James Saito, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jon Norman Schneider. Photo by T. Charles Erickson
Jame Yaegashi and his wife Tami attend 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
Great to see James Yaegashi with his lovely wife Tami, at The Steinberg “Mimi” Awards honoring 2014 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright recipient Stephen Adly Guirgis mid-November. The awards ceremony was held on the set of Lincoln Center Theater’s production of Sarah Ruhl’s new play THE OLDEST BOY, helmed by Rebecca Taichman, in which Yaegashi (Father) stars opposite Celia Keenan-Bolger (Mother), Ernest Abuba (The Oldest Boy), Tsering Dorjee (Chorus), Takemi Kitamura (Chorus), James Saito (A Lama), Jon Norman Schneider (A Monk), and Nami Yamamoto (Chorus). The production began previews on Thursday, October 9, and currently has performances through December 28, 2014, in the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 150 West 65 Street, in New York.
Celia Keenan-Bolger, James Yaegashi. Photo by T. Charles Erickson
THE OLDEST BOY tells the story of Tenzin, the toddler son of an American woman (Celia Keenan-Bolger) and a Tibetan man (James Yaegashi) who is recognized as the reincarnation of a high Buddhist teacher. Differing cultures contend with competing ideas of faith and love when two monks seek permission to take Tenzin to a monastery in India to begin his training as a spiritual master. His parents must decide whether to send their young son away or keep him home.
THE OLDEST BOY has sets by Mimi Lien, costumes by Anita Yavich, lighting by Japhy Weideman, sound by Darron L West, choreography by Barney O’Hanlon, and puppetry design/direction by Matt Acheson.
SARAH RUHL returns to Lincoln Center Theater where her plays The Clean House (Pulitzer Prize finalist, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize) and In The Next Room, or the vibrator play (Pulitzer Prize finalist) had their New York premieres. Her other plays include Stage Kiss; Passion Play, a cycle (Pen American Award); Dead Man’s Cell Phone; Melancholy Play; Orlando; Dear Elizabeth; and Late: a cowboy song (Piven Theatre Workshop). Her plays have been produced across the country as well as internationally, and have been translated into Polish, Russian, Spanish, Norwegian, Korean, German, French, Swedish, and Arabic.
REBECCA TAICHMAN directed the LCT3 production of Kirsten Greenidge’s The Luck of the Irish. She directed the world premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone and productions of her plays The Clean House, Orlando and, most recently at Playwrights Horizons, Stage Kiss. Her other Off-Broadway credits include Marie Antoinette, Milk Like Sugar, The Scene, and Menopausal Gentleman (Special Citation Obie Award/world premiere). She directed the operas Dark Sisters, music by Nico Muhly, libretto by Stephen Karam (world premiere) and Orpheus by Telemann at New York City Opera.
Tickets to THE OLDEST BOY, priced at $77 and $87, can be purchased at the Lincoln Center Theater box office (150 West 65 Street) and at telecharge.com, or by visiting www.lct.org. A limited number of tickets priced at $32 are available at every performance through LincTix, LCT’s program for 21 to 35 year olds. For information and to enroll, visit LincTix.org.
Ernest Abuba
ERNEST ABUBA Broadway: Pacific Overtures, The King and I (National Tour), Shimada, Zoya’s Apartment, Loose Ends. Off-Broadway: Yellow Fever (Obie), Teahouse of the August Moon, Shogun Macbeth, Three Sisters (Pan Asian Rep.); Leir Rex, Mishima, Caucasian Chalk Circle (LA MaMa E.T.C.); Prometheus (Guggenheim Theater), Long Day’s Journey Into Night (National Asian American Theatre Co.); Chang Fragments (NYSF); Pacific Overtures (Promenade Theater). Film: 12 Monkeys, King of New York, Article 99, Apostasy, Hamlet, Call Me, Forever Lulu. TV: “New York Undercover,” “New York News,” “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues,” “The Bill Cosby Show,” “Counterstrike,” “Loving,” “All My Children,” “Edge of Night,” “Search For Tomorrow,” “As the World Turns.”
