Theater – Backstage Pass with Lia Chang

Josh Radnor, Ayad Akhtar and Aasif Mandvi at a book talk and signing at The Drama Book Shop in New York on January 22, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

The Pulitzer Prize winning play Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar starring Hari Dhillon, Gretchen Mol, Danny Ashok, Karen Pittman and Josh Radnor, celebrated its 100th performance at the Lyceum Theatre last week, and will play its final Broadway performance on Sunday, March 1, 2015. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Disgraced received Obie and Joseph Jefferson Awards under the direction of Kimberly Senior, who helmed the two previous US productions.

Josh Radnor, playwright Ayad Akhtar and Aasif Mandvi discuss DISGRACED at The Drama Book Shop in New York on January 22, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

On January 22, 2015, The Drama Book Shop in New York presented a book talk featuring playwright Ayad Akhtar and Josh Radnor, who costars in the current Broadway production.

A book signing followed the conversation, moderated by Aasif Mandvi, who starred in Lincoln Center Theater’s Off-Broadway production.

Disgraced is the story of a successful Muslim-American lawyer and his wife — an artist influenced by Islamic tradition — enjoying their comfortable and successful life on New York’s Upper East Side. When a co-worker and her husband come to dinner, what begins as polite table conversation explodes, leaving everyone’s relationships and beliefs about race and identity in shards.

DISGRACED playwright Ayad Akhtar at The Drama Book Shop in New York on January 22, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

Ayad Akhtar was born in New York City and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Akhtar is the author of American Dervish, published in 2012 by Little, Brown and Company in more than 20 languages worldwide, and a 2012 Best Book of the Year at Kirkus Reviews, Toronto’s Globe and Mail, Shelf-Awareness, and O (Oprah) Magazine. He is also a playwright and screenwriter. His play Disgraced premiered in New York at LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater in 2012, won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 2013 Obie Award for Extraordinary Achievement and the 2013 Jeff Award for New Work, and is currently on Broadway through March 1, 2015. His latest plays, The Who & The What (LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater and La Jolla Playhouse) and The Invisible Hand (New York Theatre Workshop/The Repertory Theater of St. Louis) made their New York premieres in 2014. As a screenwriter, he co-wrote and starred in The War Within (Magnolia Pictures), which was released internationally and nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay. As an actor, Akhtar also starred as Neel Kashkari in HBO’s adaptation of Andrew Ross Sorkin’s book Too Big to Fail. He has received commissions from Lincoln Center Theater and fellowships from The Yaddo Foundation and The MacDowell Colony. He is a graduate of Brown University and Columbia School of the Arts.

Good pals Aasif Mandvi and Josh Radnor at The Drama Book Shop in New York on January 22, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

Josh Radnor wrote, directed, and starred in two films, both of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before being released in theaters: The Audience Award-winning happythankyoumoreplease opposite Kate Mara, Malin Akerman, and Tony Hale and Liberal Arts opposite Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins, Allison Janney, and Zac Efron. He was last seen in Jill Soloway’s Afternoon Delight (Sundance, 2013) opposite Kathryn Hahn and Juno Temple. Recently finished a nine-season run playing Ted Mosby on CBS’s Emmy-nominated comedy How I Met Your Mother. His other television credits include guest appearances on ER, Six Feet Under, and Law & Orderamong others. He was a series regular on ABC’s The Court starring Sally Field. He made his film debut in the original teen spoof Not Another Teen Movie. On Broadway he played the title character in The Graduate opposite Kathleen Turner. Off-Broadway and regionally, he has appeared at the Manhattan Theater Club, The Vineyard Theater, and Baltimore Center Stage, among others. In Los Angeles, he appeared in the Ovation Award-winning world premiere production of Jon Robin Baitz’s The Paris Letter. Most recently Josh appeared in New York Stage and Film’s world premiere production of Richard Greenberg’s The Babylon Line, directed by Terry Kinney.

Aasif Mandvi is well known for his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy-winning show, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” He is currently writing, producing, and starring in HBO’s upcoming series, “The Brink” co-starring Jack Black and Tim Robbins. November marked the release of his memoir, No Man’s Land, a collection of humorous and personal stories published by Chronicle Books. Aasif received rave reviews for his performance as ‘Amir’ in the Lincoln Center production of Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Disgraced, and received an Obie Award for Sakina’s Restaurant, which he both wrote and starred in.

Photos: AALDEF Honors Mari Matsuda, Aasif Mandvi, and John Chou in 2014 at 40th Anniversary Celebration

Tickets ($37.50-$138) for Disgraced are available by calling Telecharge.com at 212-239-6200, online at www.telecharge.com, or at the Lyceum Theatre box office (149 West 45th Street).

Performances are Tuesdays at 7PM, Wednesdays at 2PM and 7PM, Thursdays at 7PM, Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2PM and 8PM, Sundays at 3PM.

www.disgracedonbroadway.com

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
Rehearsal Photos: Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song in MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, February 3 – March 29
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
Production Photos: Stephen Adly Guirgis’ BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at Second Stage Theatre
Feb. 3: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
FEB. 4: “Fresh Off the Boat” Live Community Viewing Party at THE CIRCLE NYC with Hudson Yang
Two-Time Tony Award Nominee André De Shields, Bowman Wright, E. Faye Butler, KenYatta Rogers, Jessica Frances Dukes and Michael Anthony Williams Set for Arena Stage’s King Hedley II, February 6- March 8, 2015
Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. (1938-2014); Memorial Set for February 14, 2015
Duwende Performs at Rockwood Music Hall on February 16; Photos of Concert with m-pact at The Bitter End
“Swimming Awkward Moment,” works by Arlan Huang on view at Trestle Gallery, February 20 – March 27
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu, Julian Cihi and More Set for Broadway Bound Dr. Zhivago
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
Photos: Andrew Rannells and Zuzanna Szadkowski Visit Richard Thomas, Anna Chlumsky, Julie Halston and Annaleigh Ashford at YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
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Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by GK

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2015 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Philip Seymour Hoffman. Photo courtesy of Labyrinth Theater Company

The American Playwriting Foundation, established to make annual grants to new American plays, has created The Relentless Award, the largest annual cash prize in American theater awarded to a playwright in recognition of a new play. Established in honor of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and his pursuit of truth in the theater, The Relentless Award will honor an unproduced play with $45,000, laying the groundwork for the future of American Theater.

Prize:
• The author of the Relentless Award-winning play will receive $45,000.
• The winning playwright will have the option to have the winning play published by the Dramatists Play Service.
• The winning playwright will have a week-long residency at SPACE on Ryder Farm, an artist residency program housed on a working organic farm in Brewster, New York. The author can elect to have a director, a dramaturg and actors join him or her while in residence on the farm.
• The selected play will have a national roll-out through the Ed Vassallo Relentless Reading Series, established to help bring to life and develop the winning play by presenting a series of staged readings at some of the top theaters across the United States.
• When the winning play is selected, three runners-up will also be named.

The American Playwriting Foundation is now open for submissions, and the deadline is July 10, 2015. Three finalists and one winner will be announced on October 2, 2015.

The Play Selection Committee is comprised of some of America’s top playwrights, including Eric Bogosian, Thomas Bradshaw, APF Executive Director David Bar Katz, Lynn Nottage, John Ortiz, John Patrick Shanley, Jonathan Marc Sherman, and Lucy Thurber. This committee will seek out plays that are challenging, and plays that are, as the name would have it, relentlessly truthful. The American Playwriting Foundation will consider submissions from any playwrights who wish to participate and meet the submission criteria, but the committee will place a special emphasis on works from first time playwrights and underrepresented voices.

The winning play will receive the most extensive national roll-out in American theater, receiving staged readings at some of the most esteemed theaters in the country. The current participating theaters that will roll out The Ed Vassallo Relentless Reading Series include The American Conservatory Theater of San Francisco (ACT), Asolo Repertory Theater, The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Goodman, The Huntington, The Wilma, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, The New Group, and The Williamstown Theater Festival. Along with the cash earnings, the author of The Relentless Award-winning play will have the option to have their work published by the Dramatists Play Service.

Any unproduced play written by a United States citizen is eligible for The Relentless Award. Each play must be submitted with a letter from a theater professional (anyone who has worked in theater in any artistic capacity for a minimum of four years) recommending the play. This submission process allows The Relentless Award to cast the widest net possible, making it among the most populist prizes in the American theater.

For more information, please click here.

The American Playwriting Foundation’s Artistic Advisors are composed of theater professionals who were all friends and collaborators of Philip Seymour Hoffman, including Peter DuBois, Scott Elliott, Robert Falls, Mandy Greenfeld,Ethan Hawke, Dan Klores, Gregory Mosher, and Austin Pendleton.

Labyrinth Theater Company hosts Community Prayer and Candlelight Vigil to honor Philip Seymour Hoffman at Bank Street Theater

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Photos: Ellen Burstyn, Baz Luhrmann, John Leguizamo, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Patrick Shanley, David Henry Hwang, Liza Colón-Zayas, Kenneth Lonergan and More Celebrate Stephen Adly Guirgis at The Mimi Awards
Production Photos: Stephen Adly Guirgis’ BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at Second Stage Theatre
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
Rehearsal Photos: Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song in MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, February 3 – March 29
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
FEB. 4: “Fresh Off the Boat” Live Community Viewing Party at THE CIRCLE NYC with Hudson Yang
Two-Time Tony Award Nominee André De Shields, Bowman Wright, E. Faye Butler, KenYatta Rogers, Jessica Frances Dukes and Michael Anthony Williams Set for Arena Stage’s King Hedley II, February 6- March 8, 2015
Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. (1938-2014); Memorial Set for February 14, 2015
Duwende Performs at Rockwood Music Hall on February 16; Photos of Concert with m-pact at The Bitter End
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu, Julian Cihi and More Set for Broadway Bound Dr. Zhivago
Preview of Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Spring Exhibition, China: Through the Looking Glass, Announced at the Palace Museum in China
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
Photos: Andrew Rannells and Zuzanna Szadkowski Visit Richard Thomas, Anna Chlumsky, Julie Halston and Annaleigh Ashford at YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
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Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by GK

In Rehearsal for The World of Extreme Happiness at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York on January 27, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

The Manhattan Theatre Club’s world premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness, the new play by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, directed by Eric Ting, begins previews Tuesday, February 3, 2015 for a Tuesday, February 24, 2015 opening night at MTC’s New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street). This is a co-production with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

Telly Leung, Jennifer Lim and director Eric Ting in rehearsal for The World of Extreme Happiness at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York on January 27, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

The MTC cast of The World of Extreme Happiness features Francis Jue (M. Butterfly, “The Good Wife”), Telly Leung (“Glee,” Godspell), Jennifer Lim (Chinglish, This Isn’t Romance at London’s Soho Theatre), Jo Mei (New York stage debut and star of the acclaimed independent film A Picture of You), James Saito (Golden Child, “Life of Pi”), and Sue Jin Song (Paula Vogel’s Hot ‘n Throbbing).

Unwanted from the moment she’s born, Sunny (Jennifer Lim) is determined to escape her life in rural China and forge a new identity in the city. As naïve as she is ambitious, Sunny views her new job in a grueling factory as a stepping stone to untold opportunities. When fate casts her as a company spokeswoman at a sham PR event, Sunny’s bright outlook starts to unravel in a series of harrowing and darkly comic events, as she begins to question a system enriching itself by destroying its own people.

Telly Leung and Jennifer Lim in rehearsal for The World of Extreme Happiness at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York on January 27, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

Critically acclaimed in a workshop production at London’s National Theatre, The World of Extreme Happiness makes its world premiere in a co-production with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. “Hard-hitting and bruisingly funny” (Time Out London), this epic new drama by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig is as fierce and unflinching as the world it examines.

Francis Jue, Eric Ting and Jo Mei in rehearsal for The World of Extreme Happiness at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York on January 27, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

The creative team for The World of Extreme Happiness includes Mimi Lien (scenic design), Jenny Mannis (costume design), Tyler Micoleau (lighting design), and Mikhail Fiksel (sound design).

Telly Leung, Jennifer Lim, director Eric Ting, assistant director Chongren Fan, production stage manager Winnie Lok and Catherine Lynch in rehearsal for The World of Extreme Happiness at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York on January 27, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country’s most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. Over the past four and a half decades, MTC productions have earned numerous awards including six Pulitzer Prizes and 19 Tony Awards. MTC has a Broadway home at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47^th Street) and two Off-Broadway theatres at New York City Center (131 West 55^th Street). Renowned MTC productions include Casa Valentina; Outside Mullingar; The Assembled Parties; Venus in Fur; Master Class; Good People; The Whipping Man; Time Stands Still; The Royal Family; Ruined; Come Back, Little Sheba; Blackbird; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Love! Valour! Compassion!; A Small Family Business; Sylvia; Putting It Together; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain’t Misbehavin.’ For more information on MTC, please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

Assistant director Chongren Fan in rehearsal for The World of Extreme Happiness at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York on January 27, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

Now celebrating its 90th year, Goodman Theatre is an artistic and community institution dedicated to the art of theater and civic engagement. Chicago’s flagship located in the heart of the downtown Theater District, the Goodman is distinguished by the quality and scope of its programming and its culturally and aesthetically diverse creative leadership—including Artistic Director Robert Falls and his esteemed Artistic Collective. Artistic priorities include new plays, reimagined classics, culturally specific works, musical theater and international collaborations. Under Mr. Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the Goodman has generated more than 150 world or American premieres and nearly 30 new-work commissions. Awards include two Pulitzer Prizes; 22 Tony Awards, including Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992); and nearly 160 Joseph Jefferson Awards. Joan Clifford is Chair of the Board of Trustees, Swati Mehta is Women’s Board President and Gordon C.C. Liao is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

Production stage manager Winnie Lok, Sue Jin Song and Francis Jue in rehearsal for The World of Extreme Happiness at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York on January 27, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

TICKETING INFORMATION

Tickets for The World of Extreme Happiness are available by calling CityTix at 212-581-1212, online by visiting www.nycitycenter.org, or by visiting New York City Center box office (131 West 55^th Street). All tickets are $85.

Subscriptions for MTC’s 2014-2015 season are available by calling (212) 399-3050 (Monday through Friday NOON – 9 PM, Saturday 10 AM – 3 PM) or online at www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

In Rehearsal for The World of Extreme Happiness at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York on January 27, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3 – SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinee on Sunday at 2 PM. There are only seven performances this week.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9 – SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15:Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16 – SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22:Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23 – SUNDAY, MARCH 1 (WEEK OF OPENING):Wednesday and Sunday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM. The curtain time for opening night on Tuesday, February 24 will be announced shortly.
MONDAY, MARCH 2 – SUNDAY, MARCH 8:Tuesday at 7 PM; Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.
MONDAY, MARCH 9 – SUNDAY, MARCH 15:Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.
MONDAY, MARCH 16 – SUNDAY, MARCH 22:Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM. There are only 7 performances on sale to the public this week.
MONDAY, MARCH 23 – SUNDAY, MARCH 29:Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.

FRANCES YA-CHU COWHIG (Playwright). Cowhig’s plays have been produced at the National Theatre, Trafalgar Studios 2, and the Goodman Theatre. Her plays have been awarded the Wasserstein Prize, the Yale Drama Series Award, and the Keene Prize for Literature. She is currently under commission from Manhattan Theatre Club, the Goodman Theatre, and the National Theatre. Cowhig received an MFA in Writing from the Michener Center for Writers, a BA from Brown University, and a certificate in Ensemble-Based Physical Theatre from Dell’Arte International. Her plays have been published by Yale University Press and Methuen Drama. She is currently a Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence at Manhattan Theatre Club.

Director Eric Ting in rehearsal for The World of Extreme Happiness at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York on January 27, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

ERIC TING (Director) is an Obie Award-winning director whose recent credits include Sam Hunter’s A Great Wilderness (Williamstown), Jackie Sibblies Drury’s We Are Proud To Present A Presentation… (Soho Rep / Victory Gardens), Rising Son by Dick Lee (Singapore Rep) and The World Of Extreme Happiness (Goodman). Long Wharf Theatre Associate Artistic Director since 2007, Ting is a founding member of the artists’ collective INTELLIGENT BEASTS and a recipient of a 2012 MAP Fund Award with Meiyin Wang. Upcoming: Kimber Lee’s Brownsville Song(Long Wharf / Philadelphia Theatre Co) and Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (CTG). www.ericting.com

FRANCIS JUE (Old Lao/Gao Chen/Mr. Destiny). Broadway: Pacific Overtures, Thoroughly Modern Millie, M. Butterfly. Recent Off-Broadway: Kung Fu, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Coraline, Falsettoland. Recent regional: In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), The King & I. Jue has been honored with an Obie and a Lucille Lortel Award (Yellow Face), an Elliot Norton Award (Miss Saigon), a Drama League Award (Kiss of the Spiderwoman), Bay Area Critics Awards (Pacific Overtures, Cabaret, Into the Woods), and AriZoni Awards (The Illusion, In the Next Room). Film/TV includes: Joyful Noise, “Madam Secretary,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “The Good Wife.”

