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Photos: Ma-Yi Theater Company Presents Carlos Celdran’s LIVIN’ LA VIDA IMELDA and Han Ong’s CHAIRS AND A LONG TABLE at the Clurman Theater at Theatre Row

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26-website-01-965x500The Obie and Drama Desk Award-winning MA-YI THEATER COMPANY — one of the nation’s leading theaters dedicated to developing and producing new and innovative plays by Asian American writers —  celebrates its 26th anniversary season this fall with the premieres of two plays: the U.S. debut of Carlos Celdran’s LIVIN’ LA VIDA IMELDA, adapted for the NY stage by Ralph B. Pena and Carlos Celdran from the play’s site-specific performances in the Phillippines, along with the world- premiere of Han Ong’s latest work, CHAIRS AND A LONG TABLE.

Performed in repertory at the Clurman Theater at Theatre Row (410 W. 42nd Street), the plays will perform October 28th, 2014 and run until November 23rd,2014.

About this double-bill, which Ma-Yi has subtitled “Breaking the Myth,” Ralph B. Pena, Ma-Yi’s artistic director states, “The two exciting and provocative works respond to our prevailing assumptions about colorblind casting, the quest for equality in the arts, along with the eccentricities of Imelda Marco and the remixing of a dictator’s dubious legacy into an innocuous disco party. The ‘myths’ referred to in the play are myths about post-racial America, myths about shoes and jewelry and myths about historical and cultural authenticity.”

CHAIRS AND A LONG TABLE follows a group of Asian American actors in New York City as they prepare to attend a conference in Los Angeles addressing racial discrimination in the casting of a classic Chinese play, where the two lead characters have been cast with non-Asian actors. Linsay Firman, best known for work on Isaac’s Eye and Photograph 51, directs.

Julie Fitzpatrick, Moses Villarama, Julienne Kim, Ron Domingo and Jeena Yi. Photo by Web Begole

Julie Fitzpatrick, Moses Villarama, Julienne Kim, Ron Domingo and Jeena Yi. Photo by Web Begole

The cast of CHAIRS AND A LONG TABLE features Ron Domingo (Ma-Yi’s award- winning production of THE ROMANCE OF MAGNO RUBIO), Julie Fitzpatrick, Julienne Kim (Broadway: GOLDEN CHILD), Moses Villarama (FAST COMPANY) and Jeena Yi.

Carlos Celdran. Photo by Web Begole

Carlos Celdran. Photo by Web Begole

LIVIN’ LA VIDA IMELDA is a delicious, jaw-dropping look at the inimitable life of Imelda Marcos, a solo show created and performed by, one of the Philippines best-known storytellers and provocateurs and an insider with intimate knowledge of Manila’s elite. The show – which might alternately be described as “HERE LIES THE DIRT” and offers unique insight into what makes a megalomaniac tick – details the life of the world’s most extravagant personality, Imelda Marcos, the wildly controversial former First Lady of the Philippines. Mr. Celdran will be in residence with Ma-Yi this season, culminating with the performances of LIVIN’ LA VIDA IMELDA, which he has presented at site-specific locations all across the Philippines for several years.

Carlos Celdran. Photo by Web Begole

Carlos Celdran. Photo by Web Begole

LIVIN LA VIDA IMELDA is directed by Ralph B. Peña (Wong KidsMicrocrisis).

Mr. Peña, Ma-Yi’s Artistic Director, states, “This season, we’re excited to have Han Ong (L.A. PlaysSwoony PlanetChang Fragments) back at Ma-Yi with his new play Chairs and a Long Table. Han, one of the youngest recipients of the MacArthur Genius Award, has a gift for showing us the complexities of the ordinary, often served with belly laughs. Chairs and a Long Table depicts what happens when a group of New York actors prepare to confront the leaders of a large theater for yellow-face casting.” He continued, “Linsay Firman is one of the smartest and most capable directors in the city and, if you work in the theater or care about its health, you must see this play.”

Designs for both plays are: scenic design by Nick Francone, lighting design by Yi Zhao, costume design by Becky Bodurtha, IMELDA sound design by Fabian Obispo, CHAIRS AND A LONG TABLE sound design by Nick Borisjuk, and IMELDA projection design by Hanna Wasileski.