TSERING DORJEE Film includes Himalaya. Music: co-created the original soundtrack for the 2009 Emmy Award Winning documentary The Woman of Tibet – A quiet Revolution with composer Michael Beckar. Education: Masters in Tibetan Performing Arts, Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (Dharamsala, India).
Celia Keenan-Bolger
CELIA KEENAN-BOLGER Broadway: The Glass Menagerie (Tony Award nomination, Drama Desk Award), Peter and the Starcatcher (Tony and Drama Desk nomination/also off-Broadway), Les Miserables (Drama Desk nomination), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Drama Desk, Theatre World awards; Tony Award nomination/also Off-Broadway). Off-Broadway: Merrily We Roll Along, A Small Fire, Bachelorette, Saved, Kindertransport, Little Fish, Summer of ’42. Regional: The Glass Menagerie (American Repertory Theater), Betty’s Summer Vacation (Bay Street Theatre), Creating Claire (George Street Playhouse), Peter and the Starcatcher (La Jolla Playhouse), The Light in the Piazza (The Goodman Theatre), Sweeney Todd (The Kennedy Center), Our Town (The Intiman Theatre), The Crucible (Trueblood Theatre). Film: Sundowning, Mariachi Gringo, Education of Max Bickford. TV: “Nurse Jackie,” “Heartland,” “Law & Order”.
TAKEMI KITAMURA Theater: Gekiryu, The Infinite Spirit, Scattered Lives, Own ~power of the emblem~, The Red Shadow (Samurai Sword Soul); Deadly She-Wolf Assassin at Armageddon (Big Red Media); Theater of The Reflecting Pool (Maryam Habibian). Opera: The Indian Queen. Film: Father of Mine, Wrestling Movie, Jump On Me, No One. Puppetry includes 69°S (Phantom Limb Company); Stravinsky’s Firebird (Little Orchestra Company); Ko’olau (Tom Lee); The Golden Legend, The Portuguese Site (Christopher Williams); Wind Up Bird Chronicle (Stephen Earnhart); White Elephant (Lake Simons & John Dayer). Dance: ½ life (The Body Carthography Project); Yessified (Sally Silvers); Idol, a howling flower, the last word was PAPIREPOSE (Nami Yamamoto); Gateless Gate: Women of the Scarred Earth (Peggy Choy); Whole Sky (Risa Jaroslow and Dancers); Glingo Manbo, Tectonica and Her Terre-Belles, Brink! (Wendy Osserman Dance Company); Out of Space, Workers Dancers Stories, Traces, The Living Room Project, dance all day (Sondra Loaring); Remap (Anita Cheng Dance Co.).
James Saito
JAMES SAITO Broadway: Flower Drum Song, Golden Child, The King and I. Other Theater: My Fair Lady (Arena Stage), Durango (Obie, NY Public Theater/Long Wharf), BFE (Playwrights Horizons/Long Wharf), Pacific Overtures (Alliance Theatre/Cincinnati Playhouse), Golden Child (Seattle Rep), The Waiting Room (Vineyard/Arena Stage/Williamstown Theatre Festival), The Wash (Mark Taper Forum), Rashomon (Roundabout Theatre). Film: Life of Pi, Robot Stories, Love the Hard Way, Pearl Harbor, The Thomas Crown Affair, Henry Fool, Home Alone 3, Devil’s Advocate, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, The Hunted, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. TV: “Too Big to Fail,” “Shogun/Heroes & Villains,” “Guests of the Emperor,” “To Be the Best,” “C.A.T. Squad,” “War and Remembrance,” “Blood and Orchids,” “Madam Secretary,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “Person of Interest,” “Blue Bloods,” “30 Rock,” “Eli Stone,” “New York Undercover,” “Third Watch,” “One Life to Live,” “Star Trek Voyager,” “100 Centre Street,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Law & Order,” “Strangers with Candy,” “Miami Vice”.