Telly Leung and Jennifer Lim in rehearsal for The World of Extreme Happiness at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York on January 27, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

TELLY LEUNG (Pete/Ran Feng/DJ Happy). Broadway / National Tour: Flower Drum Song, Pacific Overtures, Wicked(Boq), Rent (final Broadway company), & Godspell. Selected Regional: Allegiance (with George Takei, The Old Globe), M. Butterfly (Philadelphia Theater Company), Rent (directed by Neil Patrick Harris, Hollywood Bowl), & Hello, Dolly! (The Muny). Television: “Glee” (Wes, the Warbler), “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Deadbeat,” “Broadway or Bust” (PBS). Recordings: His debut solo recording, {i’ll cover you}, on The Yellow Sound Label, and many original cast recordings. Producing credits: Grind (starring Anthony Rapp) and “Seasons of Broadway” (a concert series celebrating the diversity of Broadway). BFA: Carnegie Mellon University. www.tellyleung.com

JENNIFER LIM (Sunny). Broadway: Chinglish (Theater World Award and Drama Desk nomination). Off-Broadway:The Urban Retreat; The Most Deserving; Golden Child;Vengeance Can Wait; Cry,Trojans! (UK/NY/LA); YJLee’s Songs of The Dragons (NY/European tour); Ching Chong Chinaman. Regional: TWoEH, Chinglish (Jeff & Chicago Theater Critics’ Beat nomination), Iphigeneia At Aulis, Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella, A Christmas Carol. Television and film: “Person of Interest,” “Elementary,” “The Good Wife,” “Blue Bloods,” “Law & Order” (all three), “Royal Pains,” The Savages, 27 Dresses. Yale School of Drama (MFA). Associate member of The Wooster Group and GF&Co. jenniferlimonline.com

SUE JIN SONG (Artemis/Wang Hua) has an MFA in Acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Other world premieres: Hot ‘n Throbbing (by Paula Vogel), Waiting for Tadashi, and Shedding the Tiger (by Velina Hasu Houston). Theatre credits include Woolly Mammoth: Marie Antoinette; Theater J: iHo, Yellow Face; Studio Theater: Songs of the Dragon Flying to Heaven; DC Fringe Festival: Children of Medea (awarded “Best of Fringe”); Pearl Theater: Iphigenia at Aulis; Syracuse Stage: Burn This. Film credits include: Steel Town, Pipe Dream, Someone Like You. Television credits include: “24,” “ER,” “Law & Order.”

JO MEI (Ming-Ming/Shu Min/Xiao Li) is making her Off-Broadway and MTC debut. Recent theater credits include The World of Extreme Happiness (Goodman), You For Me For You (Woolly Mammoth/MaYi), Ten (Partial Comfort). Television credits include “Bones” (Fox) and “The Good Wife” (CBS). Mei stars in and co-wrote the award-winning film A Picture of You. Other films include Adult World (with John Cusack), Revenge of the Green Dragons (executive produced by Martin Scorsese), and the upcoming The Grief of Others (directed by Patrick Wang). Mei is a graduate of Wellesley College and The Juilliard School’s Drama Division. www.jomei.com

James Saito script. Photo by Lia Chang

JAMES SAITO (Li Han/James Lin). Broadway: Golden Child, King and I. Off-Broadway and regional theatres include: Mitzi Newhouse, Public Theater Durango (Obie), Playwrights Horizons, Roundabout, Vineyard, EST, Kennedy Center, Williamstown, Guthrie, Mark Taper Forum, Long Wharf, Seattle Rep, ACT, Singapore Rep, Arena Stage. Film and television include: Sea of Trees, Big Eyes, While We’re Young, Life of Pi, “Madam Secretary,” “Hawaii 5-0,” “Person of Interest,” “Too Big to Fail,” “Blue Bloods,” “30 Rock,” “Eli Stone,” “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “Henry Fool,” “Devil’s Advocate,” “Sex and the City,” “Law and Order,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (Shredder)

www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com

Follow MTC on Twitter: @MTC_NYC or on Facebook.

A view of The World of Extreme Happiness. Photo by Lia Chang

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Production Photos: Stephen Adly Guirgis’ BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at Second Stage Theatre
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
Celebrate the Life of Chez Josephine restaurateur Jean-Claude Baker at a Requiem Mass at Holy Cross Church on January 31
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
Feb. 3: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
FEB. 4: “Fresh Off the Boat” Live Community Viewing Party at THE CIRCLE NYC with Hudson Yang
Two-Time Tony Award Nominee André De Shields, Bowman Wright, E. Faye Butler, KenYatta Rogers, Jessica Frances Dukes and Michael Anthony Williams Set for Arena Stage’s King Hedley II, February 6- March 8, 2015
Broadway Barkada’s 4th Annual “So This Is Love” Concert at The Cutting Room on February 8
Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. (1938-2014); Memorial Set for February 14, 2015
Duwende Performs at Rockwood Music Hall on February 16; Photos of Concert with m-pact at The Bitter End
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Photos: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED at The Drama Book Shop
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
Photos: Andrew Rannells and Zuzanna Szadkowski Visit Richard Thomas, Anna Chlumsky, Julie Halston and Annaleigh Ashford at YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
Lia Chang Picks: Arthur Dong’s Forbidden City: Chinese-American Nightclubs, 1930-1970
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Up Close and Personal with Jose Llana; HERE LIES LOVE Star Set for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Debut on March 12, 2015
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Tony Award Winner BD Wong Kicks Off La Jolla Playhouse Residency
Photos: Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Micki Grant, Woodie King Jr., Voza Rivers, Talvin Wilks, Garland Thompson Jr., Charles Turner, Jamal Joseph, Debra Ann Byrd and More at harlem is…Theater
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career

Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by GK

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia starred as Carole Barbara in Lorey Hayes’ Power Play at the 2013 National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Pauletta Pearson Washington, Roscoe Orman, and made her jazz vocalist debut in Rome Neal’s Banana Puddin’ Jazz “LADY” at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York. She is profiled in Jade Magazine.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2015 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Tam Mutu

The new Broadway musical Doctor Zhivago, starring Tam Mutu, making his Broadway debut as the passionate Doctor and poet Yurii Zhivago, Kelli Barrett (Wicked), Tony Award nominee Tom Hewitt (Rocky Horror Show), and Paul Nolan (Jesus Chris Superstar), will be joined by Lora Lee Gayer as Tonia Gromeko, Zhivago’s devoted wife, kicked off rehearsals today with two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys) at the helm.

Based on Boris Pasternak’s Nobel Prize-winning 20th-century epic Russian masterpiece, the cast of Doctor Zhivago features Jacqueline Antaramian and Jamie Jackson, with Heather Botts, Wendi Bergamini, Melody Butiu, Josh Canfield, Julian Cihi, Briana Carlson-Goodman, Bradley Dean, Michael Brian Dunn, Drew Foster, Kira Guloien, Robert Hager, Ericka Hunter, Denis Lambert, David McDonald, Joseph Medeiros, Pilar Millhollen, Gary Milner, Spencer Moses, Julius Sermonia, Jacob L. Smith and Jesse Wildman in a cast of 32.

Michael Weller. Photo by Lia Chang

Doctor Zhivago will begin performances on Friday, March 27, 2015, and open on Tuesday, April 21, 2015, at 6:30pm, at the Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway). Doctor Zhivago features a book by Academy Award nominee Michael Weller (Ragtime), music by Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Lucy Simon (The Secret Garden), lyrics by Tony Award nominee Michael Korie (Grey Gardens) and Emmy Award nominee Amy Powers (Ella Enchanted), and choreography by Tony Award nominee Kelly Devine (Rocky).

Tam Mutu (Yurii Zhivago), who stars as Stone in The Donmar Warhouse’s production of City Of Angels this winter, was recently seen as Javert in LES MISERABLES (Queen’s Theatre), and has theater credits that include Love Never Dies (Adelphi Theatre), Orange Peel (Royal Court), Royal Hunt of the Sun and Love’s Labour’s Lost (National Theatre), East (Leicester Haymarket), Romeo and Juliet and King Lear (RSC), As You Like It (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Dr. Faustus (Headlong Theatre Company) and Anatoly in Chess at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. Tam’s television credits include “Waking the Dead” and “Footballer’s Wives.”

Kelli Barrett

Kelli Barrett will star as Lara Guishar, Yurii’s paramour. Kelli’s Broadway credits include Wicked (Nessarose), The Royal Family (Gwen) and Baby It’s You! (Mary-Jane). Off-Broadway: Rock of Ages (original Sherrie), On Your Toes (Frankie) at Encores! Regional theater work includes productions at the York, Williamstown, New York Stage & Film, Old Globe, WBT, Cincy Playhouse, St. Louis Rep and Prince. Selected Film and TV credits include The Switch, Remember Me, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, “Blue Bloods”, “NCIS”, “L&O:SVU”, “Person of Interest”, “Gifted Man”, “Ugly Betty”, “The Good Wife” and recurring roles on “I Just Want My Pants Back” (Jane) and “Chicago Fire”(Renee Whaley). She and Tony nominee Jarrod Spector (currently starring in Beautiful) were recently wed in New York City

Tom Hewitt

Viktor Komarovsky, the powerful aristocrat, will be played by Tony Award-nominee Tom Hewitt. Tom’s Broadway credits include Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Dracula in Dracula: The Musical, Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), The Boys from Syracuse, The Lion King, School for Scandal, and The Sisters Rosenzweig. National Tours include Urinetown, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Touring Broadway Award) and Peter Pan. Off Broadway: Treasure Island, Jeffery, Beau Jest (Outer Critics nomination), Richard III, Othello. Regional Credits: Amazing Grace; Irma Vep; Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Zhivago and Dracula: The Musical (La Jolla Playhouse); Kiss Me, Kate; Private Lives and Travesties (Long Wharf, CT Critics Circle Award); Compleat Female Stage Beauty (Old Globe); Uncle Vanya (Arena Stage); Racing Demon and Blithe Spirit (Guthrie); Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare Theater). TV/Film: “Law and Order,” “Third Watch,” “Frasier,” “All My Children,” and Fools’ Fire.

Paul Nolan

Paul Nolan will star as the political revolutionary, Pasha Antipov. Paul can currently be seen as Guy in Once on Broadway, having last been seen as Jesus in the 2012 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar. He originated that role at The Stratford Festival of Canada where he was also seen as Cousin Kevin in The Who’s Tommy, Tony in West Side Story, Orlando in As You Like It and Al Joad in The Grapes Of Wrath. Last year San Diego audiences saw him as Ben Nickel in the World Premiere of Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots at the La Jolla Playhouse conceived and directed by Des McAnuff and Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips. Also in the United States he was Radames in Aida at Kansas City Starlight. His film and TV credits include Will, “Something’s Coming,” Alex and Schumacher.

Lora Lee Gayer

Lora Lee Gayer was most recently seen on Broadway in Follies as Young Sally, opposite Bernadette Peters. Off-Broadway credits include Pipe Dream at Encores!, and These Seven Sicknesses at EPBB. Regional credits include Millie in Bull Durham (Alliance); Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Shakespeare Theater-Helen Hayes nomination); Young Sally in Follies (Kennedy Center, Ahmanson); Gloria Thorpe in Damn Yankees (Goodspeed); Carrie in Carousel (Virginia Opera); Barrington; MUNY; KC Starlight; and Bay Street. Graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and Carnegie Mellon University.

Melody Butiu

Melody Butiu, who recently appeared as Estrella in the World Premiere of David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim’s critically acclaimed Here Lies Love, makes her Broadway debut with Dr. Zhivago. Regional World Premieres include – Land of Smiles, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow (Pulitzer Prize nominated, AriZoni award for Best Actress in a Play), Shipwrecked! (by Donald Margulies, starring Gregory Itzin), Long Season (Perseverance Theatre in Alaska), A Perfect Wedding (Kirk Douglas Theatre), Dogeaters (La Jolla Playhouse). She has also appeared in productions of Helen (Getty Villa), Nightmare Alley (Geffen Playhouse), Calligraphy (Playwrights’ Arena), A Winter People (Theatre @ Boston Court), The Theory of Everything (Singapore Rep and East West Players), Celebration of The Lizard (San Diego Rep), BOY (La Jolla Playhouse), A Little Night Music (East West Players), Long Story Short (San Diego Rep), 36 Views (Geva/Portland Center Stage/Laguna Playhouse), HAIR (Reprise!), and Golden Child (EWP). Film/TV: Untold, Blood Ransom, “NCIS,” “Harry’s Law,” “True Blood,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Modern Family.” www.melodybutiu.com

Six Questions for Melody Butiu, Currently Appearing as Estrella in David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim’s Here Lies Love at The Public

Doctor Zhivago will feature scenic design by Michael Scott-Mitchell (Wagner’s Ring Cycle), costume design by five-time Tony Award nominee Paul Tazewell (Memphis), lighting design by Tony Award winner Howell Binkley (Jersey Boys), sound design by Tony Award winner SCK Sound Design (700 Sundays), projection design by Sean Nieuwenhuis (Jesus Christ Superstar), orchestrations by Danny Troob, music arrangements by Eric Stern, with musical direction and supervision by Ron Melrose. Doctor Zhivago will be produced on Broadway by Anita Waxman, Tom Dokton, Latitude Link, Ted Hartley/RKO Stage and Chunsoo Shin, with Margo and Roger Coleman, Joe Corcoran, J. Todd Harris, Stage Entertainment USA, Inc., Broadway Across America, Grove Entertainment, The Shubert Organization, The Pelican Group, Ahmos Hassan and John Frost. Junkyard Dog Productions is the executive producer of Doctor Zhivago.

Doctor Zhivago is an epic romance, revolving around the search for love during the final days of Czarist Russia, the First World War and the chaos of the Russian revolution. Raised as an aristocrat, Zhivago is a political idealist, physician and poet whose life is tossed by the tides of history as he is torn between a life with his devoted wife, Tonia Gromeko and the passionate and mysterious Lara Guishar. Zhivago however, is not alone in his yearnings for Lara, and must compete with both revolutionaries and aristocracy alike to win the heart of the woman he cannot live without. Doctor Zhivago celebrates the strength of love and art, in the face of political oppression and revolution.

Tickets for Doctor Zhivago are now on sale through Telecharge.com (212-239-6200) and are available for performances from Friday, March 27, 2015, through Thursday, March 31, 2016. Tickets range from $42.50 – $145.00 (include $2 Facilities Fee). For groups of 10 or more visit Telecharge.com/groups or to order by phone, call 800-432-7780. The playing schedule for Doctor Zhivago is as follows: Tuesday through Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 7:30pm with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. Beginning April 27 the playing schedule will be: Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 3pm. Please note: There will be special performances Sunday, March 29 at 3pm, Sunday, April 19 at 3pm, Monday, April 20 at 8pm, and there will be no performances Saturday, March 28 at 2pm, Sunday March 29 at 2pm or 7:30pm, Sunday, April 19 at 2pm or 7:30pm, or Wednesday, April 22.

For more information visit: www.doctorzhivagobroadway.com

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, starring Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song, Begins Previews February 3
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Production Photos: Stephen Adly Guirgis’ BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at Second Stage Theatre
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
Celebrate the Life of Chez Josephine restaurateur Jean-Claude Baker at a Requiem Mass at Holy Cross Church on January 31
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
Feb. 3: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
FEB. 4: “Fresh Off the Boat” Live Community Viewing Party at THE CIRCLE NYC with Hudson Yang
Two-Time Tony Award Nominee André De Shields, Bowman Wright, E. Faye Butler, KenYatta Rogers, Jessica Frances Dukes and Michael Anthony Williams Set for Arena Stage’s King Hedley II, February 6- March 8, 2015
Broadway Barkada’s 4th Annual “So This Is Love” Concert at The Cutting Room on February 8
Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. (1938-2014); Memorial Set for February 14, 2015
Duwende Performs at Rockwood Music Hall on February 16; Photos of Concert with m-pact at The Bitter End
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Photos: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED at The Drama Book Shop
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
Photos: Andrew Rannells and Zuzanna Szadkowski Visit Richard Thomas, Anna Chlumsky, Julie Halston and Annaleigh Ashford at YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
Lia Chang Picks: Arthur Dong’s Forbidden City: Chinese-American Nightclubs, 1930-1970
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Up Close and Personal with Jose Llana; HERE LIES LOVE Star Set for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Debut on March 12, 2015
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Tony Award Winner BD Wong Kicks Off La Jolla Playhouse Residency
Photos: Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Micki Grant, Woodie King Jr., Voza Rivers, Talvin Wilks, Garland Thompson Jr., Charles Turner, Jamal Joseph, Debra Ann Byrd and More at harlem is…Theater
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by GK

The Women in the Arts & Media Coalition, Inc. has announced the open call to submit applications for the 2015 Collaboration Award recognizing Women Working with Women.

The $1,000 Collaboration Award and additional honorable mentions are designed to encourage professional women in the arts and media from different specializations to work collaboratively on the creation of a new artistic work. As the aim of the award is to encourage women to work collaboratively with women of other disciplines, each collaborative team must be comprised of female members of different Coalition associations, unions, guilds and affiliates of The Coalition. Eligible teams may submit any form of creative collaboration on a new work that had its first public performance within the last two years 2013-2015. A Public Performance can include, but is not limited to a staged reading, gallery show, screenings, concert series, etc.

Submissions will be judged on the basis of artistic excellence, diversity, and clarity. All topics and subjects will be considered. Special attention shall be given to those projects which reflect the goals of the Coalition: to advance women’s work and women’s issues.

The team that has been selected and the honorable mentions will be invited to be recognized at an awards ceremony in New York in October 2015. Women outside of New York may send a designee to speak about their project and accept the award.

Teams of two or more women working together on the creative project may apply for the 2015 Collaboration Award. Applicants must be members in good standing of two different organizations and/or affiliates with The Coalition. Those organizations are: Actors’ Equity Association, Dramatists Guild, League of Professional Theatre Women, New York Women in Film & Television, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Writers’ Guild of America, East. Affiliate member organizations are: WomenArts, Women Make Movies, Women’s Media Center, Works by Women, The Rehearsal Club, Dancers Over 40, Professional Women Singers Association, The Drama Desk, The Lambs, Inc., and National Theatre Conference.

Send all inquiries and questions to: collaborationaward@womenartsmediacoalition.org

2015 Collaboration Award Guidelines
The Collaboration Award: Women Working With Women is designed to encourage professional women in the arts and media from different specializations to work collaboratively on the creation of a new work.

Award
The winning collaborative team will be awarded $1,000. There will be additional Honorable Mentions.

Eligibility
The aim of the award is to encourage women to work with members of other unions, guilds, and associations. Each collaborative team must be comprised of female members of DIFFERENT associations, unions, and guilds that are full and affiliate members of the Women in the Arts & Media Coalition.

