American Hwangap
a world premiere comedy by Lloyd Suh; directed by Trip Cullman
April 11 – May 3, 2009 (Previews begin April 4)
Play is recipient of the Lark Play Development Center’s “Launching New Plays into the Repertoire Initiative” supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
American Hwangap will be performed in four cities with four different casts.
Following its run at Magic, The Play Company and Ma-Yi Theatre will co-produce
American Hwangap in New York; productions will follow at the Denver Center Theatre Company and at Tanghalang Pilipino in the Philippines
www.magictheatre.org
31 March 2009 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA: It has been said that home is that place where when you knock on the door they have to let you in. “Come home.” These two words catapult into action Lloyd Suh’s world premiere comedy, American Hwangap, opening April 11 at San Francisco’s esteemed Magic Theatre (www.magictheatre.org). Previews begin April 4 and the play is slated to run through May 3. Directed by noted Off-Broadway wunderkind Trip Cullman, American Hwangap makes fresh the homecoming structure with a heartbreaking Korean American experience set against a canvas of highway 80, desert, and mythic cowboy lore. American Hwangap is a recipient of the Lark Play Development Center’s “Launching New Plays into the Repertoire Initiative” supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. American Hwangap will be performed in four cities with four different casts. Following its run at Magic, The Play Company and Ma-Yi Theatre will co-produce American Hwangap in New York; productions will follow at the Denver Center Theatre Company and at Tanghalang Pilipino in the Philippines.
“The quirky family of American Hwangap is instantly and hauntingly familiar,” said Magic Artistic Director Loretta Greco who selected the play. “As Jodi Long, the Broadway wonder who plays Mary in our production, said to me, ‘this play is like Sam Shepard for Asian people.’ And she is right; the similarities are notable and very much a part of what drew me to this work. Suh explores the American Landscape — both the romance and price of super-sized American dreams — but as experienced by two generations of immigrants. Like Shepard, he is suspicious of urban types. Suh’s characters’ hearts reside in backyard trees, fishless waters, endless desert and mountains just beyond reach. The lure of American swagger is irresistible.”
American Hwangap tells the tales of a Korean immigrant who returns home to the United States 15 years after he abandons his family there. The momentous occasion is his 60th birthday. As the birthday celebration unfolds, his wife and three grown children expose the family’s troubled history and its promise for the future.
“Like Shepard’s first Pulitzer Prize winner, Buried Child, Suh’s American Hwangap is quintessentially a homecoming play,” Greco continues. “A man returns to find he is a stranger and insists on his own identity and rightful place in his family. Suh’s play, however, is a comedy: it manages miraculously to dissect both the poignancy and ridiculousness of the cultural collision that is Korea meets Texas; the task of assimilation; and the American social consciousness as seen through the lens of our most fertile and dysfunctional unit, the family.”
An apt student of history, Suh notes that the catalyst for American Hwangap was the 60th birthday of Korea in 2005 -- hwangap [pronounced hwon-gap] being the word for a 60th Birthday celebration and considered in Asian cultures to be especially significant as it is the day one has completed his or her zodiac cycle.
“Because of the division that still exists within the Korean peninsula, that celebration became a very different thing than it would have been had it been a unified Korea,” said Suh. “Had it been a unified Korea, it would have been a wonderful and celebratory moment. But it wasn’t what it otherwise would have been and I was very interested in that. From that seed came the notion behind American Hwangap -- of a fractured individual wanted to be whole in the same way that Reunification is a palpable yearning.”
In Korean culture hwangap is a family-run celebration in which sons and daughters demonstrate symbolically their devotion with wine and food. It can also mark, for those who seize it, an opportunity for moral reflection. Here lies one of the most enduring of Suh’s themes: the reminder that it is never too late to seek redemption — making things once broken, whole. However, American Hwangap’s creative team is quick to stress, that this is very much a comedic endeavor.
“This most definitely a funny play,” says Hwangap director Cullman. “We think the play will resonate with Korean Americans, and most especially young professionals who are the children or grandchildren of immigrants.”
The play’s creator concurs: “Oh, I just can’t write anything that isn’t gonna’ be funny,” Suh laughs. “It just isn’t worth it to me. I can’t even imagine a play without a joke…I honestly believe that things are funnier when they’re deeply felt, and when things are deeply felt, they’re felt even more deeply if there’s humor within that world as well.”
Founded in 1967, Magic Theatre is one of the preeminent theatres in the nation solely dedicated to development and production of new plays. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Loretta Greco, Magic Theatre operates with a budget of $1.5 million in San Francisco’s historic Fort Mason Center. Magic Theatre’s plays and playwrights have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prizes, Kennedy Center Award, NAACP Image Award, Obie Awards, Pen-West Awards, Bay Area Critics’ Circle Awards, and Los Angeles Drama-Logue Awards. The list of playwrights whose works have premiered at the Magic reads like a “Who’s Who of American Theatre”: David Mamet, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, Nilo Cruz, Charles Mee, Anne Bogart, and Rebecca Gilman among many others. For more information, visit the Magic Theatre website at www.magictheatre.org.
