Theatre Management and Producing alumnus Ryan Bogner ’15 will produce the Broadway adaptation of The Kite Runner, premiering this summer at Hayes Theatre. The production will have a limited engagement with previews starting on July 6, 2022, running for seventeen weeks through October 30, 2022. Opening night is July 21, 2022.
The play is a stage adaptation from playwright Matthew Spangler based on Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling book, The Kite Runner. The novel was published in 2003 and tells the story of Amir, a young boy in Kabul, during the fall of Afghanistan’s monarchy through the rise of the Taliban regime.
The original play debuted in 2007 at San José State University, where Spangler teaches. Giles Croft will direct the Broadway production. Croft has also directed productions of the play in the UK, where it ran on London’s West End.
The production describes the play as “a haunting tale of friendship spanning cultures and continents, that follows one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption. Afghanistan is a divided country on the verge of war, and two childhood friends are about to be torn apart. It’s a beautiful afternoon in Kabul, and the skies are full of the excitement and joy of a kite flying tournament. But neither Hassan nor Amir can foresee the terrible incident which will shatter their lives forever.”
Bogner lead produces the play with his partners at Broadway & Beyond Theatricals, Victoria Lang and Tracey McFarland.
Ryan Bogner is a producer and entertainment entrepreneur who specializes in bringing unique experiences to audiences and informing innovative strategies for the development, distribution, and exploitation of intellectual property to the living stage. He is currently the Co-President of Content for Broadway & Beyond Theatricals (BBT), a full-service production company and theatrical booking agency he founded with partners Victoria Lang and Tracey McFarland. BBT produces for both Broadway and the road and represents such titles as The Kite Runner, Paradise Square, The Cher Show, An American in Paris, Legally Blonde, Memphis, Madagascar The Musical, Scooby Doo, Rudolph, and Million Dollar Quarted Christmas among many others. Notable producing credits include: The Woodsman, Here Lies Love, The Orion Experience, Yeast Nation, Doctor Zhivago, Top Hat, Big Fish, The Cher Show, and Cheers: Live on Stage among others. Upcoming: Cambodian Rock Band (on tour), The Cottage, A Very Brady Musical, Paradise Square, Where We Belong.