Full Members: The Coalition is comprised of all members of the following associations, unions and guilds: Actors’ Equity Association, Dramatists Guild, League of Professional Theatre Women, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, Stage Directors and Choreographers, New York Women in Film & Television, Writers Guild of America, East.

Affiliate Members: WomenArts, Women’s Media Center, Women Make Movies, Works by Women, The Lambs, Inc., Drama Desk, National Theatre Conference, Dancers Over 40, The Rehearsal Club, Professional Women Singers Association.

Applicants may submit any form of creative collaboration on a new work that had a public performance* within the last two years, 2013-2015. Applications shall be judged on artistic excellence, diversity, and clarity. All topics and subjects will be considered. Special attention shall be given to those projects which reflect the goals of the Coalition: to advance women’s work and women’s issues.*Public Performance can include, but is not limited to a staged reading, gallery show, concert series, etc.

How to Apply
Applicants must complete an application online. (A link to the application is below.) Applications may be saved and returned to until completed and submitted.

Deadline
The deadline for the submission of applications will be 11:59 PM Thursday, April 30, 2015.
Award winners will be announced by September 2015.

Application

Other Articles by Lia Chang
MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, starring Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song, Begins Previews February 3
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Production Photos: Stephen Adly Guirgis’ BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at Second Stage Theatre
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
Video Preview: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead Airs February 3
FEB. 4: “Fresh Off the Boat” Live Community Viewing Party at THE CIRCLE NYC with Hudson Yang
Two-Time Tony Award Nominee André De Shields, Bowman Wright, E. Faye Butler, KenYatta Rogers, Jessica Frances Dukes and Michael Anthony Williams Set for Arena Stage’s King Hedley II, February 6- March 8, 2015
Broadway Barkada’s 4th Annual “So This Is Love” Concert at The Cutting Room on February 8
Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. (1938-2014); Memorial Set for February 14, 2015
Duwende Performs at Rockwood Music Hall on February 16; Photos of Concert with m-pact at The Bitter End
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by GK

André De Shields. Photo by Lia Chang

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is presenting August Wilson’s classic drama King Hedley II. Set in the 1980s Hill District of Pittsburgh, the ninth installment of Pulitzer Prize winner Wilson’s acclaimed play cycle examining Black America follows a scarred ex-convict who struggles to turn his life around and lock away his past. The drama is directed by Timothy Douglas, who worked with the late playwright on the world premiere of Radio Golf and has directed eight plays out of Wilson’s 10-play cycle. King Hedley II runs February 6-March 8, 2015 in the Fichandler Stage. Arena Stage is located at 1101 Sixth St., SW, Washington, DC, the facility is only one block from the Waterfront (SEU) green line Metro stop.

Bowman Wright stars as King, the returning ex-convict with seven years of prison haunting him. Wright, who was last seen at Arena Stage as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in The Mountaintop, is joined by returning Arena Stage cast members E. Faye Butler (Smokey Joe’s Café, Pullman Porter Blues, Oklahoma!) as Ruby and KenYatta Rogers (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) as Mister. Making their Arena Stage debuts are Two-Time Tony Award nominee André De Shields (Broadway’s The Full Monty, Ain’t Misbehavin’) as Stool Pigeon, Jessica Frances Dukes (Playwrights Horizons’ Bootycandy) as Tonya and Michael Anthony Williams (Round House’s Two Trains Running) as Elmore.

King Hedley II director Timothy Douglas, Michael Anthony Williams, André De Shields, E. Faye Butler, Bowman Wright and KenYatta Rogers. Photo courtesy of Arena Stage

“Playwrights like Eugene O’Neill wanted to write cycles of plays, but it was only August Wilson who completed his brilliant 10-play cycle,” shares Artistic Director Molly Smith. “These plays are strong and contemporary and have already stood the test of time. Arena Stage has a long history of producing many plays in the cycle, from Fences to Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. I know Timothy Douglas and our terrific cast will take King Hedley II and deliver the powerful storytelling that August Wilson intended.”

Artistic Director Molly Smith and cast member André De Shields. Photo courtesy of Arena Stage

“August Wilson’s seminal King Hedley II provides a searing insight into the complex life and trials of a black American man,” adds Douglas. “Through powerful and stirring spoken word-operatic in scope-the triumphant arias from Hedley and his Pittsburgh Hill District crew provide the very ignition that has sent present-day America into the streets to voice its rallying cry ‘Black Lives Matter’!”

The creative team for King Hedley II includes set designer Tony Cisek, costume designer Ilona Somogyi, lighting designer Allen Lee Hughes, sound designer Ryan Rumery, New York casting Geoff Josselson, stage manager William E. Cruttenden III and assistant stage manager Marne Anderson.

August Wilson

August Wilson (Playwright) authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II and Radio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experience of African-Americans, decade-by-decade, over the course of the 20th century. His plays have been produced at regional theaters across the country and all over the world, as well as on Broadway. In 2003, Mr. Wilson made his professional stage debut in his one-man show, How I Learned What I Learned. Mr. Wilson’s works garnered many awards including Pulitzer Prizes for Fences and The Piano Lesson; a Tony Award for Fences; an Olivier Award for Jitney; and eight New York Drama Critics Circle Awards. The cast recording of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom received a 1985 Grammy Award, and Mr. Wilson received a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation of The Piano Lesson. Mr. Wilson’s early works included the one-act plays The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming and the musical satire Black Bart and the Sacred Hills. Mr. Wilson received Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwriting, the Whiting Writers Award, the 2003 Heinz Award, was awarded a 1999 National Humanities Medal by the President of the United States and received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities, as well as the only high school diploma ever issued by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He was an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 1995 inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and on October 16, 2005, Broadway renamed the theater located at 245 West 52nd Street, The August Wilson Theatre. Mr. Wilson was posthumously inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2007. He was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and lived in Seattle, Washington at the time of his death. He is immediately survived by his two daughters, Sakina Ansari and Azula Carmen Wilson, and his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero.

Director Timothy Douglas, lighting designer Allen Lee Hughes and cast member Michael Anthony Williams. Photo courtesy of Arena Stage

Timothy Douglas (Director) makes his Arena Stage debut with this production of King Hedley II. Other Washington area credits include Two Trains Running, The Trip to Bountiful, Permanent Collection and A Lesson Before Dying at Round House; Insurrection: Holding History at Theatre Alliance (two Helen Hayes nominations); the world premiere of The Last Orbit of Billy Mars at Woolly Mammoth and his Caribbean-inspired Much Ado About Nothing at the Folger. Recent credits include the world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s The Lake Effect for Silk Road Rising (Chicago’s Jeff Award for Best New Work), off-Broadway’s Bronte: A Portrait Of Charlotte and the world premiere of August Wilson’s Radio Golf for Yale Repertory Theatre. He is currently an Associate Artist at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, where he has directed Clybourne Park, The North Pool and the world premiere of Safe House, and served as Associate Artistic Director at Actors Theatre of Louisville, where he directed 10 productions including three Humana Festival premieres. Timothy has directed over 100 projects for ACT, Guthrie, Berkeley Rep, Center Theatre Group, South Coast Rep, Steppenwolf, Playmakers Rep, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Downstage (NZ), National Theatret (Norway), Milwaukee Rep and many others. He is also a Linklater voice instructor and has served on the faculties of ACT, USC, North Carolina School of the Arts, New Zealand Drama School and Emerson College and holds an MFA in acting from Yale.

E. Faye Butler

E. FAYE BUTLER (Ruby)’s previous Arena Stage productions include Smokey Joe’s Café, Pullman Porter Blues, Trouble in Mind, Oklahoma!, Crowns, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Polk County and Dinah Was. She performed with the Washington Ballet in The Great Gatsby and Blues Until June at the Kennedy Center. National and regional tours include Mamma Mia, Dinah Was, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Nunsense and Don’t Bother Me…. E. Faye has appeared at regional theaters such as Signature Theatre, Centerstage, La Jolla Playhouse, Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Lincolnshire Theatre, Dallas Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Yale Repertory and Pasadena Playhouse. She is the recipient of six Jeff Awards, three Black Theatre Alliance Awards, an After Dark Award, John Barrymore Award, R.A.M.I. Award, two Helen Hayes Awards and seven nominations, Excellence in the Arts Award, Ovation Award, 2011 Sarah Siddons Society Leading Lady Award, 2012 Lunt-Fontaine Fellow and 2014 Kathryn V. Lamkey Award.

ANDRÉ DE SHIELDS (Stool Pigeon) is making his Arena Stage debut. Other Washington appearances include Jacob Strand in Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts at Shakespeare Theatre Company, the title role in King Lear at Folger Theatre and the 10th anniversary revival of Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the National Theatre. In a career spanning 45 years, André has distinguished himself as an unparalleled actor, director and educator. A multiple Tony Award nominee, he is the recipient of the 2012 Fox Foundation Fellowship/Distinguished Achievement, the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival’s Living Legend Award and the 2007 Village Voice OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. He is best known for his show-stopping performances in six legendary Broadway productions: Impressionism (with Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen), Mark Medoff’s Prymate, The Full Monty, Play On!, Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Emmy Award) and The Wiz. Television credits include “Rescue Me”; “Law & Order”; “Law & Order: SVU”; “Sex and the City”; “Cosby”; “Life on Mars” and “Lipstick Jungle”. www.andredeshields.com Namaste!

Jessica Frances Dukes

JESSICA FRANCES DUKES (Tonya)’s D.C. credits include Bootycandy, In the Next Room, Full Circle, Eclipsed, Fever/Dream, Antebellum and Starving (Woolly Mammoth Theatre, company member); The Conference of The Birds (Folger Theatre); The Piano Lesson (Olney Theatre); Passing Strange and Caroline, or Change (Studio Theatre); Trip to Bountiful and Permanent Collection (Round House); Jitney (Fords Theatre); Spunk (Tribute Productions, Helen Hayes nomination); The Bluest Eye and Insurrection: Holding History (Theater Alliance) and more. Regional credits include Beneatha’s Place and Clybourne Park (Centerstage); Stick Fly (Arden Theatre), A Raisin in the Sun and The Piano Lesson (Geva Theatre); The Piano Lesson (Indiana Rep); Trip to Bountiful (Cleveland Playhouse) and more. Off-Broadway credits include Bootycandy at Playwrights Horizons. TV credits include “A Raisin in the Sun Revisited” on PBS. MFA from The Catholic University of America. www.jessicafrancesdukes.com

KenYatta Rogers

KENYATTA ROGERS (Mister) returns to Arena Stage after performing in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Regional credits include Two Trains Running, Eurydice and A Lesson Before Dying (Round House Theatre); Holly Down in Heaven (Forum Theatre); Topdog/Underdog and A Raisin in the Sun (Everyman Theatre); Fever/Dream (Woolly Mammoth); Jitney (Ford’s Theatre); Colossal (Olney Theatre Center); Comedy of Errors (Folger Theatre); The Piano Lesson (Trustus Theatre); Coriolanus (Shakespeare & Company) and As You Like It, Spunk and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (African Continuum Theatre). KenYatta received Helen Hayes nominations for performances in Insurrection: Holding History at Theatre Alliance and Glengarry Glen Ross at Round House Theatre (two nominations, one win). TV credits including the PBS series “Standard Deviants’ Television”. KenYatta received his MFA in Acting from the University of Pittsburgh and is currently a faculty member in Montgomery College’s Department of Speech, Dance, and Theatre. To Kasai, his heart, to Mecca, his soul, to Michelle, his all.

Michael Anthony Williams

MICHAEL ANTHONY WILLIAMS (Elmore) is ecstatic to be making his Arena Stage debut. Other Washington appearances include RACE and Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide at Theater J; Two Trains Running, Treasure Island and Jesus Hopped the A Train at Round House Theater; Master Harold and the Boys at Studio Theater; Starving and We Are Proud to Present at Woolly Mammoth Theater; Jitney and To Kill a Mockingbird at Ford’s Theater and Two Trains Running and Nomathemba at The Kennedy Center. Off Broadway credits include Persephone at BAM. Regional credits include Nomathemba at Steppenwolf and Schubert Theaters, Of Mice and Men at Cincinnati Playhouse and To Kill a Mockingbird at Capital Rep. Michael Anthony is a proud former member of The Second City Theater Company in Chicago. Film credits include The Brave One, The Replacements, Contact and Unbreakable. TV credits include “FBI Files,” “Homicide: Life on the Streets” and “The Wire”. Michael dedicates his body of creative work to his daughter Margarita Williams.

Bowman Wright

BOWMAN WRIGHT (King) is excited to return to Arena Stage, where he was last seen as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in The Mountaintop. Theater credits include Our Lady of Kibeho (Nkango) at Signature Theatre Company; TogDog/UnderDog (Lincoln) at Marin Theatre Company; A Raisin in the Sun (Walter Lee Younger) at Geva Theatre Center; A Midsummer Night’s Dream at La Jolla Playhouse; The Dreamer Examines His Pillow (Tommy) at Shakespeare & Company; The Piano Lesson (Lymon) at Virginia Stage; Since Africa (Ater Dhal) and A House with No Walls (Jacob, Austin) at Interact Theatre; Fences (Cory) at Actors Theatre of Louisville and Death and the King’s Horsemen at Lantern Theatre. Films credits include Sight (Lionsgate Productions) and Vinson (Sainvil Productions). TV credits include “Person of Interest,” “Blue Bloods” and “Elementary”. Bowman is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego.

Executive Producer Edgar Dobie and cast member Jessica Frances Dukes. Photo courtesy of Arena Stage

Performance Schedule:
Fri 2/6/15 8:00PM
Sat 2/7/15 8:00PM
Sun 2/8/15 2:00PM
Sun 2/8/15 7:30PM
Tue 2/10/15 7:30PM
Wed 2/11/15 7:30PM
Fri 2/13/15 8:00PM
Sat 2/14/15 2:00PM
Sat 2/14/15 8:00PM
Sun 2/15/15 2:00PM
Sun 2/15/15 7:30PM
Tue 2/17/15 7:30PM
Wed 2/18/15 12:00PM
Wed 2/18/15 7:30PM
Thu 2/19/15 8:00PM
Fri 2/20/15 8:00PM
Sat 2/21/15 8:00PM
Sun 2/22/15 2:00PM
Sun 2/22/15 7:30PM
Tue 2/24/15 12:00PM
Tue 2/24/15 7:30PM
Wed 2/25/15 7:30PM
Thu 2/26/15 8:00PM
Fri 2/27/15 8:00PM
Sat 2/28/15 2:00PM
Sat 2/28/15 8:00PM
Sun 3/1/15 6:00PM
Tue 3/3/15 7:30PM
Wed 3/4/15 12:00PM
Wed 3/4/15 7:30PM
Thu 3/5/15 8:00PM
Fri 3/6/15 8:00PM
Sat 3/7/15 2:00PM
Sat 3/7/15 8:00PM
Sun 3/8/15 7:30PM
Click here to purchase tickets.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
FEB. 4: “Fresh Off the Boat” Live Community Viewing Party at THE CIRCLE NYC with Hudson Yang
MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, starring Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song, Begins Previews February 3
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Production Photos: Stephen Adly Guirgis’ BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at Second Stage Theatre
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
Video Preview: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead Airs February 3
FEB. 4: “Fresh Off the Boat” Live Community Viewing Party at THE CIRCLE NYC with Hudson Yang
Broadway Barkada’s 4th Annual “So This Is Love” Concert at The Cutting Room on February 8
Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. (1938-2014); Memorial Set for February 14, 2015
Duwende Performs at Rockwood Music Hall on February 16; Photos of Concert with m-pact at The Bitter End
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by GK

George Takei will make his Broadway debut in Allegiance, a new American musical, next season at a Shubert Theater to be announced. Previews are set to begin on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 with opening night set for Sunday, November 8, 2015.

(center, from left) Lea Salonga as Kei Kimura, Telly Leung as Sammy Kimura, George Takei as Ojii-san and Paul Nakauchi as Tatsuo Kimura with the cast of the World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.

Allegiance, helmed by Olivier Award nominee Stafford Arima (London’s Ragtime, Off-Broadway’s Bare, Carrie, Altar Boyz), had its world premiere in a record-breaking engagement at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. Allegiance has book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo and Lorenzo Thione with music and lyrics by Kuo, and is produced by Lorenzo Thione and Andrew Treagus.

Allegiance was inspired by the real life childhood of George Takei, the original and beloved Mr. Sulu from “Star Trek”, film and television star, activist and social media icon. It is a touching and uplifting story about a family’s love, loss and heroism during the period of the Japanese -American internment in World War II. A tale that will resonate with everyone: a story you’ve never heard about a family you will never forget.

Producer Thione says, “Allegiance takes audiences on an uplifting and emotional journey into a too-often overlooked moment in American history, and does so with both dignity and humor. The result is life-affirming and extraordinary. After seeing how audiences reacted to this story in San Diego, we knew we had to get it to Broadway.”

Additional information, including complete casting, will be announced shortly. For more information go to www.AllegianceMusical.com

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia starred as Carole Barbara in Lorey Hayes’ Power Play at the 2013 National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Pauletta Pearson Washington, Roscoe Orman, and made her jazz vocalist debut in Rome Neal’s Banana Puddin’ Jazz “LADY” at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York. She is profiled in Jade Magazine.

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, starring Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song, Begins Previews February 3
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Production Photos: Stephen Adly Guirgis’ BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at Second Stage Theatre
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
Video & Photos: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead Airs February 3
Two-Time Tony Award Nominee André De Shields, Bowman Wright, E. Faye Butler, KenYatta Rogers, Jessica Frances Dukes and Michael Anthony Williams Set for Arena Stage’s King Hedley II, February 6- March 8, 2015
Broadway Barkada’s 4th Annual “So This Is Love” Concert at The Cutting Room on February 8
Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. (1938-2014); Memorial Set for February 14, 2015
Duwende Performs at Rockwood Music Hall on February 16; Photos of Concert with m-pact at The Bitter End
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Garland Lee Thompson, Sr.

