Signature Theatre’s Revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson Leads 28th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards Nominations

Congratulations to Signature Theatre’s Revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, which has been nominated for 6 Lucille Lortel Awards including Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Director for Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Outstanding Lead Actress for Roslyn Ruff, Outstanding Lead Actor for Brandon J. Dirden, Outstanding Featured Actor for Chuck Cooper, and Outstanding Lighting Design for Rui Rita.

Eric Lenox Abrams, Roslyn Ruff, Alexis Holt and James A. Williams in Signature’s revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Photo by Joan Marcus

Signature’s Off-Broadway Revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, helmed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, runs October 30 -December 9, 2012

Bill Irwin, Nellie McKay and David Shiner at The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York for the opening night party of their show Old Hats on March 4, 2013. Photo by Lia Chang

This year the Outstanding Body of Work Award, which recognizes a significant contribution to Off-Broadway, will be presented to Theatre Development Fund. Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience has been awarded to Signature Theatre’s Old Hats, created and performed by Bill Irwin and David Shiner, with music by and featuring Nellie McKay.

This year’s special award recipients include Todd Haimes, Artistic Director of the Roundabout Theatre Company, who will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award and Neil LaBute, who will be inducted onto the famed Playwrights’ Sidewalk in front of the Lucille Lortel Theatre. A cocktail reception honoring the nominees will take place on Monday, April 22, 2013 from 5:00 – 7:00pm EST at The Library at The Public, 425 Lafayette Street.

The Lortel Awards will be handed out on Sunday, May 5, 2013 at NYU Skirball Center beginning at 7:00pm EST, and hosted by acclaimed stage and screen actors Aasif Mandvi and Maura Tierney. This year’s event will once again benefit The Actors Fund.

Complete List of 2013 Lucille Lortel Awards Nominations
Outstanding Play
Bethany
Produced by Women’s Project Theater
Written by Laura Marks
Cock
Produced by Stuart Thompson, Jean Doumanian, Royal Court Theatre, William Berlind, Scott Delman,
Dena Hammerstein, Jon B. Platt, Scott Rudin, Ted Snowdon, True Love Productions
Written by Mike Bartlett
Detroit
Produced by Playwrights Horizons
Written by Lisa D’Amour
The Flick
Produced by Playwrights Horizons
Written by Annie Baker
The Whale
Produced by Playwrights Horizons
Written by Samuel D. Hunter

The cast of Giant at The Public. Photo by Joan Marcus

Outstanding Musical
Dogfight
Produced by Second Stage Theatre
Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Book by Peter Duchan
Giant
Produced by The Public Theater in association with The Dallas Theater Center
Book by Sybille Pearson, Music and Lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa, Based on the novel by Edna Ferber
Murder Ballad
Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club
Conceived by and with Book and Lyrics by Julia Jordan, Music and Lyrics by Juliana Nash
The Other Josh Cohen
Produced by Amas Musical Theatre in association with Scandobean Productions, LLC
Book, Music and Lyrics by David Rossmer and Steve Rosen
Skippyjon Jones
Produced by TheatreworksUSA
Book and Lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila, Music by Eli Bolin

Signature’s revival of Athol Fugard’s My Children!, My Africa!, starring James A. Williams, Allison Gallerani and Stephen Tyrone Williams and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, has been nominated for Outstanding Revival. Photo by Joan Marcus

Outstanding Revival
All In The Timing
Produced by Primary Stages in association with Jamie deRoy
Written by David Ives
My Children! My Africa!
Produced by Signature Theatre
Written by Athol Fugard
Passion
Produced by Classic Stage Company
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by James Lapine
The Piano Lesson
Produced by Signature Theatre
Written by August Wilson
Talley’s Folly
Produced by Roundabout Theatre Company
Written by Lanford Wilson

Outstanding Solo Show
All the Rage
Produced by piece by piece productions, Rising Phoenix Repertory in association with The Barrow Group
Written and Performed by Martin Moran
Jackie
Produced by Women’s Project Theater
Written by Elfriede Jelinek, Performed by Tina Benko
Title and Deed
Produced by Signature Theatre
Written by Will Eno, Performed by Conor Lovett

Ruben Santiago-Hudson

Outstanding Director
Sam Gold, The Flick
Anne Kauffman, Belleville
Tina Landau, A Civil War Christmas
James Macdonald, Cock
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, The Piano Lesson

Bobby Steggert as Jordy Jr., Natalie Cortez as Juana and Raul Aranas as Polo in Giant at The Public. Photo by Joan Marcus

Outstanding Choreographer
George De La Peña, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Christopher Gattelli, Dogfight
Kyle Mullins, TRIASSIC PARQ: The Musical
Alex Sanchez, Giant
Doug Varone, Murder Ballad

Karen Pittman (left to right), Erik Jensen, Heidi Armbruster and Aasif Mandvi in Disgraced. Photo by Erin Baiano

Outstanding Lead Actor
Danny Burstein, Talley’s Folly
Brandon J. Dirden, The Piano Lesson
Daniel Everidge, Falling
Shuler Hensley, The Whale
Aasif Mandvi, Disgraced

Sharon Washington and Colman Domingo in a scene from “Wild With Happy,” at The Pubilc, which Domingo also wrote. Photo by Joan Marcus

Outstanding Lead Actress
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Neva
America Ferrera, Bethany
Vanessa Redgrave, The Revisionist
Roslyn Ruff, The Piano Lesson
Sharon Washington, Wild With Happy

Chuck Cooper, Jason Dirden, Brandon Dirden and Roslyn Ruff in Signature’s revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Photo by Joan Marcus