Founded in 1994, the The Lark Play Development Center is a laboratory for new voices and new ideas, providing American and international playwrights with indispensable resources to develop their work, nurturing artists at all stages in their careers, and inviting them to freely express themselves in a supportive and rigorous environment. By reaching across international boundaries, the Lark seeks out and embraces new and diverse perspectives from writers in all corners of the world. With the aim to integrate audiences into the creative process from its initial stages, the Lark brings together actors, directors and playwrights to allow writers to learn about their own work by seeing it — and by receiving feedback from a dedicated and supportive community. The Lark is lead by producing director John Clinton Eisner, managing director Michael Robertson, and artistic program director Megan Monaghan.
American Hwangap performs April 11 – May 9, 2009 (previews begin April 4) at Magic’s Northside Theatre (Bldg D, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA – parking lot entrance at Marina Blvd. and Buchanan St.). Tickets are $25-$45 (with student, senior and educator $10 Rush Tickets available one-hour hour prior to curtain) and are available at (415) 441-8822 or www.magictheatre.org.
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Calendar Listing:
American Hwangap
by Lloyd Suh; directed by Trip Cullman
Magic Theatre
Bldg D – Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA 94123
(Parking lot entrance at Marina Blvd. and Buchanan St.)
Box Office: (415) 441-8822
www.magictheatre.org
This touching and surprisingly funny world premiere play is a quintessential homecoming story. On the momentous occasion of his sixtieth birthday, a Korean immigrant returns to Texas to reunite with the family he abandoned 15 years before. As the birthday celebration unfolds, his wife and their three grown kids must traverse their own broken past to allow for the promise of a future.
Previews:
Saturday, April 4 at 8pm
Sunday, April 5 at 2:30pm
Wednesday – Friday, April 8, 9 & 10,at 8pm
Press/Opening Night: Saturday, April 11 at 8pm
Runs Through: 3, 2009
Performance Times: Wednesdays-Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 2:30pm
Sunday Evenings at 7pm on April 19, 26 & May 3
Wednesday Matinee, April 29 at 1pm, followed by discussion with Creative Team: ALL SEATS: $25
Tickets:(415) 441-8822 or www.magictheatre.org.
Pricing: Previews $25
Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings $40
Friday, Saturday evenings, and Sunday matinees $45
$5 off discount for students, seniors and educators
Rush Tickets for students, seniors, educators and people under 30 years of age: $10 one-half hour prior to performance
New Play Events:
Sliding Scale Wednesdays: Wednesdays, April 8, 15, 22 and 29
Sliding scale tickets ($5-$25) available a half-hour prior to performance (as available).
Post-performance TalkBACKs: Fridays, April 17, 24 and May 1
Friday performances are followed by a talkback with Magic Theatre artistic staff and actors.
Wednesday Pre-Show Discussions: Every Wednesday of the run: April 15, 22 & 29.
Magic staff led introduction to the play. 7:15pm – 7:45pm. Free glass of wine served.
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American Hwangap Bios:
Lloyd Suh (playwright) is also the author of The Children of Vonderly (Ma-Yi Theater Co.), Masha No Home (Ensemble Studio Theatre, East West Players), Happy End of the World (NEA/Arena Stage New Play Development Program), The Garden Variety, Great Wall Story, and several shorter plays, including Happy Birthday William Abernathy and Not All Korean Girls Can Fly (EST Marathon). His plays have been presented across the country at additional theaters and festivals including the Lark Play Development Center, Ojai Playwrights Conference, New York Stage & Film, McCarter Theatre Center, Stamford Center for the Arts, and others. He has received additional grants and commissions from the Jerome Foundation, South Coast Repertory, Theatre Communications Group, New York Foundation of the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and the Lilah Kan Red Socks Award from the National Asian American Theatre Company and Pan Asian Rep in recognition of an artist's commitment to community service. He currently serves as Artistic Director of Second Generation and Co-Director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, the largest resident company of Asian American playwrights ever assembled.
Trip Cullman (Director). NY credits include: Adam Bock’s The Drunken City (Playwrights Horizons), Gina Gionfriddo’s U.S. Drag (The StageFARM), Bob Farquhar’s Bad Jazz (The Play Company), Terrence McNally’s Some Men (2econd Stage), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Dark Matters (Rattlestick), Roland Schimmelpfennig’s Arabian Night (Play Company), Bert V. Royal’s Dog Sees God (Century Center), Glen Berger’s The Wooden Breeks (MCC), Sarah Schulman’s Manic Flight Reaction (Playwrights Horizons), Adam Bock’s Swimming in the Shallows (2econd Stage), Paul Weitz’s Roulette (EST), Jonathan Tolins’s The Last Sunday in June (Century Center and Rattlestick), Brooke Berman’s Smashing (Play Company), Rinne Groff’s Of a White Christmas (Clubbed Thumb), Gary Sunshine’s Sweetness and Brooke Berman’s Sam and Lucy (both at SPF ’04), The Wau Wau Sisters (Ars Nova). Regional: John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation (The Old Globe), Richard Greenberg’s The Injured Party (South Coast Rep), Keith Huff’s A Steady Rain (New York Stage and Film), Lauren Weedman’s Rash (The Empty Space). Upcoming: American Hwangap(Play Company/Ma Yi), Terrence McNally’s Unusual Acts of Devotion (La Jolla Playhouse). Associate Artist, The Play Company.