Jon Norman Schneider
JON NORMAN SCHNEIDER NY Theatre: The Architecture of Becoming (The Women’s Project), Ching Chong Chinaman (Pan Asian Repertory), Durango (Public Theater), House of No More (PS 122, Big Art Group, NY Premiere), Life Science (Theatre 54, Bulldog Theatrical), To Eat Bitter (Blue Heron Arts Center), Rewind: Soundtrack for Longing (NY Theatre Workshop), Now and Then… (Dancespace/St. Mark’s Church), A Map of Virtue (13P). London: Paper Dolls (Tricycle Theatre). Film: The Girl in the Book, The Normals, Angel Rodriguez, Zombie Town, Hiding Divya, Porcelain. TV: “Veep,” “The Electric Company,” “30 Rock,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”.
NAMI YAMAMOTO Dance Performance Works: Headless Wolf, a howling flower, the last word was PAPIREPOSE, in/Flux, 5.7.5, Freedumb, Wan dollah?, H(a)i, My Backyard. Recipient of several awards and grants including the Parent/Choreographer Grant from Brooklyn Arts Exchange, the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, a Choreographic Fellowship from Maggie Allessee National Center for Choreography at Florida State University, and a Creative Capital Grant. Education: MA, Dance and Dance Education, NYU; BA, Physical Education, Ehime University.
Other articles by Lia Chang:
James Yaegashi, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Ernest Abuba, Tsering Dorjee, Takemi Kitamura, James Saito, Jon Norman Schneider in Sarah Ruhl’s The Oldest Boy in the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at LCT
Ann Harada Ends Run on Broadway in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Cinderella’ on December 14; Set for World Premiere of ‘Brooklynite’ at The Vineyard in January 2015
Dec. 8: Christine Toy Johnson, Thom Sesma, Cindy Cheung, Raymond J. Lee, Pearl Sun, Marc delaCruz, Arielle Jacobs, Daniel J. Edwards, Kamala Sankaram, Mel Sagrado Maghuyop & More Set for The Asian American Composers and Lyricists Projects’ “Arriving In Asian America”
Photos: BD Wong, Cindy Cheung, Brooke Ishibashi,Thom Sesma, Manna Nichols, Steven Eng, Ariel Estrada and Lori Tan Chinn at Leviathan Lab’s Ghost Stories
Apple Video Podcast: New York Post Writer Michael Riedel Interviews David Byrne, Jaygee Macapugay, Jose Llana and Conrad Ricamora of Here Lies Love
Q & A with Danny Ramm, Co-writer of Joe Mantegna Helmed ‘Criminal Minds’ Season 10 Episode to Honor the late Meshach Taylor; Airs January 21, 2015
Suzan-Lori Parks’ “Father Comes Home From the Wars” is #2 on TIME’s Top 10 Plays & Musicals List; Ends Run December 7 at The Public Theater
Emmy Winner Richard Thomas and Anna Chlumsky Set For Broadway’s YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, Beginning January 6, 2015
Lia Chang Picks: Island Breeze CD by Jeff Peterson, Riley Lee & Kenny Endo
New York Times Critics’ Pick OUR LADY OF KIBEHO by Katori Hall, extends through December 14
Lia Chang Picks: Arthur Dong’s Forbidden City: Chinese-American Nightclubs, 1930-1970
Stephen Adly Guirgis’ BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at Second Stage Theatre’s Tony Kiser Theatre Beginning January 16, 2015
Photos: BD Wong, Cindy Cheung, Brooke Ishibashi,Thom Sesma, Manna Nichols, Steven Eng, Ariel Estrada and Lori Tan Chinn at Leviathan Lab’s Ghost Stories Apple Video Podcast: New York Post Writer Michael Riedel Interviews David Byrne, Jaygee Macapugay, Jose Llana and Conrad Ricamora of Here Lies Love
Cheryl L. Davis’ Maid’s Door Sweeps AUDELCOs with 7 Wins; Complete List of 2014 AUDELCO Recipients
Ken Watanabe, Kelli O’Hara, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Jon Viktor Corpuz, Paul Nakauchi and More Set for Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I
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
Q & A with Playwright Camille Darby, 2014-15 Dramatists Guild Playwrighting Fellow
Costume Institute’s Spring 2015 Exhibition at Metropolitan Museum to Focus on Chinese Imagery in Art, Film, and Fashion, May 7–August 16, 2015
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: Art Salon with Artist Yang Chihung and Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang at New-York Historical Society
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: 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
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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.
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