Outstanding Featured Actor
David Wilson Barnes, Don’t Go Gentle
Chuck Cooper, The Piano Lesson
Zach Grenier, Storefront Church
Jake Gyllenhaal, If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet
Mark Nelson, My Name Is Asher Lev

Outstanding Featured Actress
Eisa Davis, Luck of the Irish
Annie Funke, If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Murder Ballad
Amanda Quaid, Luck of the Irish
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, What Rhymes with America

Outstanding Scenic Design
Beowulf Boritt, If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet
Miriam Buether, Cock
Clint Ramos, Wild With Happy
Louisa Thompson, Detroit
Mark Wendland, Murder Ballad

Costume designer Anita Yavich has been nominated for Outstanding Costume Design for Signature’s revival of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child. Photo by Lia Chang

Outstanding Costume Design
Toni-Leslie James, A Civil War Christmas
Jessica Pabst, The Whale
Clint Ramos, Wild With Happy
Emily Rebholz, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Anita Yavich, Golden Child

Outstanding Lighting Design
Jane Cox, The Flick
Rui Rita, The Piano Lesson
Ben Stanton, Belleville
Ben Stanton, Murder Ballad
Scott Zielinski, A Civil War Christmas

Outstanding Sound Design
Leah Gelpe, Slowgirl
Bray Poor, The Flick
Shane Rettig, Detroit ’67
Jane Shaw, Jackie
Matt Tierney, Detroit

SPECIAL AWARDS
Lifetime Achievement Award
Todd Haimes

Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee
Neil LaBute

Outstanding Body of Work Award
Theatre Development Fund

Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience
Old Hats
Created and performed by Bill Irwin and David Shiner
Music by and featuring Nellie McKay
Produced by Signature Theatre

The Off-Broadway League’s Lortel Awards Producing & Administration Committee (Terry Byrne, Denise Cooper, Margaret Cotter, George Forbes, Melanie Herman, Catherine Russell and Steven Showalter) produces the Lortel Awards Ceremony. Acclaimed writer and director Michael Heitzman returns to direct the Lortel Awards for the fourth consecutive year. The Lucille Lortel Awards is produced by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Foundation. Additional support provided by Theatre Development Fund. Representatives of the Off-Broadway League, Actors’ Equity Association, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, in addition to theatre journalists, academics and other Off-Broadway professionals, serve on the Voting Committee.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the ceremony. General public tickets are $75.00 and will be available via phone at 212.352.3101, online at www.nyuskirball.org and in person at the Skirball Center’s Shagan Box Office at 556 LaGuardia (Tuesday – Sunday from 12 – 6pm).
For updates and news about the ceremony, please visit www.LortelAwards.org. For general inquiries and eligibility requirements, please contact the Off-Broadway League at 212.924.2817 x212 or email at info@offbroadway.org. Follow the Lortel Awards on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LortelAwards and become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/LortelAwards.

ABOUT THE LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS
The Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were created in 1985 by the Off-Broadway League. The Lortel Awards recognize excellence Off-Broadway by honoring the invaluable contribution of artists to the theatre community. Representatives of the Off-Broadway League, Actors’ Equity Association, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, the Lucille Lortel Foundation in addition to theatre journalists and academics and other Off-Broadway professionals serve on the Voting Committee.The awards may be given in the following categories: Play, Musical, Solo Show, Revival, Alternative Theatrical Experience, Director, Choreographer, Lead Actor and Actress, Featured Actor and Actress, Scenic, Costume, Lighting and Sound Design. The following honorary awards may also be given: Lifetime Achievement, Body of Work (awarded to an institution), the Edith Oliver Award for Sustained Excellence, Service to Off-Broadway Award and induction onto the Playwrights’ Sidewalk in front of the historic Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City. For more information, please see www.LortelAwards.org.

ABOUT THE LUCILLE LORTEL FOUNDATION
Lucille Lortel Foundation was created by Lucille Lortel to foster excellence and diversity in the theatre, as
well as to faithfully preserve the rich history and support the continued prosperity of Off-Broadway. The Foundation has several major programs, including its general operating support program that has provided millions of dollars to small to mid-size theatres in New York City, universities, and theatre service organizations. The Foundation created and maintains the Internet Off-Broadway Data Base (www.lOBDB.com). For a listing of all of the Foundation’s programs, previous Lortel Award nominees and recipients, information on the Lucille Lortel Theatre and Playwrights’ Sidewalk, and much more, please visit www.LortelAwards.org.

ABOUT THEATRE DEVELOPMENT FUND (TDF)
THEATRE DEVELOPMENT FUND was created in the conviction that the live theatrical arts afford a unique expression of the human condition that must be sustained and nurtured. It is dedicated to developing diverse audiences for live theatre and dance, and strengthening the performing arts community in New York City. Since 1968, TDF’s programs have provided over 83 million people with access to performances at affordable prices and have returned over $2.2 billion to thousands of productions. Best known for its TKTS Discount Booths (now in its 40th year of service in Times Square), TDF’s membership, outreach, access (including its newly formed Autism Theatre Initiative) and education programs — as well as its Costume Collection — have introduced thousands of people to the theatre and helped make the unique experience of theatre available to everyone, including students and people with disabilities. Recent TDF honors include a 2011 Mayor’s Award for Arts and Culture, a 2012 Tony Honor for Excellence for its Open Doors Arts Education Program and a 2012 New York Innovative Theatre Award for its support of the off-Off Broadway community. http://www.tdf.org/.

