The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is screening a standout 4K resolution restoration of Tony Bui’s Three Seasons (1999), featuring production design by Wing Lee on Sunday, July 21 at 8:30pm. The screening will be followed by a Q & A with Director Tony Bui. Link for tickets: https://purchase.filmlinc.org/73128/73129
THREE SEASONS is another production I’m proud of,” shared Lee. “It was filmed around Ho Chi Minh City formerly known as Saigon. I loved the script. It was three intertwining stories, one about an American G.I. played by Harvey Keitel, who goes back to Vietnam to look for a daughter he fathered during the war, another about a cyclo driver who falls for a local hotel call girl and a young woman harvesting lotuses in a lake of a reclusive poet who has leprosy. Each character crosses paths with one another through kindness, poetry, and flowers. The title refers to Vietnam having just three seasons, the dry, the hot and wet seasons. @mnnnyc
SheNYC Arts is presenting the Off-Broadway world premiere of FISH MEAT by Esmé Maria Ng during the SheNYC Theater Festival at the Connelly Theater on August 2nd at 6 PM and August 3rd at 1 PM. The Connelly Theater is located at 220 E 4th St, New York, NY 10009. Click here for $35 tickets to FISH MEAT.
Helmed by Michelle Chan, the cast features Sara Rahman, Cindy Tsai, TuQuyen Pham and Jesse Cao Long.
Esmé Maria Ng (they/he/she) is a Gaysian American playwright, producer, and dramaturg. Esmé has held literary, artistic, and producing positions at Manhattan Theatre Club, Ma-Yi Theater Company, Breaking the Binary Theatre, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Classic Stage Company, and Little Island. Their playwriting often focuses on the complexities of Asian American history, queerness and the family unit; for which they have been recognized as a Eugene O’Neill Finalist, a Lambda Literary Playwriting Fellow, and a June Bingham New Playwright Commission Recipient. Currently, Esmé is a writer with bylines in American Theater Magazine, a Producer’s Cohort Fellow at The Tank NYC, a CIPA Fellow, and the associate line producer at Little Island. Their new play commission with Live & In Color, ‘i know why iris chang died’ will receive an industry reading in 2025.
FISH MEAT braids the lives of Mingzhu, a 14 year old girl on a boat going from Hong Kong to San Francisco in 1890, and Ro, a PhD candidate studying marine biology in present-day California. Merging marine taxonomy, Alice in Wonderland, and histories of immigration and exploitation, this heartfelt play explores how our care for others can reveal the care we deserve for ourselves and asks: How do we categorize sexual violence? @mnnnyc
NATIONAL ASIAN ARTISTS Project
Tuesday, June 18
at New World Stages – Stage 3 Theater
340 West 50th Street
Directed by Cassey Kikuchi Kivnick with choreography by Kyle Garvin, the cast featured Delphi Borich (Rosemary), Cáitlin Burke (Miss Jones), Ariel Estrada (Ovington/Tackaberry), Rona Figueroa (Smitty), Kennedy Kanagawa (Bud), Darren Lee (Mr. Biggley), Whit K. Lee (Finch), Jay Paranada (Twimble), Herman Sebek (Bratt), David Shih (Womper/Book Voice), Anne Fraser Thomas (Hedy), with Emily Ballou, Tuanminh Do, Patricia Jane,
Brianna Kim, Joseph Lee, Paul Heesang Miller, and Vikas Venuthurupalli. Casting is by Casting by Michael Cassara, CSA and Andrea Zee. Sean Cameron is Music Director. Pradanya Subramanyan is Production Stage Manager. Jose Vargas is Stage Manager.
National Asian Artists Project - NAAP (Baayork Lee, Artistic Director), presented a one night only benefit performance of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, the Tony Award-winning, Pulitzer Prize-winning musical with a satirical take on ambition and success in the cutthroat world of business, with a book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock & Willie Gilbert and music & lyrics by Frank Loesser.
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS...TRYING is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com @mnnnyc 🎥 @backstagepasswithliachang
On June 27, 2024, nearly 450 supporters gathered at the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan for the Asian American Federation’s (AAF) 35th Anniversary Impact Awards. The organization’s Impact Awards honor Asian American leaders whose achievements exemplify AAF’s efforts to reshape and empower New York’s AAPI community. The event gathered supporters from the New York area and across the country, including prominent members of the business and creative communities, donors, media, elected officials, and representatives from AAF’s 70 member organizations.
