Lia Chang Photos: Tonya Pinkins, André De Shields, S. Epatha Merkerson, Billy Porter and George C. Wolfe at 54 Below

Billy Porter, Tonya Pinkins and André De Shields. Photo by Lia Chang

On the last Monday in August, the joint was jumpin’ at 54 BELOW for Tonya Pinkins who performed excerpts from Hurricane Ethel, her upcoming one woman show written in collaboration with director Dennis Courtney.

The actress, who won a Tony Award for Jelly’s Last Jam, was transcendent as she channelled Ethel Waters, the legendary African-American actress and jazz-era singer who was America’s first International superstar of any race, weaving a vibrant tapestry of characters instrumental in Waters’ life, and highlighting the canon of songs in the Great American Songbook written especially for her golden pipes.

Many in the theater community turned out on this sultry summer night to join her in celebrating the iconic entertainer, including André De Shields, George Faison, David Ives, S. Epatha Merkerson, Billy Porter, Elaine Stritch, Jeanine Tesori, Charles Turner, George C. Wolfe, Colleen Zenk, and Pinkins’ son Maxx Brawer.

George C. Wolfe, Tonya Pinkins and S. Epatha Merkerson. Photo by Lia Chang

Born on October 31, 1896 in Chesterfield, PA., Ethel Waters was a pioneer as an African American artist in the entertainment field whose talents and accomplishments were peerless. She was the first black woman heard on the radio, the first black singer to perform on television, the first African American to perform in an integrated cast on Broadway, the first black woman to perform in a lead dramatic role on Broadway, and the first African American to receive equal billing on Broadway. source: http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/musician.php?id=11192

Jeanine Tesori,Tonya Pinkins and George Faison. Photo by Lia Chang

Ms. Pinkins, accompanied by her musical director Barry Levitt on piano, Dick Sarpola on bass, and Waldren Ricks on trumpet, sang arrangements of songs that Waters made famous and utilized signature tunes as signposts to tell the story of the famed singer’s life. Her set list included “I Got Rhythm,” “You Can’t Do What My Last Man Did,” “Last of the Red Hot Mamas,” “Come Up and See Me Sometime,” “Go Back Where You Stayed Last Night,” “St. Louis Blues,” “Lil Black Boy,” “Eli Eli,” “Heatwave,” “Dinah,” “Old Man Harlem/ Harlem on My Mind,” “Moon Glow/Taking a Chance on Love,” “Honey in the Honeycomb/Happiness is a Thing Called Joe/Cabin in the Sky Medley,” “Suppertime,” “Stormy Weather,” “Handyman,” “Black and Blue,” and “A Hundred Years from Today.”

On Broadway, Ms. Waters starred in As Thousands Cheer, At Home Abroad, Mamba’s Daughters, Cabin in the Sky, and Member of the Wedding. She was an indelible presence in the films Cabin in the Sky, The Member of the Wedding,The Sound and the Fury, and Pinky, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1949, following Hattie McDaniel as the second Black woman to be nominated for an Oscar. The following year, she won the New York Drama Critics Award for best actress. Ms. Waters starred in the television show “Beaulah,” wrote her autobiography “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” with Charles Samuel, and in the late Fifties, performed and toured with evangelist Billy Graham until her death in 1977.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Waters

Tonya Pinkins (Photo by Lia Chang)

In the past twelve months alone, Tonya Pinkins has given five critically acclaimed performances in roles as diverse as an aging Countess, a syphilitic Bawd, a bitter ghetto mom, a diabetic great grandmother and a faithful Latina from the Bronx. Her performance in Milk Like Sugar won the 2012 Lucille Lortel Award. On Broadway, Ms. Pinkins made her debut in the original cast of Merrily We Roll Along, appeared in Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Play On!, The Wild Party, Caroline, or Change, and Radio Golf. Television audiences are most familiar with her from “As The World Turns,” “All My Children” and “Army Wives”.

Maxx Brawer and his mom Tonya Pinkins. Photo by Lia Chang

Her performances have been nominated for the Olivier, Jefferson, Helen Hayes, NAACP, Dramaleague, What’s On Stage, Audience Choice, Soap Opera Digest, Noel and Ovation awards. She is the winner of the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critic’s Circle, Clarence Derwent, Monarch, Black theater Alliance, Garland, L.A. Drama Critics, Audelco and Obie Awards.

OPRAH named her “One of the ten women in America who will take your breath away” and TIME OUT New York included Ms. Pinkins as One of Broadways 25 all Time Greatest Divas. www.tonyapinkins.com

Director Dennis Courtney staged a re-envisioned production of Fiddler on the Roof (currently in its 5th year running in Tel Aviv) as the official production for the 60th Anniversary of Israel, for which he won the Israeli National Theatre Award. He recently directed the off-Broadway premiere of Civil War Voices (6 MITF Awards). He has been the director/choreographer of over 150 stage productions including Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby (Los Angeles Drama Critics and DramaLogue Awards for Direction & Choreography) and Can-Can with Leslie Uggams. Mr. Courtney has conceived and staged special events and award shows, working with such performers as Bette Midler, Celine Dion, Quincy Jones, Warren Beatty, The Bacon Brothers & David Letterman. On television, Mr. Courtney directed the 5th season opener of TV’s “Perfect Strangers.”