ABOUT NYU SKIRBALL CENTER
The Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is the premier venue for the presentation of cultural and
performing arts events for New York University and lower Manhattan. Led by executive producer Jay Oliva (President Emeritus, NYU) and senior director Michael Harrington, the programs of the Skirball Center reflect NYU’s mission as an international center of scholarship, defined by excellence and innovation and shaped by an intellectually rich and diverse environment. A vital aspect of the Center’s mission is to build
young adult audiences for the future of live performance. www.nyuskirball.org.

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Jose Llana, Ruthie Ann Miles, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Conrad Ricamora, Kelvin Moon Loh and More Set for World Premiere of David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s Here Lies Love at The Public, April 2 – May 19, 2013
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Orville Mendoza is currently appearing as Sergeant Lombardi in Classic Stage Company’s Passion through April 19, 2013
Albee, Hwang, Enos, Taylor, Wilson, Clarke and Jacobs-Jenkins Set for Signature Theatre’s 2013-14 Season
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Signature Theatre extends David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad starring Ruy Iskandar and Yuekun Wu through March 24, 2013
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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
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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. She is a Signature Theatre alumni who was in the cast of Sam Shepard’s Chicago, during his Signature 1996-1997 Playwright-in-Residence Season.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2013 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

Orville Mendoza is currently appearing as Sergeant Lombardi in Classic Stage Company’s Passion through April 19, 2013

Orville Mendoza is currently appearing as Sergeant Lombardi in Classic Stage Company’s critically-acclaimed new production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Tony Award-winning musical Passion, directed by John Doyle (director of the acclaimed Broadway revivals of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd and Company), which will extend once again by popular demand for four additional performances through Friday, April 19 at CSC (136 East 13th Street).

Orville Mendoza, Jason Evans, Jeffry Denman, Ken Krugman and Will Reynolds in rehearsal for Passion. (Photo courtesy of Orville Mendoza)

Passion stars Melissa Errico (Clara), Judy Kuhn (Fosca) and Ryan Silverman (Giorgio). The production also features Stephen Bogardus (Colonel Ricci), Jeffry Denman (Lieutenant Barri), Jason Michael Evans (Private Augenti), Ken Krugman (Lieutenant Torasso), Tom Nelis (Doctor Tambourri), Will Reynolds (Major Rizzoli/Ludovic), John Antony (understudy) and Amy Justman (understudy).

Orville Mendoza. Photo by U-Shin Kim

Orville Mendoza last appeared on Broadway in Peter and the Starcatchers and in the Roundabout’s production of Pacific Overtures, directed by Amon Miyamoto. His Off-Broadway credits include Timon Of Athens (Barry Edelstein, dir.), the original company of Sondheim/Weidman’s Road Show (John Doyle, dir.), Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare in the Park, Michael Greif, dir.) all at The Public Theater/NYSF; the original cast of Durang/Melnik’s Adrift In Macao (Drama Desk nomination and Barrymore Award winner, Primary Stages & Philadelphia Theatre Co., Sheryl Kaller, dir./Christopher Gattelli, choreo.), and productions with NAATCO, The Pearl, Ma-Yi, Pan Asian Rep. and The Mint. Regionally, he has appeared in The Wiz (La Jolla Playhouse, Des McAnuff, dir.), A Christmas Story – The Musical! (5th Avenue Theatre & Kansas City Rep., Eric Rosen, dir.), Annie Get Your Gun (Goodspeed, Rob Ruggiero, dir.), Unsinkable Molly Brown (Denver Center Theatre, Kathleen Marshall, dir.),The Romance Of Magno Rubio (Long Wharf, Laguna Playhouse, and Romania productions, Loy Arcenas, dir.), and productions at Barrington Stage, Pittsburgh CLO, The Muny, Theatre by the Sea, Carousel, St. Michael’s Playhouse; and toured the U.S. & Canada with Miss Saigon for 5 1/2 years. He has appeared on “Law & Order: CI”.

CSC also announced that twenty $10 tickets for each of the final four performances – Tuesday, April 16 at 7pm, Wednesday, April 17 at 7pm, Thursday, April 18 at 8pm and Friday, April 19 at 8pm. These special $10 tickets will go on sale to the public Tuesday, April 2 at noon, available in person at the CSC Box Office only.

During the final extension week, CSC will also host post-show talkbacks following the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday performances with cast and additional guests, and will giveaway exclusive prizes on the company’s Facebook page.

Passion is directed and designed by John Doyle, with music direction by Rob Berman, orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward, lighting by Jane Cox and sound by Dan Moses Schreier. Passion is the inaugural production of CSC’s Musical Theatre Initiative with generous support from The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund and The Angelson Family Foundation.

Tickets for Passion are available at http://www.classicstage.org or by calling 212-352-3101 or 866-811-4111. Passion plays Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7pm; Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm; and Sundays at 3pm. Passion will also have Wednesday matinees at 3pm on March 27 and April 3. Regular ticket prices range from $65 to $90.

Now in its 45th Anniversary Season, CSC is the award-winning Off-Broadway theatre committed to re-imaging the classical repertory for a contemporary American audience. Founded in 1967, CSC uses works of the past as a way to engage in the issues of today. Highly respected and widely regarded as a major force in American theatre, it has become the home to New York’s finest established and emerging artists, the place where they gather to grapple with the great works of the world’s repertory from Sophocles to Sondheim. CSC has been cited repeatedly by all the major Off-Broadway theater awards: Obies, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and the 1999 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.