A celebration of the life and legacy of Garland Lee Thompson, Sr., New York theatre producer, writer, director, actor, co-founder and Executive Director of the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop, is scheduled for Saturday, February 14, 2015 in two “acts.”

Act 1: The Memorial will be held at 11:00AM at St. James Presbyterian Church, 409 West 141st Street at St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem, NY.

Act 2: The Presentation – Reception 3:00PM at Theater at Theater for the New City (Johnson Theater), 155 First Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets. Garland Thompson, Jr. and Sean C. Turner will host an afternoon of readings, poetry, performances, birthday celebration and a reception in Thompson’s honor.

Born on February 14, 1938 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Garland Lee Thompson, Sr., passed away quickly and peacefully on November 18, 2014. He was 76 years old.

He is survived by his two children, Alexandria Dionne and Garland Lee Thompson, Jr.; his two grandchildren, Colson Oliver and Hazel Duncan; his sisters Shirley Thompson, and Addie Jean Haynes, his brother, Jim Thompson; his nephews Dr. Bryan Haynes DDS, and Oscar Haynes Jr., his niece Karen Haynes, and a host of other cousins and relatives.

His mother, Sylvia Thompson, owned a successful restaurant in Muskogee called Homey Foods, a tremendous feat at the time for an African American woman in the 1930s-40s. His father, James Thompson, was in the Merchant Marines. When Thompson was 7 years old, he moved with his family to Portland, Or. He attended Jefferson High School in Portland, where he discovered his love of theater and dance. Thompson was 20 when he moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and performing fulltime. One of the first professional roles he landed was as a Firetender – Boar’s Tooth Ceremonial Dancer, in the 1958 Hollywood musical film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific.

Garland Lee Thompson as Transporter Technician Ensign Wilson in “THE ENEMY WITHIN” – STAR TREK: TOS – Episode #5

In the 60’s, Thompson had roles on TV – “The Lieutenant,” “Perry Mason,” “Bewitched.” In 1964, Thompson’s turn as the title character in the short film, The Legend of Jimmy Blue Eyes, garnered the film’s director, Robert Clouse, a Golden Globe Award, an Edinburgh International Film Festival Award, a Best Live Action Short Film Oscar nomination, and a nomination for the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film. In 1966, Thompson was cast as Transporter Technician Wilson on Star Trek, in the episode, “The Enemy Within.” He also was a crewman in the “TOS: Charlie X” episode. During this time, Thompson worked as a stage manager for Ray Bradbury’s plays in Los Angeles. In 1971, Thompson moved to New York to be the original stage manager for Charles Gordone’s No Place to Be Somebody on its first national tour, and on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre. The cast starred Terry Alexander and Philip Thomas, and featured Mary Alice, Henry Baker, Julius W. Harris, Elaine Kerry and Ian Sander. He went on to direct two more national tours. Gordone was the first African American playwright to win a Pulitzer Prize.

Original Playbill for NO PLACE TO BE SOMEBODY, September 1, 1971. Photo courtesy of www.playbillvault.com

Original Playbill for NO PLACE TO BE SOMEBODY, September 1, 1971. Photo courtesy of http://www.playbillvault.com

Two years later Thompson went on to stage manage another historic Broadway production for the Negro Ensemble Company, Joseph A. Walker’s The River Niger at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

Garland Lee Thompson Jr. at the “harlem is …Theater” at The Interchurch Center in New York on December 17, 2014. Photo by Lia Chang

He co-founded the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop, along with famed actor/director Morgan Freeman, director/actress Billie Allen Henderson, and journalist Clayton Riley, as a living memorial to the life, and work of his mentor, the late actor, director, teacher and producer, Frank Silvera.

The Workshop has been based in the heart of Harlem, New York, for the past 40 years, and has built a long, time honored and prestigious reputation as a nationally and internationally renowned playwrights’ development theatre for upcoming and established artists from all over the world.

Thompson created the Readers Theatre Series at the prestigious National Black Theatre Festival, and was recently honored at the “Harlem is…Theater” Exhibition at The Interchurch Center in New York, that was on view through January 6, 2015.

Other articles by Lia Chang:
THE GET DOWN, Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama Series Set in 1970s NYC That Gave Birth to Hip-Hop, Punk and Disco, to Premiere on Netflix in 2016
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, starring Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song, Begins Previews February 3
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
Video and Photos: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
Two-Time Tony Award Nominee André De Shields, Bowman Wright, E. Faye Butler, KenYatta Rogers, Jessica Frances Dukes and Michael Anthony Williams Set for Arena Stage’s King Hedley II, February 6- March 8, 2015
Broadway Barkada’s 4th Annual “So This Is Love” Concert at The Cutting Room on February 8
Duwende Performs at Rockwood Music Hall on February 16; Photos of Concert with m-pact at The Bitter End
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by GK

Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, continues its 2014/15 Season with Guadalupe in the Guest Room, a new play by Tony Meneses, directed by Daniella Topol. The production will run February 14-March 15, 2015, with the opening night on Friday, February 27 at 8pm. Tickets starting at $20 and ticket packages for Two River’s spring season of three world premieres are available from 732.345.1400 or tworivertheater.org. Guadalupe in the Guest Room is supported by lead production sponsor U.S. Trust.

Guadalupe in the Guest Room tells the story of two people—with nothing in common but a shared grief—who bond in the most unexpected ways. The play is a deeply moving and very funny celebration of life, new beginnings, and the healing power of telenovelas. The cast includes Deonna Bouye (Raquel), Alfredo Huereca (Roberto), Socorro Santiago (Guadalupe), and Charles Socarides (Steve).

“Guadalupe in the Guest Room is an exquisite play,” says Artistic Director John Dias. “The writing is warm and often very funny, and the characters are exquisitely drawn, so real you feel like they’re your friends. Tony Meneses achieves something I have never seen so beautifully captured: the state of confusion when you’re surrounded by a language not your own—and the joy of a connection that transcends language. Infused through the entire piece is a bittersweet sense of loss, the ache that underscores everything when a loved one has been lost.”

Playwright Tony Meneses is currently a 2015/2016 Ars Nova Play Group Resident Playwright and a 2014/2015 Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow. He is the recipient of The Kennedy Center ACTF Latino Playwriting Award and was a finalist for the National Latino Playwriting Award.

Director Daniella Topol’s recent world-premiere productions include Martyna Majok’s Ironbound (Steppenwolf Theatre) and Cori Thomas’s When January Feels Like Summer (EST/P73). She directed A Wind in the Willows Christmas at Two River last season.

The creative team for Guadalupe in the Guest Room includes scenic designer Marion Williams, costume designer Karen Perry, lighting designer Jiyoun Chang, sound designer Jane Shaw, and wig designer Erin Hicks. The fight director is J. Steven White, the dialect coach isRosie Berrido, the casting is by Zoe Rotter, and the production stage manager is Kate Croasdale.

Ticket Information

Ticket prices range from $45 to $65, with discounts available for groups, seniors, and U.S. military personnel, their families, and veterans. A limited number of $20 tickets are available for every performance; $20 tickets may be partial view. Tickets for patrons under 30 are $20 and include the best available seats at every performance. Tickets are available from tworivertheater.org or 732.345.1400.

Nosotros: A Day at the Theater
March 7, 2015 from 2:30-4:30pm
A special afternoon for parents, grandparents, and children!
At this special performance, Guadalupe in the Guest Room will be translated into Spanish via a screen visible to the audience. The performance will last from 3-4:30 pm. While the adults in the family watch the play, their children and grandchildren will enjoy stories, theater games, and snacks in the theater lobby under the supervision of bilingual teaching artists and babysitters. These family-friendly events will take place between the hours of 2:30 and 4:30pm. This special event is presented as part of Two River’s ongoing Nosotrosseries and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance’s Stages Festival, the state’s largest annual theater festival that provides discounted and free theater performances, workshops and, events for all ages throughout the month of March. Tickets for this performance are $10; patrons should use the code “Spanish captions” when booking.

Inside Two River
Inside Two River is a series of events specially curated for each Two River Theater production. For more information or to reserve seats, patrons should visit tworivertheater.org or call 732.345.1400.

Arts & Crafts: Make Your Own Sugar Skull Valentine
Thursday, February 12 from 7-9pm
Local artist Lisa Marie O’Connell will guide participants through the process of decorating flower pots with painted Mexican sugar skulls and handmade colorful paper flowers. Sugar skulls, a tradition dating back to the 18^th century, are given to the living and the dead in the Mexican culture, similar to giving valentines as a way to say, “I love you forever.” Participants will also get behind-the-scenes insights intoGuadalupe in the Guest Room from Literary Manager Anika Chapin. Cost: $10 per person (includes: supplies and light snacks). Reservations and payment required prior to event. Patrons can book a spot by calling Two River Theater’s box office at 732.345.1400 or visiting www.tworivertheater.org.

Special post-play discussion with Brian Eugenio Herrera
Wednesday, February 18 following the 1pm matinee performance
Brian Eugenio Herrera is Assistant Professor of Theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University. His book Latin Numbers: Playing Latino in Twentieth Century U.S. Popular Performance is forthcoming from University of Michigan Press.

Book Club: Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Sunday, March 8 at 4:30pm in the Victoria Mastrobuono Library (following the 3pm performance)
Guadalupe in the Guest Room is a new play about a Mexican woman, Guadalupe, who must learn to find a connection with her American son-in-law after the unexpected death of her daughter. Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, Wild, tells of her attempt to find healing by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail after the devastating death of her mother. Literary Manager Anika Chapin will lead a discussion of love, loss, and unexpected sources of healing.

The Art of Dealing with Life-Changing Events
Saturday, March 14 from 4:30–6pm in the Two River Theater Lobby
Using the characters from Guadalupe in the Guest Room as examples, Resilience Strategist Barbara Rubel will lead workshop attendees through the Palette of Grief: The Art of Dealing with Life-Changing Events. This hands-on activity visually captures emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and physical and spiritual reactions due to difficult life events, allowing attendees to explore their unique loss experiences and find meaning in grief. Important to note: This activity should not be completed when a person has recently experienced a loss and is acutely feeling intense reactions. Also, no participant will be expected to share their experiences with the group. The activity can be completely with or without collaboration from other attendees. There is no cost to attend this workshop. Space is limited and RSVPs are strongly suggested. Patrons can book a spot by calling Two River Theater’s box office at 732.345.1400 or visitingwww.tworivertheater.org.

Audience Extras
Before Play and Lobby Display
Audiences will learn more about this production in Two River’s Before Play lecture series, which takes place 45 minutes prior to every performance, and Lobby Display.

Post-Play Conversations
Discussions with the cast and a member of Two River’s Artistic staff will take place on Wednesday, February 25 at 7 pm; Sunday, March 1 at 3pm; and Wednesday, March 4 at 1pm.

Access and Virtual Tour
Working with Google, Two River has created and launched a virtual tour of its facility, which lives on Google Maps andtworivertheater.org. This virtual tour provides an additional level of support and benefit for patrons who use wheelchairs or require other assistance by allowing them to virtually come through the theater’s front doors and view the space in detail in advance of their visit.

An audio-described performance is scheduled for Wednesday, March 11 at 1pm and an open-captioned performance is scheduled for Saturday, March 14 at 3pm. Tickets are available at a discounted rate of $25 for patrons using these services. To reserve wheelchair-accessible seating or tickets to a performance listed above, patrons should call 732.345.1400 or e-mail boxoffice@trtc.org.

Calendar
Saturday, February 14 at 8pm
Sunday, February 15 at 3pm
Wednesday, February 18 at 1pm and 7pm
Thursday, February 19 at 8pm
Friday, February 20 at 8pm
Saturday, February 21 at 3pm and 8pm
Sunday, February 22 at 3pm
Wednesday February 25 at 1pm and 7pm
Thursday, February 26 at 10am (student matinee) and 8pm
Friday, February 27 at 8pm (Opening Night)
Saturday, February 28 at 3pm and 8pm
Sunday, March 1 at 3pm
Wednesday, March 4 at 1pm and 7pm
Thursday, March 5 at 10am (student matinee) and at 8pm
Friday, March 6 at 8pm
Saturday, March 7 at 3pm and 8pm
Sunday, March 8 at 3pm
Wednesday, March 11 at 1pm and 7pmT
Thursday, March 12 at 10am (student matinee) and at 8pm
Friday, March 13 at 8pm
Saturday, March 14 at 3pm and 8pm
Sunday, March 15 at 3pm

Sponsorship
Guadalupe in the Guest Room is supported by lead sponsor U.S. Trust. Inside Two River is sponsored by The William T. Morris Foundation. The Before Play series is sponsored by Zager Fuchs, PC.

Two River Theater is supported in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a division within the Department of State and a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Stone Foundation of New Jersey, Monmouth University, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Durso Wealth Management Group at Morgan Stanley, Investors Bank, Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, William T. Morris Foundation, Springpoint Senior Living Foundation at the Atrium at Navesink Harbor, and many other generous foundations, corporations and individuals.

Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, creates great American theater performed by award-winning artists. We produce American and world masterpieces, and new plays and musicals. Two River Theater offers new-play commissions and artistic development activities that support the most adventurous artists in the American theater; invites its audience to be part of the creative process through readings and open rehearsals; and cultivates students and young people to participate in innovative arts-education programs and become a new generation of theatergoers. Founded in 1994 by Joan and Dr. Robert M. Rechnitz, Two River Theater is easily accessible by car, train, or bus, with great restaurants and shopping within walking distance of the theater. For more information, visit tworivertheater.org or call 732.345.1400.

Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig

Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s The World of Extreme Happiness, currently in previews at MTC’s New York City Center – Stage I, a co-production of The Manhattan Theatre Club’s and Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, has been named among 12 finalists for the 2014-2015 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, its prestigious playwriting award, the oldest and largest prize awarded to women playwrights.

The World of Extreme Happiness follows Sunny (Jennifer Lim), unwanted from the moment she’s born, who is determined to escape her life in rural China and forge a new identity in the city. As naïve as she is ambitious, Sunny views her new job in a grueling factory as a stepping stone to untold opportunities. When fate casts her as a company spokeswoman at a sham PR event, Sunny’s bright outlook starts to unravel in a series of harrowing and darkly comic events, as she begins to question a system enriching itself by destroying its own people.

Directed by Eric Ting, the MTC cast of The World of Extreme Happiness features Francis Jue (M. Butterfly, “The Good Wife”), Telly Leung (“Glee,” Godspell), Jennifer Lim (Chinglish, This Isn’t Romance at London’s Soho Theatre), Jo Mei (New York stage debut and star of the acclaimed independent film A Picture of You), James Saito (Golden Child, “Life of Pi”), and Sue Jin Song (Paula Vogel’s Hot ‘n Throbbing) Opening night is Tuesday, February 24, 2015. www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

Cowhig’s plays have been produced at the National Theatre, Trafalgar Studios 2, and the Goodman Theatre. Her plays have been awarded the Wasserstein Prize, the Yale Drama Series Award, and the Keene Prize for Literature. She is currently under commission from Manhattan Theatre Club, the Goodman Theatre, and the National Theatre. Cowhig received an MFA in Writing from the Michener Center for Writers, a BA from Brown University, and a certificate in Ensemble-Based Physical Theatre from Dell’Arte International. Her plays have been published by Yale University Press and Methuen Drama. She is currently a Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence at Manhattan Theatre Club.

Chosen from over 150 nominated plays, the Finalists are:

Lisa D’Amour (U.S.)- Airline Highway

Alice Birch (U.K.)- Revolt. She said. Revolt again.

Alecky Blythe (U.K.)- Little Revolution

Clare Barron (U.S.)- You Got Older

Clara Brennan (U.K.)- Spine

Katherine Chandler (U.K.)-Parallel Lines

Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig (U.S.)- The World of Extreme Happiness

Lindsey Ferrentino (U.S.)- Ugly Lies the Bone

Zodwa Nyoni (U.K.)- Boi Boi Is Dead

Heidi Schreck (U.S.)- Grand Concourse

Ruby Rae Spiegel (U.S.)- Dry Land

Tena Štivii (U.K.and Croatia)- 3 Winters

The Winner of the 2014-2015 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize will be named at the Awards Presentation on March 2 in New York City. The Winner will be awarded a cash prize of $25,000, and will also receive a signed print by renowned artist Willem de Kooning, created especially for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Each of the additional Finalists will receive an award of $5,000.

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, co-founded by Emilie S. Kilgore and William Blackburn, honors outstanding new English-language plays by women. Many of the Winners have gone on to receive other honors, including Olivier, Lilly, Evening Standard and Tony Awards for Best Play. Eight Blackburn Finalist plays have subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The Houston-based Susan Smith Blackburn Prize reflects the values and interests of Susan Smith Blackburn, noted American actress and writer who lived in London during the last 15 years of her life. She died in 1977 at the age of 42. Over 350 plays have been honored as Finalists since the Prize was instituted in 1977.

In 2013, Prize founder Emilie S. Kilgore was awarded a Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award for her work promoting women playwrights. The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize received the 2010 Theatre Communications Group’s National Funder Award. The annual honor goes to a company, foundation or other entity for “leadership and sustained national support of theater in America.”

Last year’s Winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Chimerica by Lucy Kirkwood also won the U.K.’s Olivier Award for Best New Play and the Evening Standard Award for Best Play. Subsequent to winning the 2012-2013 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for The Flick, Annie Baker was honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a Steinberg Playwright Award as well as with the Horton Foote Legacy Project. The Nether by Jennifer Haley, Winner of the 2011-2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, will receive its New York premiere opening February 4 in a production by MCC Theater at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, directed by Anne Kaufmann. In the U.K., the Royal Court’s production of The Nether, directed by Jeremy Herrin, is transferring for a run on the West End, set to open on February 23.

