For Immediate Release: January 22, 2025
Media Contact: Joshua Henry Jenkins | [email protected]
Theatre Communications Group to Publish The Hang, a Joyfully Queer Musical-Theatrical Fantasia by Taylor Mac and Matt Ray
A dazzling, ecstatic celebration of philosophy, queerness, and communion that reimagines the final hours of Socrates.
New York, NY – Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is proud to announce the forthcoming publication of The Hang, by playwright Taylor Mac and composer Matt Ray. A joyfully queer fantasia drawing on jazz music and operatic form, The Hang will be published on February 10, 2026, and is available now for pre-order.
“The Hang is an ecstatic celebration of theatre, queerness, and community,” said Alisha Tonsic, Co-Executive Director of National Operations and Business Development at TCG. “Taylor Mac and Matt Ray remind us that gathering, thinking, singing, laughing together, is itself a powerful and necessary act. We’re thrilled to publish this extraordinary work.”
This powerful work from playwright Taylor Mac and composer Matt Ray takes us to ancient Athens on the eve of the death of philosopher Socrates. Sentenced to die for corrupting the youth, Socrates decides to spend his remaining hours doing what he loves: engaging in philosophical debate about the true meaning of virtue. And singing songs. And dancing. And just, you know, hanging out. What follows is a musical-theatrical riff on philosophical history, complete with a Plato who assiduously but inaccurately writes it all down, implying that what’s most essential in life, as in theater, are the unwritable moments of joyous communion. In other words, “the hang.”
Critics have hailed The Hang as one of the most singular and exhilarating theatrical works of recent years:
“It is a radical declaration of queer frivolity in our severe age, and it restores my faith that there is still room for dangerous ideas and weird people in the New York theater.” - TheaterMania
“Beautiful, enveloping, and wild…a house party crossed with a New Orleans funeral procession married to a Radical Faerie bacchanal.” - Vulture
“An utterly uncategorizable mélange…that you can’t help loving.” - Theatre Times
“The Hang might be the story of the death of Socrates, but what a way to go.” - BroadwayWorld
The Hang premiered in 2022 at the Here Arts Center, won two Obie Awards for Music Direction and Composition as well as Design, and received four 2022 Drama Desk Award nominations, including Best Musical, Best Lyrics, Best Music, and Best Costumes.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Taylor Mac is a MacArthur Fellow, a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, a Tony nominee for Best Play, and the recipient of the International Ibsen Award. Selected works include: Bark of Millions (a fifty-five song—and counting—parade trance extravaganza for the living library of the deviant theme); A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (a twenty-four-hour performance-art concert about communities building themselves because they’re torn apart); and An American Dionysia (four plays about the polarization of America: Prosperous Fools; The Fre; Gary; and Hir). The concert-doc, Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music, is currently streaming on HBO Max.
Matt Ray is a New York-based pianist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and music director. His arrangements have been called “wizardly” (Time Out New York) and “ingenious” (New York Times), and his piano playing “classic” (New York Times). For his work on Taylor Mac’s show A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, he won the 2017 Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History. Notable live performances include playing at Carnegie Hall with Kat Edmonson, the Hollywood Bowl with reggae legend Burning Spear, Lincoln Center with Joey Arias, and shows in Paris and the UK with Justin Vivian Bond. He co-wrote songs for and performed in Bridget Everett’s one-hour Comedy Central special Gynecological Wonder as well as Everett’s hit show Rock Bottom. He also music directed Taylor Mac’s Obie Award–winning play The Lily’s Revenge. Ray has released three albums as a leader: We Got It! (2001), Lost In New York (2006), and Songs For the Anonymous (2013).
PUBLICATION DETAILS
The Hang
by Taylor Mac, composed by Matt Ray
128 pages | $16.95
Published by Theatre Communications Group
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
ISBN: 978-1-63670-188-2
Since its founding in 1984, TCG Books has grown to become North America’s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 22 winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama on its book list. The book program commits to the life-long career of its playwrights, keeping all of their plays in print. TCG Books events are supported in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Since its founding in 1961, TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 750 organizations (including member theatres, affiliates, universities) and over 3,000 individual members. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. TCG offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the biennial TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG's partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America’s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 21 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. TCG believes its vision of “a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre” can be achieved through individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice. TCG is led by Emilya Cachapero, LaTeshia Ellerson and Alisha Tonsic. www.tcg.org.