Lia Chang

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

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Orville Mendoza Joins the Broadway Cast of Peter and the Starcatcher, Previews Begin March 28 at the Brooks Atkinson
NAATCO’s All-Asian American cast for The Seagull features Marcus Ho, Mia Katigbak and Orville Mendoza
NAATCO’s LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION with special guest Terrence McNally
David Henry Hwang and FOX Entertainment Japan’s Dan Smith Among Judges for 2013 72-Hour Shootout; Pre-Shootout Events
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
Signature Theatre’s 2013-14 Season Features New Works by Albee, Hwang, Enos, Taylor, Wilson, Clarke and Jacobs-Jenkins
Signature Theatre’s Revival of David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad Set for Wuzhen Theatre Festival in Wuzhen, China, May 9-12, 2013
Dian Kobayashi, Emily Kuroda, Sharon Omi, and Jeanne Sakata Set for East West Players’ Reading of A Cage of Fireflies by Daniel Akiyama at Tateuchi Democracy Forum on March 21, 2013
Photos: David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad Opening Night
Hold These Truths Opening Night at Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s Tenney Theatre with Daniel Dae Kim, Joel de la Fuente and Jeanne Sakata
Ron Domingo, Francis Jue and Jon Norman Schneider Join the Cast of the World Premiere of Paper Dolls at the Tricycle Theatre, February 28 – April 13, 2013
Harlem Nights with Lorey Hayes, Actress, Director and Award-Winning Playwright of Power Play and Massinissa
Manu Narayan Dazzles as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse’s Revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross
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
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
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2013 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

Rick Shiomi helms Mu Performing Arts’ Asian American Cast of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, July 17-August 5, 2012

Randy Reyes, Sheena Janson, Sara Ochs, Katie Bradley, Eric Sharp, Suzie Juul, Alex Galick and Maxwell Thao are set for Mu Performing Arts’ production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, directed by Rick Shiomi, which runs at the Park Square Theatre, 20 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, MN, from July 17 – August 5, 2012. Opening night is Friday, July 20, 2012. Single tickets start at $25 (adults) / $10 (students and children under 18) and are now on sale through the Park Square Theatre box office at 651-291-7005 or by visiting www.muperformingarts.org.

Mu Performing Arts’ Into the Woods, directed by Rick Shiomi. Photo by Michal Daniel

Into the Woods, a multiple Tony Award winning modern classic with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine, takes familiar fairy tales and turns them on their heads. Sondheim’s memorable score includes crowd-pleasing musical numbers such as “Agony,” “Giants in the Sky,” and “No One is Alone.”

Randy Reyes, who has appeared in Mu Performing Arts’ productions of Little Shop of Horrors, Flower Drum Song, Yellowface, The Romance of Magno Rubio; at the Guthrie Theater in M. Butterfly, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Government Inspector); and in Il Campiello, As You Like It with Ten Thousand Things, leads the cast of Into the Woods as the Baker. Sheena Janson (Theatre Latte Da’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), whose sultry voice brought new life to Audrey II in Mu’s production of Little Shop of Horrors, plays the Baker’s Wife.

Also featured in the cast are Sara Ochs (Little Shop of Horrors, Flower Drum Song, Four Destinies) as Cinderella; Katie Bradley (CTC’s Mulan, Jr, Little Shop of Horrors, Four Destinies) as the Witch; Suzie Juul (Park Square’s Ragtime) as Little Red Riding Hood; Alex Galick (Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them), as Prince Charming; Maxwell Thao (Stages Theatre Co.’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon) as Jack. Eric Sharp, who has appeared in numerous Mu productions and in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Odyssey and Oliver Twist at Park Square Theatre returns to play the Wolf and Rapunzel’s Prince.

Jeannie Lander, Tom Thao, Lara Trujillo, Meghan Kreidler, Danice Cabanela, Alice McGlave, Tom Lee, Jennifer Kelley, Natalie Chung, Michael Sung Ho, Kim Egan, and Brianna Heu round out the twelve member ensemble, many of whom are making their Mu Performing Arts debut.

Rick Shiomi Photo by Lia Chang

Mu concludes its landmark 20th Anniversary Season, by diving further into its musical theater initiative. Into the Woods marks the Midwest’s first production of the show by a nationally recognized Asian American theater company. Director Rick Shiomi explains how the popular musical will been re-imagined from an Asian American perspective:

“Ever after… like you’ve never seen it before. We are transporting the musical from the woods of Europe to the forests of Asia. Imagine Jack and his mother in Hmong attire, Little Red in a Cambodian skirt, Cinderella in a Filipino gown and the Baker and his wife in Korean hanboks. It will be a striking variation on the original and yet, since the stories are so universal (many of these fairy tales have Asian equivalents) they will feel as funny and real, sad and sweet, beautiful and moving as ever, but in a totally different context.”
~ Rick Shiomi, Director

The artistic team includes Denise Prosek (Music Director). Maria Kelly (Choreographer), Jennifer Weir (Assistant Director),Gunther Gullickson (Scenic Designer), Karin Olson, Lighting Designer, Tom Sandelands (Sound designer), Paula Lee (Costume Designer), Sarah Salisbury (Props Designer) and Lisa Smith (Stage Manager).