54 BELOW is owned and operated by Tony Award winning producers Tom Viertel, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, and Steven Baruch. 54 BELOW features up to three shows nightly and has audio and video recording capabilities. The cover charge ranges from $5-$85.

54 BELOW is located at 254 West 54th Street. Tickets and information are available at www.54Below.com.

Tonya Pinkins and Colleen Zenk. Photo by Lia Chang

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Jennifer Lim, Julyana Soelistyo, Greg Watanabe Set for Signature Theatre’s Production of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child, October 23-December 2, 2012
Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins Celebrates Ethel Waters at 54 Below in New York on August 27, 2012
Faith Prince and Jason Graae: The Prince & the Showboy in Concert at 54 Below, August 21-25, 2012
André De Shields Returns to The Laurie Beechman Theatre with I Put A Spell on You, October 5 and 12
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Photos: Tonya Pinkins, Billy Eugene Jones, Matthew Murumba and Toccarra Cash in Reading of Camille Darby’s Lords Resistance
Reading of Camille Darby’s Lords Resistance Stars Tonya Pinkins, Billy Eugene Jones, Tocarra Cash and Matthew Murumba at The Red Room on January 18
MTC’s An Enemy of The People Starring Boyd Gaines and Richard Thomas Begin Previews at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Tony Award – winning Playwright Terrence McNally to be Honored at Westport Country Playhouse Annual Gala, September 24, 2012
Signature Theatre’s World Premiere of Sam Shepard’s Heartless Starring Lois Smith, Gary Cole, Jenny Bacon, Betty Gilpin, and Julianne Nicholson Extends through September 30, 2012
Sean Dugan Set for West Coast Premiere of George C. Wolfe’s Tony Award-Winning Production of The Normal Heart at A.C.T., September 13 – October 7, 2012
David Henry Hwang to Receive the 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at the 5th Annual Steinberg Playwright “Mimi” Awards on October 29, 2012
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 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

Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins Celebrates Ethel Waters at 54 Below in New York on August 27, 2012

Tonight, I’m going to my new favorite cabaret club, the swellegant 54 Below in New York, to see Tony award-winner Tonya Pinkins, where she’ll be performing signature anthems celebrating the life and music of Ethel Waters, at 9:30pm.

Tonya Pinkins

Ms. Pinkins’ late summer concert will feature excerpts from her upcoming one woman show about Ethel Waters, a legendary artist who was America’s first International superstar of any race, written in collaboration with Dennis Courtney entitled HURRICANE ETHEL. This is her first concert performance since her celebrated Jazz at Lincoln Center appearance in 2005 when she performed her acclaimed Harold Arlen Concert.

Best known for her celebrated roles in Caroline, or Change and Jelly’s Last Jam, Ms. Pinkins made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Merrily We Roll Along. Broadway audiences have also delighted in her performances in Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Play On!, The Wild Party and Radio Golf, while television audiences know her from “As The World Turns,” “All My Children” and “Army Wives”. Her performance in Milk Like Sugar won the 2012 Lucille Lortel Award, and she has been nominated for the Olivier, Jefferson, Helen Hayes, NAACP, Dramaleague, What’s On Stage, Audience Choice, Soap Opera Digest, Noel and Ovation Awards. She is the winner of the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Clarence Derwent, Monarch, Black Theatre Alliance, Garland, L.A. Drama Critics, AUDELCO and Obie Awards.

Ms. Pinkins is the author of GET OVER YOURSELF: How to drop the drama and claim the life you deserve. (Hyperion Books) and is the creator of “The Actorpreneur Attitude,” giving workshops lectures & life coaching to businesses & individuals across the globe. A single mother of four, she is an activist for women’s and children’s rights and has won legal battles in several states on the trial and appellate level as a self-represented litigant. She is also an accomplished painter and art teacher, and has taught at every level of education, from pre-K through graduate school.

54 Below in New York. Photo by Lia Chang

54 Below is located at 254 West 54th Street in New York. There is a $30-$40 cover plus a $25 food/drink minimum. The concert is at 9:30pm, doors open at 9pm. For more information, call 646-476-3551.

Faith Prince and Jason Graae onstage after their show at 54 Below in New York on August 24, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

My first visit to 54 Below was last Thursday to see Faith Prince and Jason Graae in their show, The Prince and the Showboy. The charming and funny pair received glowing reviews during their one week run in New York. I first met Jason when he was performing in the Off-Broadway hit Forever Plaid, and reconnected with him over the summer in St. Louis where he was performing as Omar, in Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny.

Faith and Jason have been fast friends since their college days at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and their closeness and mutual admiration for one another was evident on the intimate stage, even from my seat at the bar (There isn’t a bad seat in the house).

Both masters of their craft with impeccable comedic timing, the Broadway vets were accompanied by their musical director, Alex Rybeck on the keys. I had so much fun, that I returned with another friend for the late night show on Friday. We were seated in front of the stage, and were treated to an even richer experience. Thank you Faith and Jason for the laughter, the tears and the gift of your performances.