The evening was co-hosted by CBS News Anchor Cindy Hsu and Fox 5 in New York Reporter Arthur Chi’en, with performances by Ajna Dance Company and Broadway star Telly Leung.
This year’s Gala honorees included Gold House Executive Chairman, CEO Bing Chen, Pearl River Mart President Joanne Kwong, Unapologetic Foods CEO and Restauranteur Roni Mazumdar and Executive Chef and Partner Chintan Pandya, Bally’s Corporation Chairman and Standard General’s Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer Soo Kim, Bank of America Deputy General Counsel for Global Markets & International and Chief Legal Officer Glen A. Rae and Bank of America Managing Director and Associate General Counsel Ruth Arnould.
The Asian American Federation (AAF) is the strongest leadership organization advocating for better policies, services, and funding that lead to more justice and opportunity for 1.5 million Asian New Yorkers.
Signature Theatre is presenting the DC premiere of Soft Power, a musical fantasia with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Henry Hwang. This newly revised production is directed by Signature’s Associate Artistic Director Ethan Heard, with choreography by Billy Bustamante, music supervision by Chris Fenwick, and music direction by Angie Benson. Performances run August 6 — September 15, 2024 in Signature’s MAX Theatre. Tickets start at $40 and are available at SigTheatre.orq.
After the 2016 election, when a Chinese American playwright is attacked by an unknown assailant, he hallucinates a Golden Age musical comedy about a Chinese theater producer and Hillary Clinton falling in love. Hilarious and biting, this political satire dares to ask: Does American Democracy still work? And is it worth believing in? An exhilarating ride through political absurdity with a faceoff between Chinese and American exceptionalism, Soft Power makes an electric debut in the nation’s capital.
Helmed by Ethan Heard, SOFT POWER stars Steven Eng as DHH, Daniel May as Xue Xing, and Grace Yoo as Hillary Clinton. The cast of Soft Power is rounded out by Eymard Cabling, Andrew Cristi, Jonny Lee Jr., Quynh-My Luu, Christopher Mueller, Ashley D. Nguyen, Chani Wereley, Nicholas Yenson, and Sumié Yotsukura, Olivia Clavel-Davis, Brian Dauglash, Emily Song Tyler, and Joey Urgino are swings. #sigsoftpower
@backstagepasswithliachang. I spent Sunday with the terrific company of @prospecttheaterco’s THE HELLO GIRLS by @petemills2 and Cara Loelle Reichel, documenting their preview performance in the Willard Ballroom in Washington D.C. They just performed a soldout special staged concert presentation at the @kennedycenter. There are tickets available for Sunday, May 12 @ 6:30pm in NYC at @symphonyspace. As it’s also Mother’s Day on the 12th, you can use promo code MOM15 to save 15%! Doughboy Foundation #thehellogirls #newmusicaltheater #hellogirlsmusical
Cast: @thisbendavis, @ellie_fishman @arlohill @hurricanehelmi , @chanel_zand , @theandrewmayer @benkmoss, @asher.muldoon , @s.e.nna Prasatthong, @thelilithomas & @katwolffcreates with band members Elena Bonomo, Jordyn Davis and Matthew Weatherhead. #aanhpiheritagemonth @mnnnyc
Happy #aanhpiheritagemonth from New York City Center!
Backstage Pass with Lia Chang: I caught up with my friend Thom Sesmaduring community night for New York City Center Encores! production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!, helmed by Encores! Artistic Director (and 2023 Tony Award nominee) Lear deBessonet, Thom is featured as Mr. Sowerberry in the all-star cast which includes Lilli Cooper, Raúl E. Esparza, Tam Mutu, and Benjamin Pajak who lead the cast as Nancy, Fagin, Bill Sykes, and Oliver Twist, respectively. Oliver! has performances through May 14.
They're joined onstage by Julian Lerner as The Artful Dodger, Brad Oscar as Mr. Bumble, Rashidra Scott as Mrs. Sowerberry, Michael Siberry as Mr. Brownlow, and Mary Testa as Widow Corney.
The revival is the first major NYC run of the British musical since a 1984 revival and a one-night-only concert presented by Irish Rep in 2012.