Other recipients of the Prize include Caryl Churchill’s Serious Money, Katori Hall’s Hurt Village, Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive, Chloe Moss’s This Wide Night, Judith Thompson’s Palace of the End, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s Behzti (Dishonour), Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House, Rona Munro’s Bold Girls, Dael Orlandersmith’s Yellowman, Julia Cho’s The Language Archive, Gina Gionfriddo’s U.S. Drag, Bridget Carpenter’s Fall, Charlotte Jones’ Humble Boy, Naomi Wallace’s One Flea Spare, and Moira Buffini’s Silence.

The international panel of Judges for the 2014-2015 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize includes, in the U.S., actor Carmen Herlihy, director Liesl Tommy and Chay Yew, artistic director of Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theatre. U.K. judges are BAFTA and Emmy award-winning actor Rebecca Hall, playwright Rona Munro and National Theatre associate director Bijan Sheibani.

Former judges of The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize over the past thirty-seven years are a Who’s Who of the English-speaking theatre and include Edward Albee, Eileen Atkins, Blair Brown, Zoe Caldwell, Jill Clayburgh, Glenn Close, Harold Clurman, Colleen Dewhurst, Edie Falco, Ralph Fiennes, John Guare, A.R. Gurney, Mel Gussow, David Hare, Jessica Hecht, Judith Ivey, Tony Kushner, Phyllida Lloyd, Francis McDormand, Cynthia Nixon, Janet McTeer, Marsha Norman, Jim Parsons, Joan Plowright, Marian Seldes, Fiona Shaw, Max Stafford-Clark, Tom Stoppard, Meryl Streep, Daniel Sullivan, Jessica Tandy, Paula Vogel, Sigourney Weaver, Wendy Wasserstein, August Wilson and George C. Wolfe among more than 200 artists in the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Video and Photos: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
THE GET DOWN, Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama Series Set in 1970s NYC That Gave Birth to Hip-Hop, Punk and Disco, to Premiere on Netflix in 2016
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Production Photos: Stephen Adly Guirgis’ BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at Second Stage Theatre
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
Two-Time Tony Award Nominee André De Shields, Bowman Wright, E. Faye Butler, KenYatta Rogers, Jessica Frances Dukes and Michael Anthony Williams Set for Arena Stage’s King Hedley II, February 6- March 8, 2015
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Second Stage Theatre’s remount of the Atlantic Theater Company’s sold out production of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ acclaimed play, Between Riverside and Crazy, opens on February 11th, and has been extended through March 22, 2015.

Stephen McKinley Henderson, Victor Almanzar, Ron Cephas Jones. ©2015, Carol Rosegg

Helmed by Austin Pendleton, the cast lead by Stephen McKinley Henderson, who received rave reviews as Walter “Pops” Washington, Victor Almanzar as Oswaldo, Elizabeth Canavan as Detective O’Connor, Rosal Colón Lulu, Liza Colón-Zayas as Church Lady, Ron Cephas Jones as Junior, and Michael Rispoli as Lieutenant Caro has been knocking it out of the ball park since their first preview on January 16th at Second Stage Theatre’s Tony Kiser Theatre (305 West 43rd Street).

Stephen McKinley Henderson and Rosal Colón. ©2015, Carol Rosegg

City Hall is demanding more than his signature, the Landlord wants him out, the liquor store is closed – and the Church won’t leave him alone. For ex-cop and recent widower Walter “Pops” Washington and his recently paroled son Junior, the struggle to hold on to one of the last great rent stabilized apartments on Riverside Drive collides with old wounds, sketchy new houseguests, and a final ultimatum in this dark comedy. For Pops and Junior, it seems the Old Days are dead and gone – after a lifetime living Between Riverside and Crazy.

Stephen McKinley Henderson and Ron Cephas Jones. ©2015, Carol Rosegg

Recently featured on New York Times Theater Critic Ben Brantley’s Best Theater of 2014 List:

“Between Riverside and Crazy: The triumphant return of Stephen Adly Guirgis, who startled Broadway in 2011 by snatching a Tony nomination for best play for a work with an unprintable title. This gleefully agnostic account of the things we do for real estate (at least when you’re poor and in unlikely possession of prime Manhattan property) blithely crossed the lines between good and bad, comedy and tragedy, faith and skepticism without missing a step. Austin Pendleton directed a wonderful cast led by Stephen McKinley Henderson.”
Click here to see the complete list.

Between Riverside and Crazy features scenic design by Walt Spangler; costume design byAlexis Forte; lighting design by Keith Parham; and sound design and original music by Ryan Rumery.

Tickets are $75 (orchestra), $60 (Balcony), $67.50 (Senior), $125 premium*, $55 (subscription). Rush tickets are available one hour prior to curtain to full time high school or college students. $30 Under 30 tickets available in advance for patrons ages 30 and under. One valid ID required for each ticket purchased, based on availability. For tickets: call the box office at 212-246-4422 or 2ST.com. *A limited number of Premium Seats are available. Please call the box office at 212-246-4422 to reserve.

Stephen McKinley Henderson and Liza Colón-Zayas. Photo by Kevin Thomas Garcia

2014 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright recipient Stephen Adly Guirgis at the 2014 Steinberg Playwright Awards hosted by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust on November 17, 2014 in New York City. Photo by Lia Chang

STEPHEN ADLY GUIRGIS (Playwright) is a member and former co-artistic director of LAByrinth Theater Company. His plays have been produced on five continents and throughout the United States. They include Our Lady of 121st Street (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle Best Play Nominations), Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award, Barrymore Award, Olivier Nomination for London’s Best New Play), In Arabia, We’d All Be Kings (2007 LA Drama Critics Best Play, Best Writing Award), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (10 best Time Magazine & Entertainment Weekly), and The Little Flower of East Orange (with Ellen Burstyn & Michael Shannon). All five plays were directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and were originally produced by LAByrinth. His most recent play, The Motherf***er with the Hat (6 Tony nominations, including Best Play), was directed by Anna D. Shapiro and marked his third consecutive world premiere co-production with The Public Theater and LAByrinth. In London, his plays have premiered at The Donmar Warehouse, The Almeida (dir: Rupert Goold), The Hampstead (Robert Delamere), and at The Arts Theater in the West End. Other plays include Den of Thieves (Labyrinth, HERE, HAI, Black Dahlia) and Dominica The Fat Ugly Ho (dir: Adam Rapp) for the 2006 E.S.T. Marathon. He is currently collaborating with Academy Award nominated director Baz Luhrmann on a Netflix Series The Get Down, a 13-episode drama about the birth of hip-hop in the 1970s, which will air in 2016. He has received the Yale Wyndham-Campbell Prize, a PEN/Laura Pels Award, a Whiting Award, a TCG fellowship and the prestigious 2014 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award. He is also a New Dramatists Alumnae and a member of MCC’s Playwright’s Coalition, The Ojai Playwrights Festival, New River Dramatists, and Labyrinth Theater Company. As an actor, he has appeared in theater, film and television, including roles in Kenneth Lonergan’s film Margaret, Todd Solondz’s Palindromes, Brett C Leonard’s Jailbait opposite Michael Pitt and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman opposite Michael Keaton. A former violence prevention specialist and H.I.V. educator, he lives in New York City.

Austin Pendleton

AUSTIN PENDLETON (Director) returns to Second Stage Theatre where he staged the critically acclaimed production of Spoils of War. He has been most recently represented as a director by his productions in New York, of Gidion’s Knot (by Johnna Adams) at 59E59; Seagull69 (adapted from The Sea Gull) at Mississippi Mud; Ivanov, Three Sisters, and Uncle Vanya (all at CSC); and Look Homeward, Angel for Mother of Invention, among many other productions. Other credits include: in Chicago, works at Steppenwolf (where he is a member of the Ensemble) most recently by Tribes; in London at the National Theatre by Detroit by Lisa D’Amour; and in Little Rock by A Loss of Roses by William Inge, at Arkansas Rep. He is also an actor (Broadway, off- and off-off-Broadway, regional theatre, and many movies and TV appearances), playwright (his plays include Orson’s Shadow, Uncle Bob, and Booth), and (at HB Studio in New York) teacher of acting.

Stephen McKinley Henderson and Elizabeth Canavan. ©2015, Carol Rosegg.

Ron Cephas Jones and Rosal Colón. ©2015, Carol Rosegg

Stephen McKinley Henderson, Elizabeth Canavan, Michael Rispoli, Rosal Colón and Ron Cephas Jones. ©2015, Carol Rosegg

Ron Cephas Jones, Liza Colón-Zayas, Elizabeth Canavan, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Rosal Colón, Michael Rispoli and Victor Almanzar in the Second Stage Theatre green room on January 21, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Variety.com: Ken Jeong to Star in ABC Medical Comedy Pilot ‘Dr. Ken’
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
Rehearsal Photos: Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song in MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, February 3 – March 29
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
“Swimming Awkward Moment,” works by Arlan Huang on view at Trestle Gallery, February 20 – March 27
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Joe Mantegna and Danny Ramm Talk about ‘Criminal Minds’ Season 10 Episode Honoring Veterans and the late Meshach Taylor
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
Photos: Andrew Rannells and Zuzanna Szadkowski Visit Richard Thomas, Anna Chlumsky, Julie Halston and Annaleigh Ashford at YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career

Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by GK

Second Stage Theatre’s remount of Between Riverside and Crazy starring Stephen McKinley Henderson, Victor Almanzar, Elizabeth Canavan, Rosal Colón, Liza Colón-Zayas, Michael Rispoli and Ron Cephas Jones opened to rave reviews last night, and will continue performances through March 22nd. Click here to read the reviews.

Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, actor Stephen McKinley Henderson and director Austin Pendleton will be featured on Theater Talk, co-hosted by Michael Riedel of the New York Post and producer Susan Haskins. The show premieres in the New York metropolitan area on Friday, February 13 (2015) at 1 AM (early Saturday morning) on Thirteen/PBS, with repeats on CUNY TV* on Saturday 2/14 at 8:30 PM, Sunday 2/15 at 12:30 PM, and Monday 2/16 at 7:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 7:30 PM.

The trio discusses their collaboration on Guirgis’ new play, Between Riverside and Crazy at the Second Stage Theatre, about the off beat world of an aging police officer whose career was cut short in a shooting. In a freewheeling conversation, they also talk about the inspirations for their successful careers, as well as the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who got his first break from Pendleton and later was Guirgis’ mentor and collaborator.

*CUNY TV, the City University of New York television station, is broadcast over-the-air in the New York metropolitan area on digital Ch. 25.3, and cablecast in the 5 boroughs of New York City on Ch. 75 (Time Warner and Optimum Brooklyn), Ch. 77 (RCN), and Ch. 30 (Verizon FiOS). The program is also available online at www.cuny.tv and www.theatertalk.org, and via iTunes podcasts.

THEATER TALK is jointly produced by the not-for-profits Theater Talk Productions and CUNY TV. The program is taped in the Himan Brown TV and Radio Studios at The City University of New York in Manhattan and is distributed to 100+ participating public television stations nationwide. THEATER TALK is made possible in part by The New York State Council on the Arts, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The CUNY TV Foundation and The Friends of THEATER TALK.

Austin Pendleton

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
BAMcinématek presents John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA on February 13; Funko to Release Big Trouble in Little China Pop! and ReAction Figures
Variety.com: Ken Jeong to Star in ABC Medical Comedy Pilot ‘Dr. Ken’
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
Rehearsal Photos: Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song in MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, February 3 – March 29
The Greene Space at WNYC presents Preview Screenings of ABC’s FRESH OFF THE BOAT; Conversation with Amy Chua, Awkwafina & Jay Smooth, moderated by Jeff Yang
Video and Photos: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, starring Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song, Begins Previews February 3
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Signature Theatre’s production of Charles Mee’s BIG LOVE, directed by Tina Landau, is now in previews for a Monday, February 23 opening night in The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). The production runs through March 15, 2015. All tickets for the initial run of the production are $25 as part of the Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access.

The cast of BIG LOVE. Photo by T Charles Erickson.

The cast includes Emmanuel Brown (Signature’s Kung Fu) as Oed, Lynn Cohen (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) as Bella, Ellen Harvey (The Phantom of the Opera) as Eleanor, Ryan-James Hatanaka (King Lear) as Constantine, Christopher Innvar (The Snow Geese) as Piero, Rebecca Naomi Jones (American Idiot The Musical) as Lydia, Preston Sadleir (Top Five) as Giuliano, Stacey Sergeant (Signature’s Our Lady of Kibeho) as Thyona, Nathaniel Stampley (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess) as Leo, Bobby Steggert (Mothers and Sons) as Nikos, Libby Winters (American Idiot The Musical) as Olympia.

Rebecca Naomi Jones, Libby Winters and Stacey Sargeant. Photo by T Charles Erickson.

Fifty brides flee their fifty grooms and seek refuge in an Italian villa in this modern re-making of one of the world’s oldest plays, The Danaids by Aeschylus. Mayhem ensues, complete with grooms in flight suits, women throwing themselves to the ground, occasional pop songs and romantic dances – even a bride falling in love. Reuniting Signature’s 2007-08 Playwright-in-Residence Charles Mee with his longtime collaborator Tina Landau, Big Love is a colossal, poetic work that explores the hunger for independence, the burden of tradition, and the shape and size of love.

Bobby Steggert, Emmanuel Brown and Ryan-James Hatanaka. Photo by T Charles Erickson.

The design team includes Brett J. Banakis (Scenic Design), Anita Yavich (Costume Design), Scott Zielinski (Lighting Design), Kevin O’Donnell (Sound Design), Austin Switser (Projection Design),Rick Sordelet and Christian Kelly-Sordelet (Fight Direction). Lori Lundquist is the Production Stage Manager. Casting by Telsey + Company, Karyn Casl, CSA.

Supplemental programming has been set for Big Love. There will be post-show talkbacks on February 26, and March 3 and 10. Talkbacks brought to you by American Express. There will be a pre-show Art of Collaboration discussion with playwright Charles Mee and director Tina Landau on Wednesday, February 18 at 6pm. There will also be a pre-show Backstage Pass discussion with one of the production’s designers on March 5 at 6pm. These events are free and open to the public.

To purchase tickets for all Signature productions, call Ticket Services at 212-244-7529 (Tues. – Sun., 11am – 6pm) or visit signaturetheatre.org.

Tickets to the initial runs of all Signature productions at The Pershing Square Signature Center are $25, part of the groundbreaking Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access, a program that guarantees affordable and accessible tickets to every Signature production through 2031. Serving as a model for theatres and performing arts organizations across the country, the Initiative was founded in 2005 and is made possible by lead partner The Pershing Square Foundation. Additional support provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation, Margot Adams and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
BETWEEN RIVERSIDE & CRAZY’s Stephen Adly Guirgis, actor Stephen McKinley Henderson and director Austin Pendleton set for THEATER TALK on February 13
THE GET DOWN, Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama Series Set in 1970s NYC That Gave Birth to Hip-Hop, Punk and Disco, to Premiere on Netflix in 2016
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
BAMcinématek presents John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA on February 13; Funko to Release Big Trouble in Little China Pop! and ReAction Figures
Variety.com: Ken Jeong to Star in ABC Medical Comedy Pilot ‘Dr. Ken’
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
Rehearsal Photos: Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song in MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, February 3 – March 29
The Greene Space at WNYC presents Preview Screenings of ABC’s FRESH OFF THE BOAT; Conversation with Amy Chua, Awkwafina & Jay Smooth, moderated by Jeff Yang
Video and Photos: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, starring Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song, Begins Previews February 3
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Ellen Burstyn, Baz Luhrmann, John Leguizamo, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Patrick Shanley, David Henry Hwang, Liza Colón-Zayas, Kenneth Lonergan and More Celebrate Stephen Adly Guirgis at The Mimi Awards
Stephen Adly Guirgis to Receive the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at the Seventh Annual Steinberg Playwright “Mimi” Awards on November 17
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is presenting August Wilson’s classic drama King Hedley II. Set in the 1980s Hill District of Pittsburgh, the ninth installment of Pulitzer Prize winner Wilson’s acclaimed play cycle examining Black America follows a scarred ex-convict who struggles to turn his life around and lock away his past. The drama is directed by Timothy Douglas, who worked with the late playwright on the world premiere of Radio Golf and has directed eight plays out of Wilson’s 10-play cycle. King Hedley II began previews on February 6th and will continue through March 8, 2015 in the Fichandler Stage. Arena Stage is located at 1101 Sixth St., SW, Washington, DC, the facility is only one block from the Waterfront (SEU) green line Metro stop.

The cast of King Hedley II at Arena Stage (Photo: C. Stanley Photography)

Jessica Frances Dukes as Tonya, King Hedley II (Photo: C. Stanley Photography)

(l-r) KenYatta Rogers as Mister and Bowman Wright as King in King Hedley II at Arena Stage (Photo: C. Stanley Photography)

André De Shields as Stool Pigeon in King Hedley II at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, February 6-March 8, 2015. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.