Francis Jue, Jason Graae and Eddie Korbich in Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny on JUly 8, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Other articles on The Prince and The Showboy:
nytimes.com: Two Vestiges of Vaudeville
Broadway.com: Music Mix: 54 Below’s Faith Prince and Jason Graae Talk Liza, The Book of Mormon and Once On This Island
theatermania.com: Faith Prince & Jason Graae: The Prince & The Showboy

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Faith Prince and Jason Graae: The Prince & the Showboy in Concert at 54 Below, August 21-25, 2012
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Photos: Tonya Pinkins, Billy Eugene Jones, Matthew Murumba and Toccarra Cash in Reading of Camille Darby’s Lords Resistance
Reading of Camille Darby’s Lords Resistance Stars Tonya Pinkins, Billy Eugene Jones, Tocarra Cash and Matthew Murumba at The Red Room on January 18
David Henry Hwang to Receive the 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at the 5th Annual Steinberg Playwright “Mimi” Awards on October 29, 2012
10 minutes with Sullivan & Son’s Jodi Long, Award Winning Actor and Filmmaker
West Coast Premiere of David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish at Berkeley Rep stars Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge, August 24-October 7, 2012
New York Foundation for the Arts presents ‘An Evening with David Henry Hwang’ at Barnes & Noble on July 26, 2012
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Oskar Eustis, BD Wong, Brian d’Arcy James, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim and Leigh Silverman at WNYC’s The Greene Space
Multimedia: Screen Actors Guild Foundation’s Conversations with Derek Ting, Linus Roache and Michael Park of $upercapitalist
Tony Award – winning Playwright Terrence McNally to be Honored at Westport Country Playhouse Annual Gala, September 24, 2012
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
Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, Jayshree Janu Kharpade’s Fire in Our Hearts, Eliaichi Kimaro’s A Lot Like You, Vincent Sandoval’s Señorita, and Liang Cheng’s My Spiritual Medicine among AAIFF’12 Award Winners
Janet Yang to receive 2012 Asian American Media Award at AAIFF’12 Opening Night Presentation of Shanghai Calling
George Takei, Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and Paolo Montalban star in the World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical at The Old Globe, September 7 – October 21, 2012
Three Year Swim Club, Encounter, TEA, Christmas in Hanoi and Chess set for East West Players 47th Anniversary Season
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Photos: BD Wong, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brandon Victor Dixon, Tom Viola at “Passing It On: An Evening of Mentorship to Benefit Rosie’s Theater Kids”
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
Photos: In Rehearsal with BD Wong at Dixon Place for Live Concert Recording of Herringbone
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 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

Denise Burse as Claretha Jenkins in House of Payne’s “Payneful Visit”

Photo by Lia Chang

Denise Burse is most familiar to television audiences as Claretha Jenkins on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, the 2011 NAACP Award recipient for Outstanding Comedy Series. In the current season of House of Payne, Claretha reveals she has leukemia.

Ms. Burse can be seen in Bruce Beresford’s Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding, a new film starring Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Catherine Keener, Chase Crawford and Kyle MacLachlan, scheduled for release this year.

Production still of Charles Randolph Wright's Preaching to the Choir (l-r) Kia (Janine Green), Miss Nettie (Eartha Kitt), Butter (Roger Robinson), Willie (Jonathan Lopez), Sister Marcie (Denise Burse), Sister Emma (Adriane Lenox) Photo by Robert Barocci/Preaching to the Choir

Her favorite film roles include her co-starring turns as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s mother opposite Howard Rollins in The Boy King (WSB); as Buster Marshall, Thurgood Marshall’s wife in Simple Justice (PBS American Experience); as Sister Marcie in Preaching to the Choir, directed by Charles Randolph Wright, as Sergeant Martin in A Time to Triumph (CBS) starring Patty Duke; and as Eleanor Clark in Resting Place (CBS, Hallmark Hall of Fame), starring John Lithgow and Morgan Freeman. Other film and TV credits include the BET/STARZ movie Funny Valentines, with Alfre Woodard and Loretta Devine, Angel, Basquiat, The Juror, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Third Watch, 100 Centre Street, The Sopranos, The Cosby Show, New York Undercover and One Life to Live.

Denise Burse as Harriet Tubman in Harriet's Return. Photo by Lia Chang

Ms. Burse appeared on Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein’s An American Daughter, directed by Daniel Sullivan. Her Off-Broadway credits include Eisa Davis’ Angela’s Mixtape (Ohio Theatre), Don Juan of Seville (Classical Stage Company), Ground People (American Place Theatre), Harriet’s Return (Cherry Lane Theatre), Hannah Davis (Negro Ensemble Company) and Bill Harris’ Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil (New Federal Theatre). Her regional credits include Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West with Ruby Dee at The Kennedy Center; Charles Randolph Wright’s Blue (Cincinnati Playhouse, Geva); Miss Evers’ Boys (Illusion Theater); African Company Presents Richard III (Cleveland Playhouse); Fences (CENTERSTAGE); The Piano Lesson (Seattle Repertory Theatre, director Lloyd Richards) and James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner (True Colors Theatre Company/Alliance Theatre). Helmer Kenny Leon has directed her in August Wilson’s Fences (Alliance Theatre), Radio Golf (CENTERSTAGE, Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Repertory Theatre), The Piano Lesson and Seven Guitars (Alliance Theatre). Ms. Burse garnered a Theatre World Award for her Off-Broadway debut in Ground People and an AUDELCO Award for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil.

