 | |
| Industry | Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Tara Sickmeier Rob Baunoch III |
| Website | hipzee |
HIPZEE is an American entertainment production company co-founded by husband-and-wife team Rob Baunoch III and Tara Sickmeier. The company was formed in Brooklyn, NY in 2013 and is currently based in Los Angeles, CA. HIPZEE produces theatre and on-screen content that targets adult audiences.
After a period of working in the theatre and film industry, Rob Baunoch III and Tara Sickmeier transitioned to executive roles, establishing their own production company, HIPZEE, in 2013. [1]
During the company's initial few years, in addition to production, HIPZEE provided services such as marketing research, consulting, and financing. [1] More recently, it is shifting to a focus on production.
HIPZEE's projects have included the Off-Broadway show HEATHERS: The Musical which was nominated for 'Best New Musical' by the Off-Broadway Alliance in 2014; [2] [3] the 2017 Tony-Award-winning musical Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812; and the company's first feature film Above the Shadows, which stars Olivia Thirlby, Alan Ritchson, Jim Gaffigan, and Megan Fox. [4] [5] [6]
Following its success in producing the Off-Broadway show, HEATHERS: The Musical, [3] HIPZEE received a Tony Award nomination for its work on the Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812. [7]
| Title | Creator(s) | Year(s) Active |
|---|---|---|
| HEATHERS: The Musical | Laurence O’Keefe, Kevin Murphy | 2014 (Off-Broadway) |
| Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 | Rachel Chavkin, Dave Malloy | 2016-2017 (Broadway) |
HIPZEE's first feature film ( Above the Shadows ) was released in select theaters and VOD on July 19, 2019. [8] Above the Shadows’ World Premiere was on May 31, 2019 as the opening night film of the 22nd Brooklyn Film Festival. [9] It won the Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature at BFF. [10] HIPZEE most recently represented the film Feral as its sales company.
| Title | Director | Released | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Above the Shadows | Claudia Myers | July 19, 2019 | Gravitas Ventures (US) |
| Feral | Andrew Wonder | June 2, 2020 | 1091 Media (US) |
Olivia Jo Thirlby is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Leah in the comedy-drama film Juno (2007), as Natalie in The Darkest Hour (2011) and as Judge Cassandra Anderson in Dredd (2012).
A sung-through musical, musical film, opera, or other work of performance art is one in which songs entirely or almost entirely replace any spoken dialogue. Conversations, speeches, and musings are communicated musically, for example through a combination of recitative, aria, and arioso. Early versions of this include the Italian genre of opera buffa, a light-hearted form of opera that gained prominence in the 1750s.
Lauren Ashley Zakrin is an American musical theatre actress. She was a finalist in MTV's Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods, coming in fourth place overall. She has appeared on Broadway, as well as in national tours and regional theatre.
Elizabeth Anne Davis known professionally as Elizabeth A. Davis, is an American actress and musician known for her work in the musical Once, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical in 2012. She was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in the musical Allegro in 2015. In 2023, Elizabeth fully released her independent album, The Apple Tree which is a concept album for her play, CHILD(LESS). She also wrote book, music and lyrics for MY NAME’S NOT INDIAN JOE. The Joe Lightfoot Gonzales Memorial Endowment Fund can be accessed here: https://bbis.baylor.edu/give
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 is a sung-through musical adaptation of a 70-page segment from Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel War and Peace. The show was written by composer, lyricist, playwright, orchestrator Dave Malloy and originally directed by Rachel Chavkin. It is based on Part 8 of Tolstoy's novel, focusing on Natasha's romance with Anatole and Pierre's search for meaning in his life.
Dave Malloy is an American composer, playwright, lyricist, orchestrator, and actor. He has written several theatrical works, often based on classic works of literature. His most well known work is the Tony Award winning Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, an electropop opera based on War and Peace. His other works include Moby-Dick, an adaptation of Herman Melville's classic novel; Octet, a chamber choir musical about internet addiction; Preludes, a musical fantasia set in the mind of romantic composer Sergei Rachmaninoff; and Ghost Quartet, a song cycle about "love, death, and whiskey".
Rachel Chavkin is an American stage director best known for directing the musicals Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 and Hadestown, receiving nominations for a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for both and winning for Hadestown in 2019.
Phillipa Anne Soo is an American actress and singer. Known for her leading roles on Broadway primarily in musicals, she has received two Grammy Awards along with nominations for a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Lucas Steele is an American stage actor best known for his role as Anatole Kuragin in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.
Denée Ayana Benton is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her performance as Natasha Rostova in the 2016 musical Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 on Broadway, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. Benton’s other Broadway credits include the role of Eliza Hamilton in Hamilton (2018) and the role of Cinderella in Into the Woods (2022). Her television acting credits include UnREAL and The Gilded Age.
Shaina Taub is an American actress, singer, musician, and Tony Award-winning composer.
Brittain Ashford is an American actress, singer and songwriter best known for portraying Sonya Rostova in the 2016 Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 and her performance in the original cast of Ghost Quartet. She also fronts the band Prairie Empire.
Amber Gray is an American actress and singer. She is known for originating the role of Hélène Bezukhova in the musical Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 and the role of Persephone in the musical Hadestown, both off and on Broadway. For the latter 2019 role, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, additionally earning the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
The 71st Annual Tony Awards were held on June 11, 2017, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2016–17 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and was broadcast live by CBS. Kevin Spacey served as host.
Evan Buliung is a Canadian actor and singer, who is best known for his work in musical theatre. In 2006, Buliung originated the role of Aragorn in the world premiere production of Lord of the Rings, which played at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. He also originated the role of Khashoggi in the Canadian premiere production of We Will Rock You in 2007. He also played Bruce Bechdel in a Toronto production of Fun Home, for which he won a Dora Award. In 2019, Buliung originated the role of Larry Murphy in the Canadian premiere production of Dear Evan Hansen, which played at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. In 2023, Buliung also originated the role of Pierre Bezukhov in the Canadian premiere production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.
Lilli Cooper is an American actress and singer.
Sam Pinkleton is an American choreographer and theatre director.
Mimi Lien is a Chinese American set designer, best known for doing the scenic design of Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812. In 2017, she received a Tony Award for her work with the Broadway production. Lien is also a 2015 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship.
Above the Shadows is a 2019 supernatural romance film written and directed by Claudia Myers. The film stars Olivia Thirlby, Alan Ritchson, Jim Gaffigan, Maria Dizzia, Tito Ortiz, David Johansen and Megan Fox.
Jim Kierstead is a Tony Award, Olivier Award, Drama Desk, and Daytime Emmy Award-winning American theatre producer, film producer, and writer. He is best known for his work on Broadway.
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