August Wilson

Performance Schedule:
Thu 2/19/15 8:00PM
Fri 2/20/15 8:00PM
Sat 2/21/15 8:00PM
Sun 2/22/15 2:00PM
Sun 2/22/15 7:30PM
Tue 2/24/15 12:00PM
Tue 2/24/15 7:30PM
Wed 2/25/15 7:30PM
Thu 2/26/15 8:00PM
Fri 2/27/15 8:00PM
Sat 2/28/15 2:00PM
Sat 2/28/15 8:00PM
Sun 3/1/15 6:00PM
Tue 3/3/15 7:30PM
Wed 3/4/15 12:00PM
Wed 3/4/15 7:30PM
Thu 3/5/15 8:00PM
Fri 3/6/15 8:00PM
Sat 3/7/15 2:00PM
Sat 3/7/15 8:00PM
Sun 3/8/15 7:30PM
Click here to purchase tickets.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Video: President Obama Sends Warm Wishes for the Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year -Year of the Ram in New York Chinatown, China Institute, Sesame Street’s Alan Muraoka at Met, MoCA
American Masters-August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand Premieres on February 20 on PBS
Dream of the Red Chamber to be featured at the 2015 Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival February 20-21, including the Symposium with David Gockley, Bright Sheng, David Henry Hwang and Stan Lai
Feb. 25- Mar. 1: Patrice Johnson Chevannes, Nana Mensah and Christine Osuala Set for National Black Theatre’s Workshop Production of Mfoniso Udofia’s HER PORTMANTEAU, Helmed by Victor Maog
15 Minutes with Victor Maog, Artistic Director of 2g
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Bobby Steggert, Emmanuel Brown, Lynn Cohen and More Set for Charles Mee’s BIG LOVE at Signature Theatre; Opens February 23
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Wendell Pierce, Kevin Mambo, Toccarra Cash, Thaddeus Daniels, Wendell Franklin and Megan Robinson Set for The Billie Holiday Theatre Production of Jackie Alexander’s Brothers from the Bottom, Mar. 6-29
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Mar. 8- 29: Pursuit of the Perfect Plate: tokyo fish story Premieres at South Coast Repertory starring Lawrence Kao, Jully Lee, Eddie Mui, Sab Shimono and Ryun Yu
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
CAAMFest Presents Ursula Liang’s Documentary 9-Man: Northern California Premiere at the Great Star Theatre on March 13; East Bay Premiere at The New Parkway Theater on March 22
Video: BETWEEN RIVERSIDE & CRAZY’s Stephen Adly Guirgis, actor Stephen McKinley Henderson and director Austin Pendleton set for THEATER TALK
THE GET DOWN, Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama Series Set in 1970s NYC That Gave Birth to Hip-Hop, Punk and Disco, to Premiere on Netflix in 2016
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Variety.com: Ken Jeong to Star in ABC Medical Comedy Pilot ‘Dr. Ken’
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
The Greene Space at WNYC presents Preview Screenings of ABC’s FRESH OFF THE BOAT; Conversation with Amy Chua, Awkwafina & Jay Smooth, moderated by Jeff Yang
Video and Photos: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Ellen Burstyn, Baz Luhrmann, John Leguizamo, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Patrick Shanley, David Henry Hwang, Liza Colón-Zayas, Kenneth Lonergan and More Celebrate Stephen Adly Guirgis at The Mimi Awards
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

August Wilson. Photo credit: David Cooper, 2004

THIRTEEN’s American Masters series and Pittsburgh PBS affiliate WQED join forces to explore the life and legacy of playwright August Wilson (April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005), the man some call America’s Shakespeare, from his roots as an activist and poet to his indelible mark on Broadway. American Masters — August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand premieres Friday, February 20 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Wilson’s birth, the 10th anniversary of his death and Black History Month. The DVD will be available February 24 from PBS Distribution.

Unprecedented access to Wilson’s theatrical archives, rarely seen interviews and new dramatic readings bring to life his seminal 10-play cycle chronicling each decade of the 20th-century African-American experience, including the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Fences and Pulitzer Prize-winning The Piano Lesson.

Film and theater luminaries including Viola Davis, Charles Dutton, Laurence Fishburne, James Earl Jones, Suzan-Lori Parks and Phylicia Rashad share their stories of the career- and life-changing experience of bringing Wilson’s rich theatrical voice to the stage. Wilson’s sister Freda Ellis, his widow and costume designer Constanza Romero, as well as friends, colleagues and scholars trace Wilson’s influences, creative evolution, triumphs, struggles and quest for cultural determinism before his untimely death from liver cancer.

“Having the opportunity to explore Wilson’s creative process and his tenacity in looking at the African-American experience in the 20th century was one of the most exciting endeavors I have ever had in my film career,” said filmmaker Sam Pollard (Slavery by Another Name, American Masters – Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On), who has earned multiple Emmy and Peabody Awards as producer-editor of documentaries including When the Levees Broke and Spike Lee Presents Mike Tyson.

Filmed in the cities where Wilson made his mark, the documentary begins in Pittsburgh’s Hill District where the future playwright was a brainy, bi-racial child raised in poverty, who dropped out of high school because of bullying and prejudice. Self-educated in the city’s public library and streets, Wilson was influenced by the rising black consciousness of the 1960s and became a young, activist poet. The film follows his transition to a successful playwriting career, from the founding of the Black Horizon Theater (Pittsburgh) and his early work at the Penumbra Theater (St. Paul, Minn.) to his big break at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s National Playwrights Conference (Waterford, Conn.). There he began his life-changing collaboration with mentor-director Lloyd Richards, which led to nine original Broadway productions.

Launched in 1986, American Masters has earned 28 Emmy Awards — including 10 for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series since 1999 and five for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special — 12 Peabodys, an Oscar, three Grammys, two Producers Guild Awards and many other honors. Now in its 29th season on PBS, the series is a production of THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET and also seen on the WORLD channel.

To take American Masters beyond the television broadcast and further explore the themes, stories and personalities of masters past and present, the series’ companion website (http://pbs.org/americanmasters) offers streaming video of select films, interviews, photos, outtakes, essays and more. For August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand, educational resources include a teaching guide, interactive map and biographical timeline with additional materials available via PBS LearningMedia. The goal is to equip high school educators with tools to explore Wilson’s cultural impact with students through the themes prevalent in his work: community, identity, diversity, activism, self-reliance and resilience. In Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Chicago and Washington, D.C., WQED’s The August Wilson Education Project will conduct additional outreach in partnership with local PBS stations, schools, libraries, theaters and other community organizations. This national education outreach effort is supported by The PNC Foundation.

American Masters — August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand is a co-production of WQED and THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC’S American Masters for WNET. Sam Pollard is director and producer. Stephen Stept is writer. Frank Caloiero is director of photography. Steve Wechsler is editor. Darryl Ford Williams and Susan Lacy are executive producers. Michael Kantor is executive producer forAmerican Masters.

Major funding for August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand is provided by PNC Bank, National Endowment for the Humanities and The Heinz Endowments.American Masters is made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Rosalind P. Walter, The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Rolf and Elizabeth Rosenthal, Vital Projects Fund, Rhoda Herrick, Jack Rudin; The André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, the Michael & Helen Schaffer Foundation and public television viewers.

About WNET

As New York’s flagship public media provider and the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than 5 million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances,American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children’s programs, and local news and cultural offerings available on air and online. Pioneers in educational programming, WNET has created such groundbreaking series as Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchaseand provides tools for educators that bring compelling content to life in the classroom and at home. WNET highlights the tri-state’s unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. WNET is also a leader in connecting with viewers on emerging platforms, including the THIRTEEN Explore App where users can stream PBS content for free.

About WQED

WQED changes lives by creating and sharing outstanding public media that educates, entertains, and inspires. It is the parent company of WQED-TV (PBS); WQED: The Create Channel; WORLD Channel; WQED Showcase; Classical WQED-FM 89.3/Pittsburgh; Classical WQEJ-FM 89.7/Johnstown; the Pittsburgh Concert Channel at WQED-HD2 (89.3-2FM) and online at www.wqedfm.org; local and national television and radio productions; WQED Interactive (www.wqed.org) and iQ: smartmedia, WQED’s Educational initiative (www.wqed.org/edu).

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Video: President Obama Sends Warm Wishes for the Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year -Year of the Ram in New York Chinatown, China Institute, Sesame Street’s Alan Muraoka at Met, MoCA
Dream of the Red Chamber to be featured at the 2015 Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival February 20-21, including the Symposium with David Gockley, Bright Sheng, David Henry Hwang and Stan Lai
Feb. 25- Mar. 1: Patrice Johnson Chevannes, Nana Mensah and Christine Osuala Set for National Black Theatre’s Workshop Production of Mfoniso Udofia’s HER PORTMANTEAU, Helmed by Victor Maog
15 Minutes with Victor Maog, Artistic Director of 2g
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Bobby Steggert, Emmanuel Brown, Lynn Cohen and More Set for Charles Mee’s BIG LOVE at Signature Theatre; Opens February 23
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Wendell Pierce, Kevin Mambo, Toccarra Cash, Thaddeus Daniels, Wendell Franklin and Megan Robinson Set for The Billie Holiday Theatre Production of Jackie Alexander’s Brothers from the Bottom, Mar. 6-29
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Mar. 8- 29: Pursuit of the Perfect Plate: tokyo fish story Premieres at South Coast Repertory starring Lawrence Kao, Jully Lee, Eddie Mui, Sab Shimono and Ryun Yu
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
CAAMFest Presents Ursula Liang’s Documentary 9-Man: Northern California Premiere at the Great Star Theatre on March 13; East Bay Premiere at The New Parkway Theater on March 22
Video: BETWEEN RIVERSIDE & CRAZY’s Stephen Adly Guirgis, actor Stephen McKinley Henderson and director Austin Pendleton set for THEATER TALK
THE GET DOWN, Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama Series Set in 1970s NYC That Gave Birth to Hip-Hop, Punk and Disco, to Premiere on Netflix in 2016
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Variety.com: Ken Jeong to Star in ABC Medical Comedy Pilot ‘Dr. Ken’
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
The Greene Space at WNYC presents Preview Screenings of ABC’s FRESH OFF THE BOAT; Conversation with Amy Chua, Awkwafina & Jay Smooth, moderated by Jeff Yang
Video and Photos: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Ellen Burstyn, Baz Luhrmann, John Leguizamo, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Patrick Shanley, David Henry Hwang, Liza Colón-Zayas, Kenneth Lonergan and More Celebrate Stephen Adly Guirgis at The Mimi Awards
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

You Can’t Take It With You, the Pulitzer Prize-winning revival by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, will end its extended run on Sunday, February 22nd at 3 pm. It will have played 208 performances.

Johanna Day, Fran Kranz, Annaleigh Ashford, James Earl Jones, Richard Thomas, Will Brill and Byron Jennings. Photo by Joan Marcus

You Can’t Take It With You began previews on Tuesday, August 26th, 2014 and opened on Sunday, September 28th, 2014 at the Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street) Tickets are sold on www.Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200.

Anna Chlumsky and Richard Thomas. Photo by Joan Marcus

Richard Thomas. Photo by Joan Marcus

Anna Chlumsky and James Earl Jones. Photo by Joan Marcus

The production is directed by six-time Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Curtains, 1776). The cast includes Tony Award and Outer Critics’ Circle winner James Earl Jones (Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, Fences, The Great White Hope) as Martin Vanderhof, Emmy Award-nominated TV and film star Anna Chlumsky (“Veep”, My Girl) as Alice Sycamore, Tony Award winner Elizabeth Ashley (Take Her, She’s Mine, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man) as The Grand Duchess Olga, Tony Award nominee Annaleigh Ashford (Kinky Boots, Wicked, “Masters of Sex”) as Essie Carmichael, Tony Award nominee Johanna Day (Proof, August: Osage County) as Mrs. Kirby, three-time Drama Desk nominee Julie Halston (Anything Goes, The Divine Sister) as Gay Wellington, Byron Jennings (The Merchant of Venice, Inherit the Wind) as Mr. Kirby, Patrick Kerr (Stage Kiss, The Ritz) as Mr. De Pinna, Fran Kranz (Death of a Salesman) as Tony Kirby, Tony Award nominee Kristine Nielsen (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) as Penelope Sycamore, Tony Award nominee Reg Rogers (Holiday, The Royal Family) as Boris Kolenkhov, Emmy Award-winning screen and stage star Richard Thomas (“The Waltons”, “The Americans”, Race) as Paul Sycamore, Will Brill (Act One) as Ed Carmichael, Nick Corley (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) as a G-Man, Theatre World Award winner Crystal A. Dickinson (Clybourne Park) as Rheba, Austin Durant (War Horse) as a G-Man, Marc Damon Johnson (Lucky Guy) as Donald, Karl Kenzler (Mary Poppins) as Henderson, and Joe Tapper (Witnessed By The World) as a G-Man.

Kristine Nielsen, Anna Chlumsky and James Earl Jones

The design team includes: scenic design by Tony Award nominee David Rockwell (Kinky Boots, Hairspray), costume design by 2014 special Tony Award recipient Jane Greenwood (Act One, Waiting for Godot), lighting design by two-time Tony Award winner Donald Holder (South Pacific, The Lion King), sound design by Jon Weston (The Bridges of Madison County), and hair and wig design by Tom Watson(Act One, Waiting for Godot). Three-time Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges of Madison County, The Last Five Years, Parade) composed original music for the production.

You Can’t Take It With You is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jam Theatricals, Dominion Pictures, Gutterman & Winkler, Daryl Roth, Terry Schnuck, Jane Bergère, Caiola Productions, Rebecca Gold, LaRuffa & Hinderliter, Larry Magid, Gabrielle Palitz, Spisto & Kierstead, SunnySpot Productions, VenuWorks Theatricals, Jessica Genick and Will Trice.

Julie Halston, Richard Thomas, Anna Chlumsky, Andrew Rannells, Annaleigh Ashford and guest backstage at the Longacre Theatre in New York on January 7, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

Other articles on Richard Thomas:
Photos: Andrew Rannells and Zuzanna Szadkowski Visit Richard Thomas, Anna Chlumsky, Julie Halston and Annaleigh Ashford at YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
Emmy Winner Richard Thomas and Anna Chlumsky Set For Broadway’s YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, Beginning January 6, 2015
Nov. 9: INSP Premieres Exclusive Richard Thomas’ Favorites Marathon of The Waltons
Blair Underwood, Richard Thomas and Kristen Connolly Lead the Cast of The Old Globe’s Othello, helmed by Barry Edelstein
Jun. 22 – July 27: Richard Thomas and Kristen Connolly Set for Old Globe Debut in OTHELLO
Mar. 21-May 4: Richard Thomas, Ron Rifkin, Hallie Foote and Khaled Nabaway Set for Arena Stage’s World Premiere of Lawrence Wright’s Camp David
Mar. 21 – May 4: Arena Stage Presents World Premiere of Lawrence Wright’s Camp David Starring Tony Award winner Ron Rifkin and Emmy Award winner Richard Thomas
MTC’s An Enemy of The People Starring Boyd Gaines and Richard Thomas Begin Previews at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Richard Thomas and Boyd Gaines to star in An Enemy of the People at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre during Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2012-2013 Season
Tony Award – winning Playwright Terrence McNally to be Honored at Westport Country Playhouse Annual Gala, September 24, 2012
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (3pm) with Andre Bishop, Mary Beth Hurt, Jennifer Lim, Angela Lin, Philip Kan Gotanda, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Richard Thomas, Jay O. Sanders, and more
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (8pm) with Oskar Eustis, Patti LuPone, Lisa Emery, Ann Harada, Paolo Montalban, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Henry Stram, Richard Thomas, John Weidman and more
Photos: In Rehearsal with Director Bartlett Sher and the cast of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan

Andy Wong’s Chinese Vanities, 1954. Front row (l-r): Julianne Lew and Mae Lacsaman. Middle row: Hana Abe, Sheryl Lee, Jackie Mei Ling, Jeannie Chang, and Pat Chin. Back row: Lily Pon and Dinky Lee. Pat Chin will be one of the guest perfomers at the “Forbidden City, USA” World Premiere celebration.

Arthur Dong

The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is celebrating Oscar®-nominated and three-time Sundance award winning filmmaker Arthur Dong as this year’s Spotlight feature. A San Francisco native who has earned a multitude of prestigious awards for not only his work in film, but also for his public service, Arthur Dong is an inspiration for Asian American filmmakers worldwide.

With over three decades of championing equality through telling Asian American and LGBTQIA stories, Dong’s films have been theatrically distributed throughout the United States, broadcast internationally, and continue to be featured at film festivals worldwide. Known for his prowess utilizing the art of film as a means to investigate social issues and examine undisclosed parts of Asian American and LGBT history and identity, Dong’s voice has spread much further than film alone.

As a film student at San Francisco State University, Arthur Dong produced “Sewing Woman,” his Academy Award nominated short documentary in 1984. The film focused on his mother’s immigration to America from China. Instead of finding an outside distributer for the film, Dong then started his own company, DeepFocus Productions, and serves as its producer, director and writer. Dong has produced, directed, written, edited, and ﬁlmed independent ﬁlms on social issues such as gay rights and the Chinese American experience. He has gone on to produce many other highly praised films including “Coming Out Under Fire,” winner of the Peabody Award in 1995. A two-time Rockefeller Media Arts Fellow as well as a Guggenheim Fellow in Film, Dong has served on the boards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Film Independent, OutFest, and the National Film Preservation Board at the Library of Congress. In addition to the 1995 Peabody Award for his highly praised film “Coming Out Under Fire,” the honors include three Sundance Film Festival awards, an Oscar nomination, the Berlin Film Festival’s Teddy Award, Taipei’s Golden Horse Award, a GLAAD Media Award, and ﬁve Emmy nominations.

Dong has taught documentary film around the world and his impact on the film industry is undeniable.

In celebration of Dong’s legacy in film, CAAMFest (formerly the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival) is honored to present “Spotlight: Arthur Dong,” featuring two world premieres and a special on-stage conversation with noted film critic and author B. Ruby Rich.

Come see Jimmy Borges sing live and in person at the “Forbidden City, USA World Premiere Celebration.” He’s here with the Oriental Playgirls when he performed as Jimmy Jay at the Chinatown nightclubs of San Francisco during the 1960s. Also pictured are (l-r): Jennifer Pang, Arlene Wing, Kato Tani, Sisko Borges, and Cynthia Fong Yee. Cynthia will be performing too as part of the Grant Ave Follies.

On Saturday, March 14, 2015, CAAMFest’s screening of FORBIDDEN CITY, USA, Dong’s landmark 1989 classic documentary will feature the world premiere of a digitally re-mastered version produced by UCLA Film & TV Archive from original film elements.

Capturing the extravagance, spirit and tension of a little-known era in the history of San Francisco’s Chinatown, FORBIDDEN CITY, USA showcases Chinese American nightclub performers who broke down stereotypes and cultural barriers during World War II with lavish performances at the internationally famous Forbidden City nightclub. Facing criticism from community elders, these entertainers put aside societal norms to pursue their dreams in show business.