(l-r) Denise Burse, Navaina Rhodes, Margo Moorer and Chandra Currelley in True Colors Theatre's production of The Amen Corner by James Baldwin at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Photo by Tom Meyer

A native of Atlanta, Ms. Burse honed her craft performing at the Just Us Theatre, The Alliance Theatre and The Atlanta Children’s Theater.

Here is the link – http://wp.me/pla1d-3hJ – to post this article on Facebook.

On October 16, 2005, fourteen days after American playwright August Wilson's death, the theatre was renamed in his honor. (l-r) August Wilson's niece Kimberly Ellis with Radio Golf castmembers Denise Burse, John Earl Jelks and Anthony Chisholm in front of the August Wilson Theatre on October 16, 2005. Photos by Lia Chang

Related articles:
Wikipedia List of Tyler Perry’s House of Payne Episodes
Other Articles by this Author:
Denise Burse, Harriett D. Foy, Lynda Gravatt, Nikiya Mathis, Dennis Parlato, Saycon Sengbloh and Tracie Thoms in Marcus Gardley’s The House That Will Not Stand in 2012 Powerhouse Theater Season, July 20-22, 2012
Slideshow – On October 16, 2005, The Virginia Theatre was renamed the August Wilson Theatre
Peter Jay Fernandez in Theatre for a New Audience’s Macbeth at The Duke through April 22
Denise Burse & Peter Jay Fernandez Featured in INTAR Reading of Andrew Dolan’s The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King
Multimedia: The 52nd Street Project Benefit Photos: Michael Cerveris, James Monroe Inglehart, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Matthew Morrison, Greg Naughton and Kelli O’Hara
Michael Cerveris, Matthew Morrison & Kelli O’Hara sing for 52nd Street Project’s Benefit
Multimedia: Zooman and The Sign Opening Night Party
Denise Burse, Rocky Carroll, Anthony Chisholm, John Earl Jelks and James A. Williams in Radio Golf by August Wilson at The Pearlstone Theater in Baltimore
Marva Hicks and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra light up the Southern Theatre with a “A Night at the Apollo”
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

Lia Chang, Peter Jay Fernandez, Denise Burse and Marva Hicks after the concert presentation of Pat Holley's Me and Caesar Lee at The Triad Theatre in New York on April 3, 2011.

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”. She has appeared in Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and “New York Undercover”.

Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.

Geffen Playhouse Production Photos of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon starring Kevin Anderson, Tracee Chimo, Catherine Dent and John Earl Jelks, 1/25-3/6/11

Kevin Anderson in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

Broadway veteran Kevin Anderson leads the cast of the Los Angeles run of the world premiere production of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon, helmed by Jo Bonney, which is currently in previews at the Geffen Playhouse, located on 10886 Le Conte Avenue. A co-production with MCC in New York, The Break of Noon cast includes Catherine Dent as well as Tracee Chimo and John Earl Jelks, who performed their roles in the New York portion of the run. Opening night for The Break of Noon is February 2, with performances continuing through March 6, 2011.

Kevin Anderson and John Earl Jelks in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

Kevin Anderson, who was recently nominated for a Tony Award for his role in Death of a Salesman, portrays the play’s central character, John Smith, a man who hears the voice of God during a tragic office shooting. Smith is a selfish, philandering liar – or at least he was. After the incident, this imperfect man reforms himself and goes on a mission to spread the word about a better way of life to everyone surrounding him: his wife and his wife’s cousin, both portrayed by Catherine Dent, known for her longtime role on The Shield; a morning talk show host and a call girl, both played by Tracee Chimo, who recently received the Eugene O’Neil Award for her role in Irena’s Vow; and his lawyer and the detective on the case, both played by Tony Award nominee John Earl Jelks (Radio Golf). But is Joe’s divine encounter merely a ploy for celebrity, a chance to escape his rocky past, or is it part of an infinite and almighty plan? In The Break of Noon, LaBute explores the trials and tribulations of a modern day prophet – and what he signifies in a jaded world that is thousands of years removed from burning bushes and stone tablets.

Kevin Anderson and Catherine Dent in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

The production team includes set design by Neil Patel, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by David Wiener, sound design by, Darron L. West, with Christina Lowe as production stage manager.

Tracee Chimo and Kevin Anderson in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

The Break of Noon marks the fourth time LaBute’s work has been at the Geffen Playhouse; his past works at the theater include Fat Pig (also directed by Bonney), Some Girl(s) and Wrecks, all of which ran in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater.