The ensemble includes Neo Andre, Angélica Beliard, Michael Cash, William Thomas Colin, Alma Cuervo, Kaitlyn Davidson, Julian Marcus DeGuzman, Zachary Downer, Sam Duncan, William Foon, Ethen Green-Younger, Jeff Kready, Nina LaFarga, Devin Miles Lugo, Morgan Marcell, Dario Natarelli, Adam Roberts, Lindsay Roberts, Eliseo Roman, Tanairi Vazquel, Sir Brock Warren, and Jacob Keith Watson. Performances also include a community youth ensemble performing in "Consider Yourself," comprising Nicolas Alvarado, Binta Bah, Miguel Beltran, Camila Campos, Marcus Chinchilla, Vera Gurpinar, Harvey Jean, Camila Juarez-Espinosa, Prudence Lipkin, Adrian Mayi, Kai Nover, Jace Parker Stephens, Milan Peoples, Pia Ramchandani, Xavier Richey, Nathaniel Segura, Suhani Shinde, Alton Smith, Carmela Valle, and Roally Vijay.
Rounding out the company are Fagin cover Gavin Lee and swings Erica Mansfield and Ryan Worsing.
DeBessonet's creative team includes choreographer Lorin Latarro, scenic designer David Rockwell, costume designer Sarafina Bush, lighting designer Justin Townsend, sound designer Alex Neumann, and hair and wi
Backstage Pass with Lia Chang
Tonight at 7:30pm: Mark Mann: Celebrating Photography and Dance – April 10 at the The Joyce Theater
I caught up with New York City Ballet's Georgina Pazcoguin, who will be performing #whateverlolawants from #damnyankees, with her #rogueballerina spin, under the direction of Lainie Sakakura.
Georgina is the first Asian American female soloist in NYCB's history.
Limited VIP tickets include a signed book by select dancers (one book per VIP ticket) and a cocktail reception following the performance. https://www.joyce.org/movement-still-point-evening-dance
Internationally renowned celebrity portrait photographer, Mark Mann will celebrate the release of his new coffee table book, Movement at the Still Point: An Ode to Dance, with a one-night-only star-studded evening of dance at the Joyce Theater.
The evening will offer a multi-disciplinary program of ballet, modern, tap, hip hop, contemporary, tango, and musical theater with stars from New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Broadway, Martha Graham Dance Company and more.
Check out this incredible lineup.
The evening includes performances and appearances by New York City Ballet’s Sara Mearns, Megan LeCrone and Georgina Pazcoguin, Martha Graham Dance Company principals Lloyd Knight and Xin Ying and former principal and Artistic Director Terese Capucilli, Broadway’s Skye Mattox, Karla Garcia, David Guzman, Ricardo Zayas, Morgan Marcell, Ryan Vandenboom, and Curtis Holland, choreographer and Princess Grace Award recipient Rena Butler, vogue dancers Amadeo "Remy" Mangano and Ousmane “Omari” Wiles, Argentine Tango dancers Dardo Galletto and Alonso Guzman, Tap dancer Evan Ruggiero, Gibney Company’s Artistic Associate Jie-Hung Connie Shiau, Abraham.In.Motion’s Maleek Washington, Ailey II Artistic Director Francesca Harper, the legendary dancer and actress Carmen de Lavallade, former Merce Cunningham dancer Gus Solomons Jr..
Running time: 1 hour and 30 minutes with no
Happy Lunar New Year and Year of the Water Rabbit!
Lion Dancers Chinese Center on Long Island, Inc. Dance Troupe The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Manhattan Neighborhood Network - MNN
#lunarnewyear2023 #yearoftherabbit #metmuseum #liondancers
A sneak peek of my #lunarnewyear episode for Backstage Pass with Lia Chang
The fourth episode of BACKSTAGE PASS with Lia Chang, executive produced and hosted by Lia, airs Sunday, September 25 at 3:30 pm (PST)/5:30pm (CST)/6:30 pm (EST) on FIOS 34, RCN 83, and Spectrum 56/1996. https://wp.me/p6wusm-1Mu
Tonight's show will feature Death of a Salesman Broadway stars Wendell Pierce and André De Shields chatting with Jared Grimes about the show at BroadwayCon and a sneak peek into the first day of rehearsal. Told for the first time on Broadway – from the perspective of an African American family, living and working in a White, Capitalist world, Death of a Salesman is currently playing at the Hudson Theatre and opens on October 9.
Happy 1st preview to @salesmanbroadway!!
@patmander directs #afathersson screening tonight @asiancinevision @asiasocietynyevents 7pm #aaiff45