In addition to the film screening, the celebration features performances by local favorite, the Grant Avenue Follies, starring original dancers from the Chinatown nightclub era: Ivy Tam, Cynthia Yee, and Pat Chin. Flying direct from Honolulu will be Jimmy Borges who’ll sing a signature set of jazzy tunes. Jimmy launched his career sixty years ago performing as “Jimmy Jay” at the Forbidden City and Chinese Skyroom nightclubs.

And you won’t want to miss a fascinating presentation by Arthur Dong highlighting his critically acclaimed book, “Forbidden City, USA: Chinese American Nightclubs 1936-1970.” Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Lia Chang Picks: Arthur Dong’s Forbidden City: Chinese-American Nightclubs, 1930-1970

This one-time extravaganza takes place at the historic Great Star Theater, 636 Jackson St, San Francisco, California 94133, in Chinatown, which has hosted live performances and movies since the early 1900s. Click here for tickets.
4:00pm – 6:30pm

PHOTO: Dr. Haing S. Ngor on location for “The Killing Fields.” Courtesy the Dr. Haing S. Ngor Archive

Sunday March 15, 4:10PM, Castro Theater, 429 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA 94114 (415)-621-6120
THE KILLING FIELDS OF DR. HAING S. NGOR – WORLD PREMIERE
Dong’s new feature-length documentary builds on his 30-year career of creating compelling films that focus on personal stories to examine moments of history, social prejudice and public policy concerns. The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor chronicles the years encapsulating the Khmer Rouge’s tyrannical rule over Cambodia as seen through the eyes of Dr. Haing S. Ngor, who escaped to America and recreated his experiences in the film The Killing Fields, for which he won an Oscar®. Ngor became the de-facto ambassador for truth and justice in his homeland, only to be murdered in an alley in Chinatown Los Angeles, a case still surrounded by transnational conspiracy theories. Through an inspired blend of original animation, rare archival material, and newly shot footage, anchored by an adaptation of Dr. Ngor’s richly layered autobiography, this dramatic story is a personal indictment of the global politics that were thrust upon Southeast Asia, and the consequences that continue to surface today.

Haing S. Ngor’s Chinese name, traditional: [吳漢] or [吳潤漢]; Pinyin: [吳汉] or [吳润汉]
Haing S. Ngor’s Khmer name: ហ៊ាំង សំណាង ង៉ោ
Click here for tickets.

Filmmaker Arthur Dong and cinematographer Stephen Lighthill. Photo by Zand Gee

Friday March 20, 7:10PM, New People Theater, 1746 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
CONVERSATION AND CLIPS: ARTHUR DONG
Join noted film critic and author B. Ruby Rich in a lively on-stage conversation with this year’s CAAMFest Spotlight honoree, Arthur Dong. Punctuated with clips from Dong’s oeuvre of award-winning films spanning over thirty years, this illuminating talk will cover the personal challenges and emotional thrills of creating artistic and socially relevant independent media.
Friday March 20, 7:10PM, New People Theater
1746 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
Click here for tickets.

FESTIVAL TICKET INFORMATION
Excluding special events, panels, galas and special screenings, advanced general admission tickets are $14. Tickets for students, seniors (65+) and disabled adults are $13 (Limit 1 per program with ID only). Tickets for Center for Asian American Media members are $12 (Limit 2 per program per ID). Tickets go on sale to CAAM members only on Thursday, February 12, 2015 (online only) and open to the general public beginning Tuesday, February 17, 2015 (online only). Tickets can be purchased in person at our CAAMFest box office at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas starting Thursday, February 26, 2015.

For more on the Spotlight’s other events, visit: http://caamfest.com/2015/itineraries/spotlight-arthur-dong/.

About CAAMFest:
CAAMFest, formerly the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), takes place March 12- 22, 2015 in the San Francisco Bay Area. CAAMFest is a celebration of film, music, food and digital media from the world’s most innovative Asian and Asian American artists.

About CAAM:
CAAM (Center for Asian American Media) is a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian American experiences to the broadest audience possible. CAAM does this by funding, producing, distributing and exhibiting works in film, television and digital media. For more information on CAAM, please visit www.caamedia.org

Other articles about Arthur Dong:
Lia Chang Picks: Arthur Dong’s Forbidden City: Chinese-American Nightclubs, 1930-1970
Oct. 23: Meet Forbidden City, USA’s Author and Filmmaker Arthur Dong at the South Pasadena Library
Jun. 4: Meet Forbidden City, USA’s Author and Filmmaker Arthur Dong in L.A. Chinatown
STORIES FROM CHINESE AMERICA: The Arthur Dong Collection, Vol. 2 as 4 disc DVD Box Set, Parties in LA (11/6) and SF (11/13)
Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection Exhibition at the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles, has been extended through November 7, 2010
Multimedia: George Takei, Nancy Kwan, Lisa Lu and Tsai Chin attend Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection Exhibition Opening Night
The Chinese American Museum partners with Academy award nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong on a groundbreaking exhibition about Hollywood’s forgotten past
In Arthur Dong’s Hollywood Chinese, Chinese Tinseltown Tales told by Asian Silver Screen Icons

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
CAAMFest Presents Ursula Liang’s Documentary 9-Man: Northern California Premiere at the Great Star Theatre on March 13; East Bay Premiere at The New Parkway Theater on March 22
Photos: “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang at Trestle Gallery through March 27
Video: President Obama Sends Warm Wishes for the Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year -Year of the Ram in New York Chinatown, China Institute, Sesame Street’s Alan Muraoka at Met, MoCA
American Masters-August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand Premieres on February 20 on PBS
Dream of the Red Chamber to be featured at the 2015 Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival February 20-21, including the Symposium with David Gockley, Bright Sheng, David Henry Hwang and Stan Lai
Feb. 25- Mar. 1: Patrice Johnson Chevannes, Nana Mensah and Christine Osuala Set for National Black Theatre’s Workshop Production of Mfoniso Udofia’s HER PORTMANTEAU, Helmed by Victor Maog
15 Minutes with Victor Maog, Artistic Director of 2g
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Bobby Steggert, Emmanuel Brown, Lynn Cohen and More Set for Charles Mee’s BIG LOVE at Signature Theatre; Opens February 23
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Wendell Pierce, Kevin Mambo, Toccarra Cash, Thaddeus Daniels, Wendell Franklin and Megan Robinson Set for The Billie Holiday Theatre Production of Jackie Alexander’s Brothers from the Bottom, Mar. 6-29
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Mar. 8- 29: Pursuit of the Perfect Plate: tokyo fish story Premieres at South Coast Repertory starring Lawrence Kao, Jully Lee, Eddie Mui, Sab Shimono and Ryun Yu
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
Video: BETWEEN RIVERSIDE & CRAZY’s Stephen Adly Guirgis, actor Stephen McKinley Henderson and director Austin Pendleton set for THEATER TALK
THE GET DOWN, Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama Series Set in 1970s NYC That Gave Birth to Hip-Hop, Punk and Disco, to Premiere on Netflix in 2016
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Variety.com: Ken Jeong to Star in ABC Medical Comedy Pilot ‘Dr. Ken’
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
The Greene Space at WNYC presents Preview Screenings of ABC’s FRESH OFF THE BOAT; Conversation with Amy Chua, Awkwafina & Jay Smooth, moderated by Jeff Yang
Video and Photos: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Ellen Burstyn, Baz Luhrmann, John Leguizamo, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Patrick Shanley, David Henry Hwang, Liza Colón-Zayas, Kenneth Lonergan and More Celebrate Stephen Adly Guirgis at The Mimi Awards
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

August Wilson. Photo credit: David Cooper, 2004

THIRTEEN’s American Masters series and Pittsburgh PBS affiliate WQED join forces to explore the life and legacy of playwright August Wilson (April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005), the man some call America’s Shakespeare, from his roots as an activist and poet to his indelible mark on Broadway. American Masters — August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand premiered on February 20th on PBS (check local listings) to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Wilson’s birth, the 10th anniversary of his death and Black History Month. The DVD will be available February 24 from PBS Distribution.

Click here to watch it online.

About WNET

About WQED

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Video: President Obama Sends Warm Wishes for the Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year -Year of the Ram in New York Chinatown, China Institute, Sesame Street’s Alan Muraoka at Met, MoCA
Dream of the Red Chamber to be featured at the 2015 Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival February 20-21, including the Symposium with David Gockley, Bright Sheng, David Henry Hwang and Stan Lai
Feb. 25- Mar. 1: Patrice Johnson Chevannes, Nana Mensah and Christine Osuala Set for National Black Theatre’s Workshop Production of Mfoniso Udofia’s HER PORTMANTEAU, Helmed by Victor Maog
15 Minutes with Victor Maog, Artistic Director of 2g
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Bobby Steggert, Emmanuel Brown, Lynn Cohen and More Set for Charles Mee’s BIG LOVE at Signature Theatre; Opens February 23
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Wendell Pierce, Kevin Mambo, Toccarra Cash, Thaddeus Daniels, Wendell Franklin and Megan Robinson Set for The Billie Holiday Theatre Production of Jackie Alexander’s Brothers from the Bottom, Mar. 6-29
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Mar. 8- 29: Pursuit of the Perfect Plate: tokyo fish story Premieres at South Coast Repertory starring Lawrence Kao, Jully Lee, Eddie Mui, Sab Shimono and Ryun Yu
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
CAAMFest Presents Ursula Liang’s Documentary 9-Man: Northern California Premiere at the Great Star Theatre on March 13; East Bay Premiere at The New Parkway Theater on March 22
Video: BETWEEN RIVERSIDE & CRAZY’s Stephen Adly Guirgis, actor Stephen McKinley Henderson and director Austin Pendleton set for THEATER TALK
THE GET DOWN, Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama Series Set in 1970s NYC That Gave Birth to Hip-Hop, Punk and Disco, to Premiere on Netflix in 2016
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Variety.com: Ken Jeong to Star in ABC Medical Comedy Pilot ‘Dr. Ken’
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
The Greene Space at WNYC presents Preview Screenings of ABC’s FRESH OFF THE BOAT; Conversation with Amy Chua, Awkwafina & Jay Smooth, moderated by Jeff Yang
Video and Photos: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Ellen Burstyn, Baz Luhrmann, John Leguizamo, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Patrick Shanley, David Henry Hwang, Liza Colón-Zayas, Kenneth Lonergan and More Celebrate Stephen Adly Guirgis at The Mimi Awards
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Backstage Pass with Lia Chang at the National Black Theatre Festival 2013

The National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, is a one-of-a-kind experience, and I’ve been fortunate to have experienced it twice. First in 1991 and then in 2013, I attended the 2013 National Black Theatre Festival as part of the cast of Lorey Hayes’ Power Play, which starred Pauletta Pearson Washington, Roscoe Orman, Lorey Hayes, Marcus Naylor and Phynjuar, and was directed by Andre Robinson.

The National Black Theatre Festival® (NBTF) is the international outreach program of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company (NCBRC), Winston-Salem, NC. The Festival was founded in 1989 by the Late Larry Leon Hamlin and is produced by the North Carolina Black Repertory Company.

The 2015 National Black Theatre Festival will be held in Winston-Salem, NC, from August 3-8, 2015.

In celebration of Black History Month, below is my all-access photo coverage featured in my photo book of The 2013 National Black Theatre Festival.

Pauletta Pearson Washington and Roscoe Orman star in Lorey Hayes’ Power Play at the National Black Theatre Festival 2013, July 30 – August 1, 2013. Photos by Lia Chang

Voza Rivers’ New Heritage Theatre Group presented a VIP dress rehearsal at Mist in New York on July 26, 2013, prior to the cast leaving for the National Black Theatre Festival. The cast of Lorey Hayes’ Power Play: Pauletta Pearson Washington, Roscoe Orman, Lorey Hayes, Lia Chang, Marcus Naylor and Phynjuar. Director Andre Robinson; Company Manager Debra Ann Byrd.

Voza Rivers’ New Heritage Theatre Group presented a VIP dress rehearsal of Power Play at Mist in New York on July 26, 2013, prior to our cast leaving for the National Black Theatre Festival.

(July 28, 2013) National Black Theatre Festival 2013 reception at Marriott Hotel in Winston-Salem, NC.

(July 29, 2013) National Black Theatre Festival 2013 Press Conference at the Marriott Hotel in Winston-Salem, NC. Photos by Lia Chang

Actors Tonya Pinkins and Dorien Wilson were exceptional co-chairs of The Festival, and also performed in their own shows.

(July 29, 2013) Tonya Pinkins and Dorien Wilson served as celebrity co-chairs of the National Black Theatre Festival Gala, at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, NC. Crowns’ Horace Vincent Rogers kicks off the evening with a song. (r) Mrs. Sylvia Sprinkle Hamlin and her son Larente Hamlin, Mayor Allen Jaines and Annie Hamlin Johnson, the mother of National Black Theatre Founder Larry Leon Hamlin. Photos by Lia Chang

The Festival kicked off on July 29, 2013 with the star-studded opening night gala, a black-tie/international formal affair that included a sit-down dinner and awards ceremony at the M. C. Benton Convention Center.

The Celebrity Procession. Photos by Lia Chang

2013 NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE FESTIVAL® HONOREES
Sidney Poitier Lifelong Achievement Award
Hal Williams

Larry Leon Hamlin Producer Award
Ben Guillory

The Celebrity Procession and honorees. Photos by Lia Chang

The Celebrity Procession and honorees Patrice Andrew Davidson, Ben Guillory, S. Epatha Merkerson, Lawrence Evans. Guests Micki Grant and Norm Lewis; Ralph Carter and Margaret Avery. Photos by Lia Chang

Emerging Producer Award
Jonathan McCrory

August Wilson Playwright Award
Richard Wesley

Lloyd Richards Director Award
Oz Scott

Living Legend Award
Starletta DuPois
Barbara Molette
Carlton Molette
Chapman Roberts

Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design
Paul Tazewell

Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Design
Kathy A. Perkins

Outstanding Achievement in Scenic Design
Patrice Andrew Davidson
Photos: Late Night with Patrice Andrew Davidson, 2013 NBTF Award Recipient for Outstanding Achievement in Scenic Design

Theatre Longevity Award
Black Theatre Troupe
Phoenix, AZ

Special Recognition Award
S. Epatha Merkerson

Marvtastic Philantrophy Award
Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County

Theatre Arts & Humanitarian Award
The Late Rex Aaron Bowman

Special Award
Lawrence Evans

The dinner was followed by a NAACP Theatre Award winner Chester Gregory’s dynamic performance of THE EVE OF JACKIE: A Tribute to Jackie Wilson, the Festival’s showcase production written by Gregory, at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts Stevens Center. Gregor embodied the dynamic Jackie Wilson in this exciting new production, as the troubled star “tells all” during his final live performance, just one night before his legendary collapse onstage.

(July 29, 2013) Tonya Pinkins and Chester Gregory in “The Eve of Jackie: A Tribute to Jackie Wilson.” Photos by Lia Chang. Norm Lewis, Lia Chang, Kevin McCollum, Charles Randolph-Wright, Scotch Ellis Loring, Eric Lockley, Seret Scott, Jonathan McCrory, Terria Joseph, Elain Graham; Kevin McCollum and Charles Randolph Wright; Charles Randolph-Wright and Jonathan McCrory. Photos by Lia Chang

(July 29, 2013) National Black Theatre Festival 2013 Gala Opening Night Party. Photos by Lia Chang

(July 29, 2013) National Black Theatre Festival 2013 Gala Opening Night Party. (L)Marcia Pendleton, Debra Ann Byrd, Aduke Aremu, Lorey Hayes, Kimberley LaMarque Orman, Roscoe Orman, Ebony Jo-Ann, Debra Ann Byrd, Joyce Sylvester, Richard Gant and Tommy Hicks. (R) Louis Price and Fay Hauser Price, Debra Ann Byrd, Marcus Naylor, Bianca LaVerne Jones and Stephanie Berry. Photos by Lia Chang Richard Gant, Lia Chang and Petri Byrd.

(July 30, 2013)Backstage on opening night at the Shirley Recital Hall in Winston-Salem, NC of Lorey Hayes' Power Play. Photos by Lia Chang

(July 30, 2013)Backstage on opening night at the Shirley Recital Hall in Winston-Salem, NC of Lorey Hayes’ Power Play. (R) Roscoe Orman and Fay Hauser-Price; Pauletta Pearson Washington, Ted and Mary Ann Lange, Lia Chang, Louis Price, Fay Hauser-Price and Valerie Bailey. Photos by Lia Chang

After my matinee performance of Power Play, I headed over to the Gerald Freeman Theatre to photograph backstage and production photos of the returning Festival favorite – Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss at the Gerald Freeman Theatre, directed by Chuck Smith, a co-production of Woodie King Jr.’s New Federal Theatre and Legacy Creative Arts Company.

(August 1, 2013) Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss at the Gerald Freeman Theatre, directed by Chuck Smith, a co-production of Woodie King Jr.’s New Federal Theatre and Legacy Creative Arts Company. The cast features original castmembers André De Shields as W.E.B. Du Bois, Erin Cherry as Yolande Du Bois, Gillian Glasco as Lenora, Morocco Omari as Jimmy Lunceford, Sean Phillips as Countee Cullen, and Marie Thomas as Nina Du Bois. Photos by Lia Chang

The cast included original castmembers André De Shields as W.E.B. Du Bois, Erin Cherry as Yolande Du Bois, Gillian Glasco as Lenora, Morocco Omari as Jimmy Lunceford, Sean Phillips as Countee Cullen, and Marie Thomas as Nina Du Bois.

National Black Theatre Festival Photos: Backstage with André De Shields, Marie Thomas, Erin Cherry, Sean Phillips and Morocco Omari in Knock Me A Kiss

On February 14, 2015, a celebration of the life and legacy of Garland Lee Thompson, Sr., New York theatre producer, writer, director, actor, co-founder and Executive Director of the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop, took place in two “acts ” in New York. Act I: a memorial at St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem, NY; and Act II: The Presentation and Reception at Theater for the New City, which featured an afternoon of readings, poetry, performances, birthday celebration and a reception in Thompson’s honor.