The performance schedule for The Break of Noon is Tuesday – Friday 8:00pm, Saturday at 3:00pm and 8:00pm and Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Ticket prices range from $37 – $57 for preview performances and from $47 – $77 for the regular run. Tickets are available at the Geffen Playhouse box office at 310-208-5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Kevin Anderson in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

KEVIN ANDERSON (John Smith)
Kevin just returned from London’s West End and Dublin as Andy Dufresne in the new stage adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption. An ensemble member since 1984, other plays at Steppenwolf include I Never Sang for My Father, Our Town, Three Sisters, Earthly Possessions and Orphans, which took him to New York (Theatre World Award), London’s West End and eventually the movie with Albert Finney. Other Chicago credits include A Guide for the Perplexed (Victory Gardens); Pal Joey and Death of a Salesman (The Goodman); among others. Broadway and off-Broadway include Death of a Salesman (Outer Critics and Drama Desk awards, Tony® nomination), the musical Brooklyn, Orpheus Descending, Moonchildren, Brilliant Traces, The Red Address, Speaking in Tongues and Summer and Smoke. Other London theatre credits include the original Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard and Dinner with Friends. Some of his films include Charlotte’s Web, Miles from Home, In Country, Sleeping with the Enemy, Liebestraum, Hoffa, The Night We Never Met, Rising Sun, Firelight, A Thousand Acres, Eye of God, Doe Boy and the new Al Pacino docu-drama Wilde Salome. Cable films include Orpheus Descending, The Wrong Man, Hunt for the Unicorn Killer, Ruby’s Bucket of Blood, Monday Night Mayhem and Power and Beauty. He starred in the TV series Nothing Sacred, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

JO BONNEY (Director)
Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig (MCC/Geffen Playhouse) and Some Girl(s) (MCC); Culture Clash’s American Night (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Darci Picoult’s Lil’s 90th (Long Wharf Theatre); Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes Home from the Wars (Public LAB); Naomi Wallace’s The Hard Weather Boating Party and The Fever Chart; Michael Weller’s Beast (New York TheatreWorkshop); Alan Ball’s All that I Will Ever Be (NYTW); Eric Bogosian’s subUrbia, Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play and Lisa Loomer’s Living Out (Second Stage); Will Power’s The Seven (NYTW & La Jolla Playhouse; Lortel Award, Best Musical); Christopher Shinn’s On the Mountain (Playwrights Horizons); Universes’ Slanguage (NYTW/Mark Taper Forum); Lanford Wilson’s Fifth of July (Signature Theatre; Lortel Award, Best Revival); José Rivera’s References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (The Public Theater); Diana Son’s Stop Kiss (The Public Theater); Jessica Goldberg’s Good Thing (The New Group); John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger (CSC); Danny Hoch’s Some People and Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop (USA/Britain); numerous solos by Eric Bogosian (USA/Britain). Recipient of a 1998 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Direction and editor of Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century (TCG). Upcoming: Lynn Nottage’s By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Second Stage).

Tracee Chimo and Kevin Anderson in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

TRACEE CHIMO (TV Host, Gigi)
Tracee was last seen as Regan in The Bachelorette. Broadway: Irena’s Vow. Off Broadway: Circle Mirror Transformation (Lucille Lortel nom, Drama Desk award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance), Vendetta Chrome, Guilty, Bushwhackin’, Vamp. Regional: Sundance ’08, Humana Festival/Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, The Cleveland Playhouse and Philadelphia Theatre Company. TV: Guest-star in the FX series Louie, Guiding Light. Film: Evening, What Would Jesus Do?, Daughters of Liberty and Wasted Time. Last year Tracee was honored by actress Marian Seldes and The O’Neill Studio, where she studied, with the Eugene O’Neill Award for her work in Irena’s Vow.

Kevin Anderson and Catherine Dent in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

CATHERINE DENT (Ginger, Jesse)
Theater: (Broadway) Uncle Vanya (Off-Broadway) Amoeba Concerto (Regional) The Country, The Street of the Sun. TV: N.C.I.S., Law and Order: Los Angeles, The Closer, Rockford Files, Ghost Whisperer, Day One, Lie to Me, Natalee Holloway, The Shield, Law & Order: SVU, Criminal Minds, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Without A Trace, Numbers, Grey’s Anatomy, Seattle Serial Killer, Law and Order, Judging Amy, CSI, Taken, The Sopranos, Dharma and Greg, Third Watch, The X-Files, Frasier, L.A. Doctors, Chicago Hope, New York Under Cover. Film: Duress, 21 Grams, Auto Focus, The Majestic, Someone Like You, The Replicant, March 29 1997, Nobody’s Fool, Jaded.

Kevin Anderson and John Earl Jelks in the Geffen Playhouse production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon directed by Jo Bonney. Photo by Michael Lamont

JOHN EARL JELKS (Lawyer, Detective)
John was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as “Sterling” in August Wilson’s Radio Golf, which he also toured to the McCarter, Goodman, Center Stage, Seattle Rep., Mark Taper and Yale Repertory theaters. Jelks also appeared with Phylicia Rashad on Broadway in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean as “Citizen” (after runs at the Goodman, Huntington, and Mark Taper theaters, where he won an NAACP Theater Award and an L.A. Ovation Award).

