National Asian Artists Project (NAAP) and Nikole Vallins presents New York's first fully staged-reading of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! with a professional all Asian-American cast on Monday, October 25th. The one-night only performance will be October 25 at 7:00 PM at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street at 9th Avenue). Tickets are $21.25 and available through Telecharge.com.
The production is directed by
Baayork Lee (Broadway's A Chorus Line), musically directed by
Kevin Farrell, co-produced by
Nikole Vallins, with a cast lead by Broadway veteran
Lori Tan Chinn (from the TV movie South Pacific starring
Glenn Close and
Harry Connick, Jr.), who will portray Aunt Eller. Principle cast members also include: Manna Nichols (Laurey), Andrew Cao (Curly),
Marie France Arcilla (Ado Annie),
Marc dela Cruz (
Will Parker), Kelvin Moon Loh (Jud),
David Shih (Ali Hakim),
Celia Mei Rubin (Gertie),
Herman Sebek (Carnes)
Mel Maghuyop (Ike Skidmore).
Ensemble members include: Rebecca Hirota,
Emy Baysic,
Brooke Ishibashi,
Joanne Javien, Whitney Lee, Marcus Shane,
Billy Bustamante and
Brian Jose. Musical staging by Nina
Zoie Lam, and associate direction by
Steven Eng.
"The setting is Oklahoma territory in the early 1900s, just on the cusp of joining the union and creating a new, unified identity in an unknown frontier. It is a time when hardworking people of the land band together to create a community, and a perfect setting to explore and rediscover what it means to be American," said
Baayork Lee, Director and NAAP Board of Director. "For these reasons, Oklahoma! became the ideal work to initiate NAAP's Rediscover Series, an opportunity to explore classic works with an Asian American company of artists."
Oklahoma! was the first collaboration between
Richard Rodgers and
Oscar Hammerstein II, one of musical theatre's most successful and enduring writing teams. The original Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943 and was a box-office smash, running for an unprecedented 2,212 performances, later enjoying award-winning revivals, national tours, foreign productions and an Academy Award-winning 1955 film adaptation.
Founded by theatre artists
Baayork Lee,
Steven Eng, and Nina
Zoie Lam, National Asian Artists Project exists to be a leader in educating, cultivating, and stimulating audiences and artists-current and future-through showcasing exceptional work by vibrant artists of Asian descent. It is a community of artists, educators, administrators, community leaders, professionals, and much more. As a not-for-profit organization, NAAP recognizes the need to build bridges between the work of artists of Asian descent and the many communities that the work can serve, from underserved school students to seasoned arts patrons.
Oklahoma! is presented through the generous permission of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization (
www.rnh.com).
More information on NAAP and Oklahoma! can be found on organization's website:
www.NAAProject.org.