MA-YI THEATER COMPANY won the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for its critically- acclaimed production of THE WONG KIDS IN THE SECRET OF THE SPACE CHUPACABRA GO! last season. Founded in 1989 and now celebrating its 26th anniversary season, MA-YI is a Drama Desk and OBIE Award-winning, Off- Broadway not-for-profit organization whose primary mission is to develop and produce new and innovative plays by Asian American writers. It is currently led by Ralph B. Peña (Artistic Director) and Jorge Z. Ortoll (Executive Director). Since its founding, Ma-Yi has distinguished itself as one of the country’s leading incubators of new work shaping the national discourse about what it means to be Asian American today. Its numerous acclaimed productions include last season’s BIKE AMERICAJESUS IN INDIA, Qui Nguyen’s THE INEXPLICABLE REDEMPTION OF AGENT G (with Vampire Cowboys) and SOUL SAMURAI (with Vampire Cowboys), Mike Lew’s MICROCRISIS and the revival of Ralph B. Peña’s FLIPZOIDS. Other productions include: RESCUE ME by Michi Barall, Lloyd Suh’s AMERICAN HWANGAP and THE CHILDREN OF VONDERLY and THE ROMANCE OF MAGNO RUBIO. Through successful programs such as the Writers Lab, Ma-Yi emboldens a new generation of Asian American artists to voice their experiences, while developing a steady stream of quality new works by Asian American playwrights for its own performing repertory. New works developed at the Writers Lab have gone on to successful productions around the country, at such theaters as Victory Gardens, Laguna Playhouse, Long Wharf Theater, Woolly Mammoth, and the Actors Theater of Louisville, to name a few. Ma-Yi Theater Company productions have earned 10 OBIE Awards, numerous Henry Hewes Award nominations, a Drama Desk nomination for Best Play and the Special Drama Desk Award for “more than two decades of excellence and for nurturing Asian-American voices in stylistically varied and engaging theater.”

Both plays perform on a rep schedule – Tuesdays at 7 pm, Wednesdays at 8 pm, Thursdays at 8 pm, Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 2 and 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm. For a precise performance schedule visit –www.ma-yitheatre.org
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Tickets are $35 and can be purchased by phone at 212 239 6200 or online at www.telecharge.com. Use code TRMAYI25 for $25 tickets to all performances, at www.telechargeoffers.com.

Other articles on Ma-Yi:
Oct. 28-Nov. 23: Ma-Yi Theater Company Presents Carlos Celdran’s LIVIN’ LA VIDA IMELDA and Han Ong’s CHAIRS AND A LONG TABLE at the Clurman Theater at Theatre Row
Ralph B. Peña and Leigh Silverman Among Six Mid-Career Directors Selected for Sundance Institute’s Theatre Directors Retreat in Arles, France
Ma-Yi Theatre Company Presents Qui Nguyen’s THE INEXPLICABLE REDEMPTION OF AGENT G at Theatre Row’s Beckett Theatre
Photos: Playwright Lonnie Carter Talks TRIM, The Tiger Woods What If Story, The Romance of Magno Rubio and The Lost Boys of Sudan

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Costume Institute’s Spring 2015 Exhibition at Metropolitan Museum to Focus on Chinese Imagery in Art, Film, and Fashion, May 7–August 16, 2015
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TCG’s SPARK Leadership Program Class of 2014: Victor Maog, Nelson T. Eusebio III, Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr, Snehal Desai, Deena Selenow, Jacob G. Padrón, Jr., Karena Fiorenza Ingersoll, Kelvin Dinkins, LaTeshia Dezelle Ellerson, Lisa Portes
Garland Lee Thompson, Co-founder of the Frank Silvera Writers Workshop, Injured in Fall; Gofundme.com Campaign Established for Medical Expenses 
Nov. 17: Chapman Roberts, Loretta Abbott, André De Shields, David Greer, Norm Lewis, Cherine Anderson, Lawrence Evans, Colby Christina & Nicholas A. Jenkins to Receive Special AUDELCO Awards
2014 AUDELCO Nominations Announced; Ceremony at Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space on November 17
Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes Home From The Wars, Extends at The Public Theater through November 30
Opening Night Photos: Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) by Suzan-Lori Parks at The Public Theater
Photos: David Byrne, Jaygee Macapugay, Jose Llana and Conrad Ricamora Bring the ‘Here Lies Love’ Disco to the Apple Store Soho
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
Photos: André De Shields, Adam Chanler-Berat, Jose Llana, Kevin Mambo, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Kyle Beltran, Kim Brockington and More at The Fortress of Solitude 
Geoffrey Holder, Artist, Actor, Dancer, Choreographer, Two-Time Tony Award-winning Director and Costume Designer for The Wiz, Dies at 84; Son Pens Intimate Account of Last Days
Photos: Art Salon with Artist Yang Chihung and Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang at New-York Historical Society
Celebrating my Mom – AN ACTIVE VISION: BEVERLY UMEHARA…LABOR ACTIVIST…1945-1999
Photos: Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion on View through April 19, 2015 at New York Historical Society
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Photos & Video: The Wiz’s André De Shields Sang “So You Wanted to Meet the Wizard” in The Black Stars of The Great White Way Broadway Reunion: Live The Dream at Carnegie Hall 
Photos and Video: Ben Vereen Performs at Carnegie Hall in The Black Stars of The Great White Way Broadway Reunion: Live The Dream 
Photos and Video: Obba Babatunde and cast members from the original cast of Dreamgirls perform at Carnegie Hall in The Black Stars of The Great White Way Broadway Reunion: Live The Dream
Joe Mantegna to Helm ‘Criminal Minds’ Season 10 Episode to Honor the late Meshach Taylor
Photos: Maxine Hong Kingston, Billie Tsien, Bill T. Jones, Linda Ronstadt, John Kander, Julia Alvarez, Jeffrey Katzenberg Receive 2013 National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama 
Photos: Artist Arlan Huang, One Brush Stroke at a Time
Joe Mantegna, Delta Burke, Gerald McRaney, President Bill Clinton and More Remember Meshach Taylor
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 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: © 2000-2014 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



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