Into the Woods begins preview performances on July 17, opens on July 20 and continues through August 5 at Park Square Theatre (20 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, MN 55102). Single tickets start at $25 (adults) / $10 (students and children under 18) and are now on sale through the Park Square Theatre box office at 651-291-7005 or by visiting www.muperformingarts.org

Click here for more photos of the production by Michal Daniel.
citypages.com Into the Woods at Mu Performing Arts Shows Dark Side of Fairy Tales
startribune.com: Mu Performing Arts ventures ‘Into the Woods’
pioneerpress.com: Mu’s Take on ‘Into the Woods’ lively, fresh and full of highlights
howwastheshow.com: Into the Woods by Mu Performing Arts’ at Park Square Theatre
startribune.com: Going all in for ‘Woods’
Mu Performing Arts
blogs.citypages.com: Mu Performing Arts goes ‘Into the Woods’
Mu was first founded in 1992 as Theater Mu, a theater company dedicated to bringing Asian American voices to the stage in the Twin Cities at a time when Asian American theater did not exist in the area and the Asian American community was rarely recognized. After forming Mu Daiko, a taiko drumming ensemble, the company rebranded itself as Mu Performing Arts, reflecting their broad artistic base of theater, taiko, and artist development. Mu Performing Arts remains Minnesota’s only pan-Asian performing arts organization, and has grown into the second largest Asian American performing arts company in the United States. In 2011, Mu Performing Arts published a new anthology of plays through Temple University Press, Asian American Plays for a New Generation. Six of the seven plays included were commissioned and/or produced by Mu. Each season, Mu produces three mainstage plays and one mainstage taiko concert, along with numerous artist development programs and other special events. Celebrating its 20th Anniversary mainstage season, Mu Performing Arts continued its string of ‘Best of’ top end of year picks by The Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press, with last year’s musical offering Little Shop of Horrors. In the last three seasons, seven out of nine productions have been listed on end of year lists. www.muperformingarts.org.

Other articles on Mu Performing Arts:
Randy Reyes Embraces his Passion for Storytelling as an Actor, Director and Theater Educator
Randy Reyes directs Mu Performing Arts’ production of EDITH CAN SHOOT THINGS AND HIT THEM by A. Rey Pamatmat at Mixed Blood Theatre, March 13-April 1, 2012
Mu Performing Arts’ Little Shop of Horrors on 2 ‘Best of’ Lists; Women in Arts Panel on 1/29, in Conjunction with Mu Daiko’s 15th Anniversary Concert and Tour
Mu Daiko 15th Anniversary Concert and Minnesota Tour, February 9-19, 2012
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Photos: Opening Night of Mu Performing Arts’ Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies
Photos: Backstage at Mu Performing Arts’ Four Destinies by Katie Hae Leo
Mu Performing Arts 2011-2012 20th Anniversary Season: Four Destinies, Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them, Into the Woods, & Mu Daiko 15th Anniversary Concert
Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright & Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
Photos: On the town with Rick Shiomi, Co-Editor of “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, in D.C. & NY
Temple Press: Rick Shiomi recounts his tour for “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”
Mu Blog: Rick Shiomi’s Book Tour Logbook
knightarts.org: Reading on the road inside the book tour
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Features Photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, and Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug! on View Through August 2
Photos: Rick Shiomi Checks out Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of Library of Congress; Attends “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” Book Signing in NY on 7/29 “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, A New Anthology of Asian American Plays Is Subject of Book Talk
Click here for more articles on Rick Shiomi.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Daniel Hsia’s Shanghai Calling, Simon Yin’s Supercapitalist & Michael Kang’s Knots to Screen at 35th annual Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) in New York, which runs July 25 – August 5, 2012
Tony Award-winning Playwright Terrence McNally to be feted at Westport Country Playhouse Annual Gala, September 24, 2012
Dian Kobayashi, Emily Kuroda and Jeanne Sakata set for Daniel Akiyama’s A Cage of Fireflies at 2012 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab
Epic Theatre Presents Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths, starring Joel de la Fuente, May 20-21, 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
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
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
David Henry Hwang Set as Signature Theatre’s Residency One Playwright for the 2012-2013 Season
Photos: In Rehearsal with BD Wong at Dixon Place for Live Concert Recording of Herringbone
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
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

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

David Henry Hwang Set as Signature Theatre’s Residency One Playwright for the 2012-2013 Season

Signature Theatre (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) is proud to announce that Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang will be the Residency One Playwright for the 2012-2013 season at the company’s new home, The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between Dyer and 10th Avenues). Residency One is Signature’s core one-year playwright-in-residence program that produces a series of plays from the body of work of one accomplished writer. Hwang succeeds Athol Fugard, whose MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA! and THE TRAIN DRIVER will be presented in the coming months, as Signature’s Residency One playwright. Titles, dates and directors for the David Henry Hwang series will be announced at a later date.

David Henry Hwang Photo by Lia Chang

Signature Theatre’s Founding Artistic Director James Houghton said, “I have been looking forward to a season of David Henry Hwang’s work for a long time, and I am thrilled that he will be Signature’s 2012-2013 Residency One Playwright. For over thirty years, David’s plays have tackled critical issues of identity, legacy, and the global community with incredible insight and great humor. He is also a fierce supporter of emerging playwrights and a vital leader in the New York theatre community. We are honored to have David join the company and to produce three of his extraordinary plays.”

David Henry Hwang said, “It doesn’t feel like so much time has passed since Joe Papp gave me my first production more than thirty years ago. I am moved and grateful for this amazing opportunity to revisit some of my early work in the beautiful new Pershing Square Signature Center. Joining the roster of iconic playwrights who have enjoyed Residency One seasons has long been a fantasy of mine. Thanks so much to Jim Houghton and Signature Theatre for making my dreams come true.”