John Earl Jelks Photo by Lia Chang

In 2008, Jelks won an AUDELCO Award for his work in the Off-Broadway revival of The First Breeze of Summer. Regional theater credits include Fetch Clay, Make Man at the McCarter Theatre, the world stage premiere of The Shawshank Redemption at the Gaiety Theatre in Ireland, Magnolia at the Goodman Theater, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Penumbra Theatre Company and the Missouri Repertory Theatre, The Piano Lesson at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and Diary of a Black Man at the Union Square Theatre and the Shaw Theatre in London, England. Recently, Jelks appeared in Spike Lee’s film Miracle at St. Anna.

NEIL LaBUTE (Playwright)
Neil LaBute received his Master of Fine Arts degree in dramatic writing from New York University and was the recipient of a literary fellowship to study at the Royal Court Theatre, London and also attended the Sundance Institute’s Playwrights Lab. His films include In the Company of Men (New York Critics’ Circle Award for Best First Feature and the Filmmaker Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival), Your Friends and Neighbors, Nurse Betty, Possession, The Shape of Things (a film adaptation of his play by the same title), The Wicker Man, Lakeview Terrace and Death at a Funeral. LaBute’s plays include bash: latter-day plays, The Shape of Things, The Mercy Seat, The Distance From Here, Autobahn, Fat Pig (Olivier nomination for Best Comedy), Some Girls, This Is How It Goes, Wrecks, Filthy Talk for Troubled Times, In a Dark Dark House and reasons to be pretty (Tony Award nomination for Best Play). LaBute is also the author of Seconds of Pleasure, a collection of short fiction which was published by Grove Atlantic. His new play, In a Forest Dark and Deep, will open on London’s West End in 2011.

ABOUT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
The Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and musicals, the Geffen Playhouse continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company is helmed by Producing Director and President of the Board Gilbert Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney, Managing Director Ken Novice and Chairman of the Board Frank Mancuso. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen Playhouse welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains an extensive education and outreach program, designed to engage young people and the community at large in the arts. For more information, visit www.geffenplayhouse.com.

ABOUT MCC THEATER
MCC Theater is one of New York City’s leading Off Broadway theater companies, committed to presenting New York and world premieres each season. When MCC Theater was founded in 1986, its mission was simple: to bring new theatrical voices to theater-going audiences. MCC Theater continues to accomplish this yearly through presentation of its mainstage works; its Literary Program, which actively seeks and develops new and emerging writers and its Education & Outreach Program, allowing more than 1,200 students yearly to experience theater, increase literacy and discover their own voices in the arts. Notable MCC Theater highlights include: the 2008 Tony Award-nominated Reasons to be Pretty by Neil LaBute, last season’s Fifty Words, the 2004 Tony-winning production of Bryony Lavery’s Frozen; Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig; Rebecca Gilman’s The Glory of Living; Marsha Norman’s Trudy Blue; Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit; Tim Blake Nelson’s The Grey Zone and Alan Bowne’s Beirut. Over the years, the dedication to the work of new and emerging artists has earned MCC Theater a variety of awards. For a complete production history, visit www.mcctheater.org.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Kevin Anderson, Catherine Dent, Tracee Chimo, John Earl Jelks in Neil La Bute’s The Break of Noon at the Geffen 1/25-3/6
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet,Tracee Chimo opening night of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon
Photos: Chinese New Year Festival at The Huntington in San Marino
Up Close and Personal with Darren Pettie, Star of The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore
A.B. Cruz III of Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc., Lillian Kimura To Receive 2011 Justice in Action Awards
Photos:The Working Theater’s Off-Broadway production of HONEY BROWN EYES by Stefanie Zadravec at The Clurman -2/6/11
Jarlath Conroy Leads Cast of Pinter’s The Homecoming at CENTERSTAGE in Baltimore, 1/26-2/20/11
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 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.

Lia Chang: Kevin Anderson and Catherine Dent Join Tracee Chimo and John Earl Jelks in Neil La Bute’s The Break of Noon for LA Run at the Geffen Playhouse, 1/25-3/6

John Earl Jelks and Tracee Chimo at the opening night afterparty at 49 Grove for MCC's production of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon in New York on November 22, 2010 Photo by Lia Chang

Broadway veteran Kevin Anderson leads the cast in the Los Angeles run of the world premiere production of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon. The Break of Noon, which is a co-production with MCC in New York, will feature Catherine Dent as well as Tracee Chimo and John Earl Jelks, who performed their roles in the New York portion of the run. Helmed by director Jo Bonney, The Break of Noon begins in previews on January 25, 2011 and officially opens February 2, 2011.

Kevin Anderson, who was recently nominated for a Tony Award for his role in Death of a Salesman, portrays the play’s central character, John Smith, a man who hears the voice of God during a tragic office shooting. Smith is a selfish, philandering liar – or at least he was. After the incident, this imperfect man reforms himself and goes on a mission to spread the word about a better way of life to everyone surrounding him: his wife and his wife’s cousin, both portrayed by Catherine Dent, known for her longtime role on The Shield; a morning talk show host and a call girl, both played by Tracee Chimo, who recently received the Eugene O’Neil Award for her role in Irena’s Vow; and his lawyer and the detective on the case, both played by Tony Award nominee John Earl Jelks (Radio Golf). But is Joe’s divine encounter merely a ploy for celebrity, a chance to escape his rocky past, or is it part of an infinite and almighty plan? In The Break of Noon, LaBute explores the trials and tribulations of a modern day prophet – and what he signifies in a jaded world that is thousands of years removed from burning bushes and stone tablets.

