606-633-0108 to learn more.