David Henry Hwang’s plays include M. Butterfly (1988 Tony Award, 1989 Pulitzer Finalist), Golden Child (1996 Obie Award, 1998 Tony Nomination), Yellow Face (2008 Obie Award and Pulitzer Finalist), and FOB (1981 Obie Award). His Broadway musicals include the books for Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida (co-author), Flower Drum Song (revival, 2002 Tony Nomination), and Disney’s Tarzan. As America’s most-produced living opera librettist, he has written four works with composer Philip Glass, as well as Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards), Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, and Bright Sheng’s The Silver River. He penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate, and Possession (co-writer), and co-wrote the song “Solo” with pop star Prince. Hwang attended Stanford University and the Yale School of Drama, and sits on the boards of the Dramatists Guild, the American Theatre Wing, and the Lark Play Development Center. From 1994-2000, he served by appointment of President Clinton on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. His newest play, Chinglish, opened at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, winning a Jeff Award for Best New Play, before moving to Broadway in 2011.

Single tickets are now on sale for EDWARD ALBEE’S THE LADY FROM DUBUQUE and Athol Fugard’s MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA! Single tickets go on sale for April 3 for TITLE AND DEED by Will Eno and MEDIEVAL PLAY by Kenneth Lonergan.

2011-2012 CURRENT SEASON OVERVIEW
RESIDENCY ONE – ATHOL FUGARD SERIES
BLOOD KNOT
Written and Directed by Athol Fugard
The production starring Colman Domingo and Scott Shepherd completed its run on Sunday, March 11.

MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA!
By Athol Fugard
Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson
May 1 – June 10, 2012
Written in 1989 shortly before the end of apartheid, My Children! My Africa! presents an honest and unflinching portrait of a country on the brink of revolution, and is a testament to the power and potential of youth, hope, and ideas.

THE TRAIN DRIVER *** NEW YORK PREMIERE ***
Written and Directed by Athol Fugard
August 14 – September 23, 2012
Based on a true story, The Train Driver is a soulful exploration of guilt, suffering and the powerful bonds that grow between strangers.

LEGACY PROGRAM
EDWARD ALBEE’S THE LADY FROM DUBUQUE
Directed by David Esbjornson
Extended again through April 15, 2012
Tickets on sale now
At a late night party, Sam and Jo entertain their friends with a round of Twenty Questions and another round of drinks. When an unexpected guest and her mysterious companion arrive, the question “Who are you?” gains a whole new and desperate meaning.

RESIDENCY FIVE
HURT VILLAGE *** WORLD PREMIERE ***
By Katori Hall
Directed by Patricia McGregor
The production completed its run on Sunday, March 25.

TITLE AND DEED *** U.S. PREMIERE ***
By Will Eno
Directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett
In association with Gare St. Lazare Players Ireland
May 8 – June 3, 2012
A nameless traveler from a far off place searches for connection and solace in an unknown country in this funny and sad meditation on mortality, loneliness, innocence, home, family, love, funerals, words, and the world. A provocative new work by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Horton Foote Prize winner Will Eno, whom The New York Times called “a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation.”

MEDIEVAL PLAY *** WORLD PREMIERE ***
Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan
May 15 – June 24, 2012
Two French mercenary knights set out on a quest for relative moral redemption against the classic comic background of late 14th century ecclesiastical politics. A story of friendship, love, noble feats of arms, indiscriminate brutality, the progressive refinement of medieval table manners and the general decline of the chivalric ideal at the onset of the Great Papal Schism of 1378. A new comedy by Kenneth Lonergan.

Tickets to the initial runs of all productions of Signature’s Inaugural Season 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 for the next 20 years. 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 and founding sponsor Time Warner, Inc., with additional seed support provided by the Ford Foundation, Margot Adams, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

About SIGNATURE THEATRE
Founded in 1991 by James Houghton, Signature Theatre exists to honor and celebrate the playwright. Signature makes an extended commitment to a playwright’s body of work, and during this journey, the writer is engaged in every aspect of the creative process. Signature is the first theatre company to devote an entire season to the work of a single playwright, including re-examinations of past writings as well as New York and world premieres. By championing in-depth explorations of a living playwright’s body of work, the Company delivers an intimate and immersive journey into the playwright’s singular vision.

Signature has presented entire seasons of the work of Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Horton Foote, Maria Irene Fornes, John Guare, Bill Irwin, Adrienne Kennedy, Tony Kushner, Romulus Linney, Charles Mee, Arthur Miller, the Negro Ensemble Company, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, August Wilson and Lanford Wilson. Signature remains deeply committed to season-long residencies, and during the company’s tenth and fifteenth anniversaries, Signature introduced the Legacy Program. The Legacy Program invites past Playwrights-in-Residence back to Signature through two series: the Signature Series, which presents “signature,” or more well-known works; and the Premiere Series, which presents New York and world premieres.

Signature, its productions and its resident writers have been recognized with a Pulitzer Prize, fourteen Lucille Lortel Awards, sixteen Obie Awards, six Drama Desk Awards and twenty-two AUDELCO Awards, among many other distinctions. The National Theatre Conference recognized the company as the 2003 Outstanding National Theatre of the Year. For more information on Signature please visit us on-line at signaturetheatre.org.

About THE PERSHING SQUARE SIGNATURE CENTER
The Pershing Square Signature Center is the new, permanent home of Signature Theatre. Spanning an entire city block at 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenue, the Frank Gehry-designed Pershing Square Signature Center features three intimate theatres, a studio theatre, rehearsal studio, and a public café and bookstore and will serve as both a theatre community hub and neighborhood destination. Working hand-in-hand with Signature leadership and architect of record H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture LLC, Gehry’s design has been carefully calibrated to foster interaction among playwrights, artistic collaborators and the public. The Pershing Square Signature Center will allow the 20-year old Company, critically acclaimed for its programs that celebrate the playwright’s body of work, to expand and enhance its programming, introduce new initiatives, and build audiences.