The production team includes set design by Neil Patel, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by David Wiener, sound design by, Darron L. West, with Christina Lowe as production stage manager.

The Break of Noon marks the fourth time LaBute’s work has been at the Geffen Playhouse; his past works at the theater include Fat Pig (also directed by Bonney), Some Girl(s) and Wrecks, all of which ran in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater. The Break of Noon runs from January 25 to March 6, 2011.

The performance schedule is Tuesday – Friday 8:00pm, Saturday at 3:00pm and 8:00pm and Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Ticket prices range from $37 – $57 for preview performances and from $47 – $77 for the regular run. Tickets are on sale now at the Geffen Playhouse box office at 310-208-5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Tracee Chimo, David Duchovny, Amanda Peet and John Earl Jelks at the opening night curtain call of MCC Theater's world premiere of Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon at the Lucille Lortel in New York on November 22, 2010. Photo by Lia Chang

The New York production of The Break of Noon, starring David Duchovny, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo and John Earl Jelks has been extended through December 22, 2010 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC). The show is playing the following schedule for the extension due to the holiday:
Thursday, December 16 at 8:00 p.m.
Friday, December 17 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 18 at 2:00 & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday. December 19 at 3:00 p.m.
Monday, December 20 at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, December 21 at 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 22 at 2:00 & 7:00 p.m.

Subscriptions for MCC’s 2010-2011 season are on-sale now and priced as low as $99 for the 3-play season. For more information visit www.mcctheater.org or to purchase packages, contact TicketCentral directly at www.ticketcentral.com or call 212-279-4200.

KEVIN ANDERSON (John Smith)
Kevin just returned from London’s West End and Dublin as Andy Dufresne in the new stage adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption. An ensemble member since 1984, other plays at Steppenwolf include I Never Sang for My Father, Our Town, Three Sisters, Earthly Possessions and Orphans, which took him to New York (Theatre World Award), London’s West End and eventually the movie with Albert Finney. Other Chicago credits include A Guide for the Perplexed (Victory Gardens); Pal Joey and Death of a Salesman (The Goodman); among others. Broadway and off-Broadway include Death of a Salesman (Outer Critics and Drama Desk awards, Tony® nomination), the musical Brooklyn, Orpheus Descending, Moonchildren, Brilliant Traces, The Red Address, Speaking in Tongues and Summer and Smoke. Other London theatre credits include the original Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard and Dinner with Friends. Some of his films include Charlotte’s Web, Miles from Home, In Country, Sleeping with the Enemy, Liebestraum, Hoffa, The Night We Never Met, Rising Sun, Firelight, A Thousand Acres, Eye of God, Doe Boy and the new Al Pacino docu-drama Wilde Salome. Cable films include Orpheus Descending, The Wrong Man, Hunt for the Unicorn Killer, Ruby’s Bucket of Blood, Monday Night Mayhem and Power and Beauty. He starred in the TV series Nothing Sacred, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

JO BONNEY (Director)
Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig (MCC/Geffen Playhouse) and Some Girl(s) (MCC); Culture Clash’s American Night (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Darci Picoult’s Lil’s 90th (Long Wharf Theatre); Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes Home from the Wars (Public LAB); Naomi Wallace’s The Hard Weather Boating Party and The Fever Chart; Michael Weller’s Beast (New York TheatreWorkshop); Alan Ball’s All that I Will Ever Be (NYTW); Eric Bogosian’s subUrbia, Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play and Lisa Loomer’s Living Out (Second Stage); Will Power’s The Seven (NYTW & La Jolla Playhouse; Lortel Award, Best Musical); Christopher Shinn’s On the Mountain (Playwrights Horizons); Universes’ Slanguage (NYTW/Mark Taper Forum); Lanford Wilson’s Fifth of July (Signature Theatre; Lortel Award, Best Revival); José Rivera’s References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (The Public Theater); Diana Son’s Stop Kiss (The Public Theater); Jessica Goldberg’s Good Thing (The New Group); John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger (CSC); Danny Hoch’s Some People and Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop (USA/Britain); numerous solos by Eric Bogosian (USA/Britain). Recipient of a 1998 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Direction and editor of Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century (TCG). Upcoming: Lynn Nottage’s By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Second Stage).

TRACEE CHIMO (TV Host, Gigi)
Tracee was last seen as Regan in The Bachelorette. Broadway: Irena’s Vow. Off Broadway: Circle Mirror Transformation (Lucille Lortel nom, Drama Desk award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance), Vendetta Chrome, Guilty, Bushwhackin’, Vamp. Regional: Sundance ’08, Humana Festival/Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, The Cleveland Playhouse and Philadelphia Theatre Company. TV: Guest-star in the FX series Louie, Guiding Light. Film: Evening, What Would Jesus Do?, Daughters of Liberty and Wasted Time. Last year Tracee was honored by actress Marian Seldes and The O’Neill Studio, where she studied, with the Eugene O’Neill Award for her work in Irena’s Vow.