The late Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. at The Festival’s opening night gala on July 29, 2013. Born on February 14, 1938 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Garland Lee Thompson, Sr., passed away quickly and peacefully on November 18, 2014. He was 76 years old. Photo by Lia Chang

ACT III is being held during the 2015 National Black Theatre Festival. The Celebration of Life Reception saluting the late theatre icon Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. will be held on Thursday, August 6, 2015, at The Sawtooth Art Gallery, The Sawtooth School for Visual Arts, 251 North Spruce Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.

Live Jazz and African/Native American Drummers and more; complimentary food and wine will be served. To join the presenting committee, email your full name to ndove@hotmail.com or call 678-739-6674.

Feb. 14: Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. with a Memorial at St. James Presbyterian Church; Presentation-Reception at Theater for the New City
Photos: Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Micki Grant, Woodie King Jr., Voza Rivers, Talvin Wilks, Garland Thompson Jr., Charles Turner, Jamal Joseph, Debra Ann Byrd and More at harlem is…Theater
Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. (1938-2014); Memorial Set for February 14, 2015

More on The Festival:
· Theatrical Productions – Approximately 120 performances are held during the six-day event. A dynamic collection of new works and Black classics are performed by professional Black theatre companies from around the world. Collegiate theatre is also represented through the Festival’s Fringe component. The shows are presented at multiple venues throughout the City of Arts and Innovation, Winston-Salem., North Carolina.

General admission tickets generally range from $8-$45. Tickets may be purchased online, by mail, and at the NBTF office. They may also be purchased during the week of the Festival at the Benton Convention Center and at production venues. Call (336) 723-2266 for group rate requests.

· Readers’ Theatre of New Works – A showcase of original works written and read by renowned and aspiring playwrights for an audience of theatre professionals and the general public. There is no admission fee for this Festival component.
· Youth/Celebrity Project – Children interact with celebrities and theatre professionals, attend age appropriate productions, and have the opportunity to perform. A subset of the Project is the Storytelling Festival conducted by members of the North Carolina Storytellers Association.
· TeenTastic (Collaborative Youth Initiative) – Focuses on providing teens ages 15-19 with Marvtastic experiences developed to capture the talent and creativity of this generation and motivate them to excel in their areas of interest.
· Youth Talent Show – performed by and for children of all ages. NBTF is currently accepting audition tapes.
· International Colloquium – This is a collaborative effort between NBTF, Winston-Salem State University and the Black Theatre Network. Each year a panel selects the theme and keynote speaker.
· Midnight Poetry Jam – some of the hottest professional and amateur poets of today showcase their talent.
· Workshops and seminars facilitated by celebrities, academicians, and theatre professionals. Check information desks for workshop schedules.
· National Black Film Fest – This is a showcase of work from independent filmmakers.
· International Vendors Market – This is the place to be when the shows are over. Join vendors representing all corners of the globe juxtaposed with sponsor booths. Live entertainment adds to personal shopping pleasure. To contact vendor coordinator Rhonda Caldwell call (704) 332-5819.
· The Collegiate One-Act Play Reading Marathon, coordinated by North Carolina Central University’s Department of Theatre and hosted by The National Black Theatre Festival®, aims to acknowledge and foster student playwrights through the recognition and exposure of their dramatic works.
· Larry Leon Hamlin Solo Performance Series – This specialized series, named after the festival’s founder, Larry Leon Hamlin, are historical biographies of known and unknown African Americans. Some of the historical characters that have been featured in this series are Rosa Parks, Paul Robeson, Zora Neal Hurston, Josephine Baker, Emmett Till, Jim Beckwourth, and Lena Baker. It was Mr. Hamlin’s vision that plays continue to live beyond the Festival. These solo performances are specifically designed and directed toward higher learning institutions with the immediate intention of hiring these shows for schools, special events, fraternity and sorority organizations, and cultural celebrations throughout the year and especially during Black History Month.

If you are interested in being one of the 1,500 volunteers, download a volunteer application from www.NBTF.org or call (336) 723-2266.

The NBTF official hotels are:

Marriott Twin City Quarter Embassy Suites
425 N. Cherry Street 460 N. Cherry Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Winston-Salem, NC 27101
336/725-3500 – 877/ 888-9762 336/724-3400 – 800/362-2779
www.marriott.com http://www.embassysuites.com

Visit www.NBTF.org for other festival hotels.

National Black Theatre Festival Articles
National Black Theatre Festival Photos: Backstage with André De Shields, Marie Thomas, Erin Cherry, Sean Phillips and Morocco Omari in Knock Me A Kiss
Hal Williams, S. Epatha Merkerson, Ben Guillory, Oz Scott, Jonathan McCrory and Starletta DuPois among 2013 National Black Theatre Festival® Honorees
Two Films by Fay Hauser-Price Screen during the National Black Theatre Festival at the Central Library in Winston-Salem on July 31, 2013
Tonya Pinkins, Dorien Wilson, Pauletta Pearson Washington, Roscoe Orman, Rain Pryor, André De Shields, Debbi Morgan, Chester Gregory, Tommy Ford and More Set for National Black Theatre Festival® in Winston-Salem, NC
Photos: Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss Starring André De Shields Featured in Encore Performances at The National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, July 30-August 1, 2013
The Chronicle Features Lorey Hayes’ Power Play
Febone1960.net Review: Power Play Powerful & Suspenseful
A Summer in Bangkok for Thom Sesma, Star of Signature’s Miss Saigon
Celebrity Actress, Pauletta Pearson Washington returns home to North Carolina starring at 2013 National Black Theatre festival with Roscoe Orman (“Sesame Street,” Willie Dynamite) and all star cast in Lorey Hayes’ award-winning “Power Play”, a play about Politics, Passion and The Power of God
Video: Power Play’s Lorey Hayes and Lia Chang on The Carmen Mathis Show

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Video: Viola Davis, Charles Dutton, Laurence Fishburne, James Earl Jones, Suzan-Lori Parks, Phylicia Rashad and More Share Stories in American Masters-August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand Documentary
Production Photos: André De Shields, Bowman Wright, E. Faye Butler, KenYatta Rogers, Jessica Frances Dukes and Michael Anthony Williams in Arena Stage’s King Hedley II through March 8
Photos: Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Phylicia Rashad, John Earl Jelks, Leslie Uggams, Anthony Chisholm, S. Epatha Merkerson, Taraji P. Henson, Jesse L. Martin, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Kenny Leon and More Set for August Wilson American Century Cycle Recording Series at The Greene Space in NY, Aug. 26-Sept. 28, 2013
Photos: All-Access Pass to August Wilson’s Two Trains Running with John Earl Jelks, Harvy Blanks,Chuck Cooper, Anthony Chisholm, Owiso Odera, Roslyn Ruff and James A. Williams
Video: President Obama Sends Warm Wishes for the Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year -Year of the Ram in New York Chinatown, China Institute, Sesame Street’s Alan Muraoka at Met, MoCA
Dream of the Red Chamber to be featured at the 2015 Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival February 20-21, including the Symposium with David Gockley, Bright Sheng, David Henry Hwang and Stan Lai
Feb. 25- Mar. 1: Patrice Johnson Chevannes, Nana Mensah and Christine Osuala Set for National Black Theatre’s Workshop Production of Mfoniso Udofia’s HER PORTMANTEAU, Helmed by Victor Maog
15 Minutes with Victor Maog, Artistic Director of 2g
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Bobby Steggert, Emmanuel Brown, Lynn Cohen and More Set for Charles Mee’s BIG LOVE at Signature Theatre; Opens February 23
Novelist Jessica Hagedorn, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, and John W. Kuo of Varian Medical Systems, to receive AALDEF 2015 Justice in Action Awards on February 23
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Wendell Pierce, Kevin Mambo, Toccarra Cash, Thaddeus Daniels, Wendell Franklin and Megan Robinson Set for The Billie Holiday Theatre Production of Jackie Alexander’s Brothers from the Bottom, Mar. 6-29
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015
Mar. 8- 29: Pursuit of the Perfect Plate: tokyo fish story Premieres at South Coast Repertory starring Lawrence Kao, Jully Lee, Eddie Mui, Sab Shimono and Ryun Yu
Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
CAAMFest Presents Ursula Liang’s Documentary 9-Man: Northern California Premiere at the Great Star Theatre on March 13; East Bay Premiere at The New Parkway Theater on March 22
Video: BETWEEN RIVERSIDE & CRAZY’s Stephen Adly Guirgis, actor Stephen McKinley Henderson and director Austin Pendleton set for THEATER TALK
THE GET DOWN, Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama Series Set in 1970s NYC That Gave Birth to Hip-Hop, Punk and Disco, to Premiere on Netflix in 2016
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Variety.com: Ken Jeong to Star in ABC Medical Comedy Pilot ‘Dr. Ken’
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
The Greene Space at WNYC presents Preview Screenings of ABC’s FRESH OFF THE BOAT; Conversation with Amy Chua, Awkwafina & Jay Smooth, moderated by Jeff Yang
Video and Photos: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Ellen Burstyn, Baz Luhrmann, John Leguizamo, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Patrick Shanley, David Henry Hwang, Liza Colón-Zayas, Kenneth Lonergan and More Celebrate Stephen Adly Guirgis at The Mimi Awards
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Tonight I am celebrating the opening performance of The Manhattan Theatre Club’s world premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness, the new play by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, directed by Eric Ting, at MTC’s New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street). The World of Extreme Happiness began previews Tuesday, February 3, 2015 and will continue through Sunday, March 29, 2015. This is a co-production with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

Jo Mei, Jennifer Lim and Francis Jue. Photo by Matthew Murphy

Jennifer Lim. Photo by Matthew Murphy

Telly Leung and Jennifer Lim. Photo by Matthew Murphy

Sue Jin Song and James Saito. Photo by Matthew Murphy

Playwright Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig during a rehearsal of her play The World of Extreme Happiness at MTC’s New York City Center – Stage I in New York on February 13, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

The creative team for The World of Extreme Happiness includes Mimi Lien (scenic design), Jenny Mannis (costume design), Tyler Micoleau (lighting design), and Mikhail Fiksel (sound design).

TICKETING INFORMATION

Subscriptions for MTC’s 2014-2015 season are available by calling (212) 399-3050 (Monday through Friday NOON – 9 PM, Saturday 10 AM – 3 PM) or online at www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16 – SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22:Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23 – SUNDAY, MARCH 1 (WEEK OF OPENING):Wednesday and Sunday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM. The curtain time for opening night on Tuesday, February 24 will be announced shortly.
MONDAY, MARCH 2 – SUNDAY, MARCH 8:Tuesday at 7 PM; Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.
MONDAY, MARCH 9 – SUNDAY, MARCH 15:Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.
MONDAY, MARCH 16 – SUNDAY, MARCH 22:Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM. There are only 7 performances on sale to the public this week.
MONDAY, MARCH 23 – SUNDAY, MARCH 29:Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 PM; Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.

www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com

Follow MTC on Twitter: @MTC_NYC or on Facebook.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Photos: National Black Theatre Festival 2013; NBTF runs August 3-8, 2015 and will include Act III – A Celebration of Life Reception saluting the late theatre icon Garland Lee Thompson, Sr.
Video: President Obama Sends Warm Wishes for the Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year -Year of the Ram in New York Chinatown, China Institute, Sesame Street’s Alan Muraoka at Met, MoCA
Dream of the Red Chamber to be featured at the 2015 Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival February 20-21, including the Symposium with David Gockley, Bright Sheng, David Henry Hwang and Stan Lai
Feb. 20-Mar. 27: Trestle Gallery Presents “Swimming Awkward Moment,” the newest works by painter Arlan Huang
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Bobby Steggert, Emmanuel Brown, Lynn Cohen and More Set for Charles Mee’s BIG LOVE at Signature Theatre
Feb. 25- Mar. 1: Patrice Johnson Chevannes, Nana Mensah and Christine Osuala Set for National Black Theatre’s Workshop Production of Mfoniso Udofia’s HER PORTMANTEAU, Helmed by Victor Maog
Mar. 8- 29: Pursuit of the Perfect Plate: tokyo fish story Premieres at South Coast Repertory starring Lawrence Kao, Jully Lee, Eddie Mui, Sab Shimono and Ryun Yu
Video: BETWEEN RIVERSIDE & CRAZY’s Stephen Adly Guirgis, actor Stephen McKinley Henderson and director Austin Pendleton set for THEATER TALK
THE GET DOWN, Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama Series Set in 1970s NYC That Gave Birth to Hip-Hop, Punk and Disco, to Premiere on Netflix in 2016
The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman
Variety.com: Ken Jeong to Star in ABC Medical Comedy Pilot ‘Dr. Ken’
Photos: Hudson Yang, Randall Park, Eddie Huang, Richard Lui, Lori Tan Chinn and More at #FreshOffTheBoat Viewing Party at The Circle NYC
Video and Photos: BD Wong and Russell Wong Guest Star on ‘NCIS: NEW ORLEANS’, Episode 1.13 – The Walking Dead
The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Advantageous, Oh Lucy!, Meru, Umrika, The Chinese Mayor, The Stanford Prison Experiment Among 2015 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners
Photos: Lillias White, Scott Wakefield, Ebony Jo-Ann, Tina Fabrique, Marjorie Johnson, Akin Babatundé, Alan Govenar and More at TEXAS IN PARIS at The York Theatre Company
New York City Blizzard Does Not Deter Broadway Icon Chita Rivera From Performing in Concert Taping for THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Series
Mar. 4: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White, Carol Fredette & More to be Honored at 30th Annual Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club
Unsuk Chin’s Opera Alice in Wonderland, Featuring Libretto Co-Written with David Henry Hwang, Set for UK Premiere at the Barbican Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Novels on March 8, 2015

Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I, Starring Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Kick off Rehearsals; Previews Begin March 12
Broadway Bound Doctor Zhivago Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
Rajiv Joseph Wins Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for New Play Guards at the Taj; Set for World Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company in May
Photos: Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang, NEFA, Graham Sheffield CBE and Susan Stockton Receive 2015 ISPA Awards
Photos: Late Night at HERE LIES LOVE with Jaygee Macapugay, David Byrne, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More
THE WIZ Turns 40- Photos from Original Broadway Production and BC/EFA Gypsy of The Year Celebration Featuring André De Shields, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Page, Charl Brown, Carly Hughes, Christina Sajous, Alton Fitzgerald White, Lillias White and More
Photos: Fashion Designer Josie Natori at New Boutique in Nolita; Honored by Asian Cultural Council
Photos: Ellen Burstyn, Baz Luhrmann, John Leguizamo, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Patrick Shanley, David Henry Hwang, Liza Colón-Zayas, Kenneth Lonergan and More Celebrate Stephen Adly Guirgis at The Mimi Awards
Photos: Tommy Tune, Bob Avian, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson, Orville Mendoza, Lori Tan Chinn, Raul Aranas, Virginia Wing and More Celebrate 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award Recipient Baayork Lee Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

The Drama Book Shop Video: Playwright Ayad Akhtar, Josh Radnor and Aasif Mandvi Talk DISGRACED

The American Playwriting Foundation Creates The Relentless Award to Honor the late Philip Seymour Hoffman

MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, starring Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song, Begins Previews February 3

Broadway Bound DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, Featuring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, Paul Nolan, Lora Lee Gayer, Melody Butiu and More, Kicks Off Rehearsal; Previews Begin March 27

The Women in the Arts & Media Coalition, Inc.: 2015 Collaboration Award recognizing Women Working with Women Open Call

Feb. 6- Mar. 8: Two-Time Tony Award Nominee André De Shields, Bowman Wright, E. Faye Butler, KenYatta Rogers, Jessica Frances Dukes and Michael Anthony Williams Set for Arena Stage’s King Hedley II

George Takei Set for Broadway Debut in ALLEGIANCE in October

Feb. 14: Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. with a Memorial at St. James Presbyterian Church; Presentation-Reception at Theater for the New City

Deonna Bouye, Alfredo Huereca, Socorro Santiago, Charles Socarides set for World Premiere of ‘Guadalupe in the Guest Room’ by Tony Meneses at Two River Theater; February 14-March 15

Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s THE WORLD OF EXTREME HAPPINESS Named Among 12 Finalists for 2014-2015 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize

BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY Starring Stephen McKinley Henderson, Victor Almanzar, Elizabeth Canavan, Rosal Colón, Liza Colón-Zayas, Michael Rispoli and Ron Cephas Jones; Opens February 11

BETWEEN RIVERSIDE & CRAZY’s Stephen Adly Guirgis, actor Stephen McKinley Henderson and director Austin Pendleton set for THEATER TALK on February 13

Rebecca Naomi Jones, Bobby Steggert, Emmanuel Brown, Lynn Cohen and More Set for Charles Mee’s BIG LOVE at Signature Theatre; Opens February 23

Production Photos: André De Shields, Bowman Wright, E. Faye Butler, KenYatta Rogers, Jessica Frances Dukes and Michael Anthony Williams in Arena Stage’s King Hedley II through March 8

American Masters-August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand Premieres on February 20 on PBS

YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU Starring James Earl Jones, Kristine Nielsen, Richard Thomas, Anna Chlumsky, Annaleigh Ashford, Julie Halston and More; Ends Extended Run on February 22

CAAMFest 2015 Honors Filmmaker Arthur Dong with World Premiere Screenings of Forbidden City, USA (3/14), The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor (3/15) & In Conversation with B. Ruby Rich (3/20)

Video: Viola Davis, Charles Dutton, Laurence Fishburne, James Earl Jones, Suzan-Lori Parks, Phylicia Rashad and More Share Stories in American Masters-August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand Documentary

Lia Chang Photos: National Black Theatre Festival 2013 Book; NBTF runs August 3-8, 2015 and will include Act III – A Celebration of Life Reception saluting the late theatre icon Garland Lee Thompson, Sr.

Photos: MTC Run of World Premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, starring Jennifer Lim, Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song; opens Feb. 24