At The Pershing Square Signature Center, the Company’s expanded programming will include: Residency One, the continuation of Signature’s core program which provides audiences with an immersive exploration of the work of a singular playwright; Residency Five, which provides five-year residencies for multiple playwrights, guaranteeing three full productions of new work over the course of each playwright’s residency; and the Legacy Program, which honors the lifetime achievement of playwrights who have previously been in residence at Signature through the production of a premiere or earlier play. The Pershing Square Signature Center will serve as the artistic home for as many as 9 playwrights at any one time, fostering a dynamic creative community where playwrights will engage directly with audiences and one another.

David Henry Hwang Articles:
David Henry Hwang to Receive 2012 William Inge Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award
Chinglish Playwright David Henry Hwang Moderates “RepresentAsian: The Changing Face of New York Theater” at Pope Auditorium at Fordham University
Photos & Video: Celebrate Chinese New Year with David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish
Click here for more articles on David Henry Hwang.

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Photos: A night out at Signature Theatre Company’s revival of Edward Albee’s The Lady From Dubuque
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: BD Wong in Rehearsal for “Passing It On: An Evening of Mentorship to Benefit Rosie’s Theater Kids”
Photos: Alan Cumming, Sutton Foster, David Pittu, Jarlath Conroy and Gordana Rashovich at Charles Busch’s Judith of Bethulia
Mark Bennett Receives Lucille Lortel Nomination for Outstanding Sound Design for An Iliad
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: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
The SFIAAFF30 Kicks Off with World Premiere of White Frog Featuring Booboo Stewart, Harry Shum, Jr., Joan Chen, Kelly Hu and BD Wong, at the Castro Theater on March 8
Photos: “How To Succeed” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rose Hemingway and John Larroquette at Lord & Taylor for Windows Unveiling
Multimedia: Promises, Promises’ Stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo at Opening Night Party of Neil LaBute’s Break of Noon
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

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

David Henry Hwang to Receive 2012 William Inge Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award

Congratulations to playwright David Henry Hwang, who has been named the Honoree of the 31st Annual William Inge Theatre Festival, in Independence, Kansas, on the campus of Independence Community College.

David Henry Hwang Photo by Lia Chang

Hwang will be at the Inge Festival from April 18-21, 2012. He joins the roster of internationally renowned playwrights who have traveled to the Inge Festival to receive the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award. This select list includes Arthur Miller, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, Edward Albee, Wendy Wasserstein, and the most recent Honoree, Marsha Norman, to name just a few.

“David Henry Hwang brings a unique voice to the fabric of the American theatre,” said Peter Ellenstein, Inge Center Artistic Director. “Besides being a great dramatist, his work often gives voice to an Asian-American perspective that has been long left out of American culture.”

Hwang is also a librettist for musicals and operas, as well as a screenwriter. At the multi-media Tribute ceremony that concludes the Inge Festival, Hwang will accept the annual Inge Festival Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award.

Since its founding in 1981, the William Inge Theatre Festival has celebrated the accomplishments of nationally renowned playwrights. It is the Official Theatre Festival of the State of Kansas, located in the picturesque southeastern Kansas town of Independence (pop. 10,000), William Inge’s hometown. Inge, who passed away in 1973, was the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Picnic and Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Splendor in the Grass.

Throughout his career, playwright David Henry Hwang has explored the complexities of forging Eastern and Western cultures in a contemporary America. His extraordinary body of work, over the past 30 years, has been marked by a deep desire to reaffirm the common humanity in all of us.

He is perhaps best known as the author of M. Butterfly, which won the 1988 Tony, Drama Desk and many other accolades, and also a finalist for the 1989 Pulitzer Prize.

His play Golden Child received three 1998 Tony Nominations, including Best New Play. His play, Yellow Face, which premiered at Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum and New York’s Public Theater, won a 2008 Obie Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Hwang’s Broadway musicals include his new book for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song, which earned him his third Tony nomination in 2003 for Best Book of a Musical. He co-wrote the book for Disney’s international hit Aida, with music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice, which won four 2000 Tony Awards and ran over four years on Broadway, and was the book writer of Disney’s Tarzan, with songs by Phil Collins.

Hwang’s other plays include FOB (1981 Obie Award), The Dance & the Railroad (1982 Drama Desk Nomination, CINE Golden Eagle Award), Family Devotions (1982 Drama Desk Nomination), The House of Sleeping Beauties (1983), The Sound of a Voice (1983), Bondage (1992), and Face Value (1993), among others.

According to Opera News, he is America’s most-produced living opera librettist, and has written four works with composer Philip Glass: 1000 Airplanes on the Roof (1988), The Voyage, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1992 and was revived there in 1996, and The Sound of a Voice at American Repertory Theatre in 2003, as well as Icarus at the Edge of Time, based on the book by theoretical physicist Brian Greene. The Silver River, with music by Bright Sheng, was produced at the 1998 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, 2000 Spoleto Festival USA and the 2002 Lincoln Center Festival. Ainadamar, with music by Osvaldo Golijov, starring soprano Dawn Upshaw, premiered at the Santa Fe Opera and Lincoln Center in 2006; the Deutsche Gramofone recording won two 2007 Grammy Awards, for Best Opera Recording and Best Classical Composition. Alice in Wonderland, with music by Unsuk Chin, premiered at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and was named by OPERNWELT as 2007 “World Premiere of the Year.”

The Fly, an opera with music by Howard Shore, directed by David Cronenberg premiered in Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet in July 2008. Hwang also co-wrote the song “Solo,” released on the 1994 gold album Come by composer/performer Prince. He made his acting debut in the 2001 digital short Asian Pride Porn, directed by Greg Pak.