CATHERINE DENT (Ginger, Jesse)
Theater: (Broadway) Uncle Vanya (Off-Broadway) Amoeba Concerto (Regional) The Country, The Street of the Sun. TV: N.C.I.S., Law and Order: Los Angeles, The Closer, Rockford Files, Ghost Whisperer, Day One, Lie to Me, Natalee Holloway, The Shield, Law & Order: SVU, Criminal Minds, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Without A Trace, Numbers, Grey’s Anatomy, Seattle Serial Killer, Law and Order, Judging Amy, CSI, Taken, The Sopranos, Dharma and Greg, Third Watch, The X-Files, Frasier, L.A. Doctors, Chicago Hope, New York Under Cover. Film: Duress, 21 Grams, Auto Focus, The Majestic, Someone Like You, The Replicant, March 29 1997, Nobody’s Fool, Jaded.

John Earl Jelks Photo by Lia Chang

JOHN EARL JELKS (Lawyer, Detective)
John was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as “Sterling” in August Wilson’s Radio Golf, which he also toured to the McCarter, Goodman, Center Stage, Seattle Rep., Mark Taper and Yale Repertory theaters. Jelks also appeared with Phylicia Rashad on Broadway in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean as “Citizen” (after runs at the Goodman, Huntington, and Mark Taper theaters, where he won an NAACP Theater Award and an L.A. Ovation Award). In 2008, Jelks won an AUDELCO Award for his work in the Off-Broadway revival of The First Breeze of Summer. Regional theater credits include Fetch Clay, Make Man at the McCarter Theatre, the world stage premiere of The Shawshank Redemption at the Gaiety Theatre in Ireland, Magnolia at the Goodman Theater, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Penumbra Theatre Company and the Missouri Repertory Theatre, The Piano Lesson at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and Diary of a Black Man at the Union Square Theatre and the Shaw Theatre in London, England. Recently, Jelks appeared in Spike Lee’s film Miracle at St. Anna.

NEIL LaBUTE (Playwright)
Neil LaBute received his Master of Fine Arts degree in dramatic writing from New York University and was the recipient of a literary fellowship to study at the Royal Court Theatre, London and also attended the Sundance Institute’s Playwrights Lab. His films include In the Company of Men (New York Critics’ Circle Award for Best First Feature and the Filmmaker Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival), Your Friends and Neighbors, Nurse Betty, Possession, The Shape of Things (a film adaptation of his play by the same title), The Wicker Man, Lakeview Terrace and Death at a Funeral. LaBute’s plays include bash: latter-day plays, The Shape of Things, The Mercy Seat, The Distance From Here, Autobahn, Fat Pig (Olivier nomination for Best Comedy), Some Girls, This Is How It Goes, Wrecks, Filthy Talk for Troubled Times, In a Dark Dark House and reasons to be pretty (Tony Award nomination for Best Play). LaBute is also the author of Seconds of Pleasure, a collection of short fiction which was published by Grove Atlantic. His new play, In a Forest Dark and Deep, will open on London’s West End in 2011.

ABOUT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
The Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and musicals, the Geffen Playhouse continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company is helmed by Producing Director and President of the Board Gilbert Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney, Managing Director Ken Novice and Chairman of the Board Frank Mancuso. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen Playhouse welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains an extensive education and outreach program, designed to engage young people and the community at large in the arts. For more information, visit www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet,Tracee Chimo opening night of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon
John Earl Jelks is featured in MCC Theater’s world premiere of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon at the Lucille Lortel
Costume Designer Karen Perry- Audelco Nod for The Public Theatre’s Brother/Sister Trilogy by Tarell Alvin McCraney
André De Shields leads cast of Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss at Abrons Arts Center
MIAAC Screens Ashes & The Waiting City, two films featuring Samrat Chakrabarti at SVA Theater
STORIES FROM CHINESE AMERICA: The Arthur Dong Collection, Vol. 2 as 4 disc DVD Box Set
Lia Chang: Velina Hasu Houston’s Calligraphy Set for World Premiere at LATC
Denise Burse and Peter Jay Fernandez Featured in INTAR Reading of Andrew Dolan’s The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King
Photos & Video Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas-In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Photo Call: BD Wong and the Cast of Heading East at the Asia Society
Multimedia: Promises, Promises’ Stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
Derek Walcott’s White Egrets Due Out March 2010
Yellow Face Reading & Book Signing w/ David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng, Francis Jue, w/ guest Edward Albee
Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe, MTC’s Ruined are Top Winners at 2009 Audelcos
Photo Call: Derek Walcott’s Marie Laveau
Zooman and The Sign Opening Night Party
Celebrating Woodie King
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2010 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 liachang@hotmail.com.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art photographer and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, an award-winning multimedia journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden.

This year, selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space will become part of newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, VIBE, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.