The cast of David Henry Hwang's Chinglish at the Longacre Theatre during the opening night curtain call on October 27, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

His latest play, Chinglish, was named Time Magazine’s “Best American Play of the Year” and completed its Broadway run at the Longacre Theatre on January 29, 2012. He is also Executive Producer of the feature film White Frog, directed by Quentin Lee, which will open the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival 2012 at the Castro Theater, on March 8, 2012.

Playwright David Henry Hwang in front of the Longacre Theatre in New York. Photo by Lia Chang

Hwang penned the screenplays for M. Butterfly, a 1993 Warner Brothers release starring Jeremy Irons and John Lone, directed by David Cronenberg; Golden Gate (Samuel Goldwyn Co., 1994), starring Matt Dillon and Joan Chen, directed by John Madden; The Lost Empire, a four-hour NBC television miniseries (Hallmark Entertainment, 2001); and Possession (co-writer, USA Films, 2002), starring Gwyneth Paltrow, directed by Neil LaBute.

He has also done screenwriting work for Martin Scorsese, Sydney Pollack, Tim Burton, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Jessica Lange, Bette Midler, Michael Douglas, and Robin Williams, among others. He is currently writing Bob’s Gang, an original screenplay for director Jonathan Caouette (Tarnation).

Hwang has been awarded numerous prestigious grants, fellowships, and awards.

In 1998, the nation’s oldest Asian American theatre company, East West Players, christened its new main stage The David Henry Hwang Theatre. From 1994-2001, Hwang served by appointment of President Clinton on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

In June 2010, Mr. Hwang was named one of two Project Residents for the Arena Stage’s American Voices New Play Institute. As part of his residency he was commissioned to write a play on the American colonial experience in the Philippines, which Arena Stage will coproduce with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

David Henry Hwang attended Stanford University and the Yale School of Drama, and holds honorary degrees from Columbia College, Chicago, The American Conservatory Theatre, and Lehigh University. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, actress Kathryn Layng, and their children, Noah David and Eva Veanne.

The Inge Festival is a unique blend of Broadway and Hollywood sheen and hometown can-do spirit. Hundreds of community volunteers help provide hospitality to visiting guest artists, theater students, and theater buffs from across the nation. In addition to evening performances by professionals from Broadway and Hollywood, patrons enjoy workshops, panel discussions, a scholars’ conference and social events.

The William Inge Center for the Arts is a participant in the New Generations Program, funded by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the American theatre.

This program is presented in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes a great nation deserves great art.

Further major supporters of the William Inge Center for the Arts include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Theatre Communications Group, the Hallmark Corporation, the William Inge Festival Foundation, and Independence Community College.

The Inge Festival’s setting is the quaint small town of Independence, located in rural southeast Kansas. It is 90 miles north of Tulsa, Okla., and 140 miles south of Kansas City, Mo.

The Inge Festival is sponsored by the William Inge Center for the Arts, a year-round arts center at Independence Community College.

The college is also home to the William Inge Collection, which includes correspondence, original artwork, and some 400 manuscripts, as well as Inge’s personal book and record collections. During 2009, seven of the unpublished plays from the Collection were publicly performed for the first time, including one world premiere in New York. The Inge Collection at Independence Community College is the most extensive collection on William Inge in existence, and remains a valuable resource for both theater researchers and admirers of the playwright. The Inge Collection houses about 25 manuscripts by Inge that have not been published.

Thanks primarily to the work of longtime Tribute creator Mike Wood of Wichita State University, the Inge Center has amassed a vast collection of video interviews of America’s leading playwrights, composers, actors, directors, producers and other theatre professionals, gathered over the last three decades. A sampling of playwright interviews is available at www.ingecenter.org. The rest of the video collection is in the process of being digitally preserved for future generations.

Tickets for the 31st Annual William Inge Theatre Festival go on sale online in the spring of 2012. For further information, visit www.ingecenter.org or call (800) 842-6063 ext. 5492.

David Henry Hwang Articles:
Chinglish Playwright David Henry Hwang Moderates “RepresentAsian: The Changing Face of New York Theater” at Pope Auditorium at Fordham University
Photos & Video: Celebrate Chinese New Year with David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish
Click here for more articles on David Henry Hwang.

Other articles by Lia Chang:
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: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) Media Advisory on Jeremy Lin News Coverage
The SFIAAFF30 Kicks Off with World Premiere of White Frog Featuring Booboo Stewart, Harry Shum, Jr., Joan Chen, Kelly Hu and BD Wong, at the Castro Theater on March 8
Tony award-winning actor BD Wong stars in NBC’s Awake; video preview and interview
Photos: A night out at Signature Theatre Company’s revival of Edward Albee’s The Lady From Dubuque
Photos: Larry Bryggman, Denise Burse, Peter Jay Fernandez, Tim Hopper, Arliss Howard, Kobi Libii, Mary McCann, Neil Pepe, David Pittu, Steve Rosen, Sheila Tapia, Debra Winger at Atlantic Theatre’s Opening Night of Gabe McKinley’s CQ/CX
Athol Fugard’s Blood Knot, starring Colman Domingo & Scott Shepherd in The Alice Griffith Jewel Box at The Pershing Square Signature Center through March 11, 2012
broadwayworld.com: Photo Flash: SPEAK UP CONNIE In Rehearsal
Photos: “How To Succeed” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rose Hemingway and John Larroquette at Lord & Taylor for Windows Unveiling
Multimedia: Promises, Promises’ Stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo at Opening Night Party of Neil LaBute’s Break of Noon
Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Celebrating my mom – AN ACTIVE VISION: BEVERLY UMEHARA…LABOR ACTIVIST…1945-1999
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

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.