Angela Lin (Esther) - Magic Theatre debut. BROADWAY: Coram Boy (Miss Price), Top Girls (u/s, went on). OFF-BWAY: Sake with the Haiku Geisha (Sumiko/Haiku Geisha). NYC & REGIONAL: East Coast premiere of Donald Margulies’ Shipwrecked! (Long Wharf Theatre), A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theater), Twelfth Night, Othello (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Metamorphoses (Pioneer Theatre), Age of Grace (Subjective Theatre Co.), Nu Shu (Manhattan Theatre Source), Miss Saigon (Gateway Playhouse), The Joy Luck Club (TheatreWorks, CA). FILM & TV: Shine On, Miracle Dogs (w. Stacy Keach), Within the Ivory Tower, The Jury (FOX), As the World Turns (CBS), Pulse (PBS). Training: B.F.A. - Carnegie Mellon. Visit www.angelalin.net for more credits. “To my family: thank you for your unconditional love and support through the thick and thin.” Jeremiah 29:11
Jodi Long (Mary) made her Broadway debut at 7 in Nowhere To Go But Up directed Sidney Lumet. Other Broadway: Loose Ends with Kevin Kline, The Bacchae with Irene Papas, Sondheim’s Getting Away With Murder and the recent revival of Flower Drum Song for which she won the L.A. Ovation award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. A graduate of Purchase College’s Conservatory of Theater, Jodi has played roles ranging from Cherie in Bus Stop to Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Becky Lou in Sam Shepard’s The Tooth Of Crime (LaMama). Jodi is delighted to be at The Magic where Shepard’s early work was galvanized. 4 David Hwang plays, 3 Philip Gotanda plays, 1 Chay Yew. Jodi is the author of a one woman show, Surfing DNA and the documentary film Long Story Short, which premiered at the 2008 SF Asian American Film Festival. TV: Eli Stone, The Beast, House, Without a Trace, Sex in the City, Miss Match, All American Girl, Café American. Film: Sour Sweet, Patty Hearst, The Hot Chick.
Jon Norman Schneider (Ralph) NY: Queens Boulevard (the musical) (Signature), Durango (Public), Blind Mouth Singing (NAATCo), The First Tree in Antarctica (EST), Life Science (Bulldog Theatrical), among others. Regional: Durango (Long Wharf), Citizen 13559: the Journal of Ben Uchida (Kennedy Center), O'Neill Playwrights Conference, REDCAT.TV: "The Electric Company" (recurring), "30 Rock," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." Film: The Rebound (upcoming), Last Night (upcoming), Angel Rodriguez.
Keone Young (Min Suk) trained under the tutelage of Mako and Shizuko Hoshi, 2 of the founders of East West players, the first Asian American Theatre Company. There he worked as actor, writer, producer, musician, dancer, set builder, painter, plumber, costumer, janitor, ticket taker, electrician, etc. for over a 20 year period involved in creating Asian American productions with Frank Chin, Lawson Inada, Philip Kan Gotanda, Oh Soon Teck, Wakako Yamauchi, Momoko Ito, David Henry Hwang, Ed Sakamoto, , and many others. He has also studied with Grand Master Kazue Kudo of the Koto String Society and Seiryu Oshiro,
grand master of the Hozonkai Ryukyu Classical Music group. Mr Young also studied with John E. Collins guitarist with the Nat King Cole trio. In hundreds of segments of episodic tv he most recently was seen in HBO’s Deadwood created by David Milch. Appearing in over 75 feature films will be seen starring in Crank 2. He is also the voice of Storm Shadow in GI Joe, The Silver Samurai in X-Men, Grandpa in American Dragon, Jeong Jeong in Avatar, and many others.
Ryun Yu (David) has the first theater degree ever awarded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His recent television appearances include COLD CASE, ER, THE UNIT, THE SHIELD, and NUMBERS. His film credits include ONLY THE BRAVE, KISSING COUSINS, THE BROTHERS SOLOMON, and the upcoming MIKADO PROJECT. Recent Los Angeles theater: SEA CHANGE at the Gay and Lesbian Center (Maddy award, Ovation award nomination) and DAWN’S LIGHT: THE JOURNEY OF GORDON HIRABAYASHI at East West Players. He has also played the leading roles in critically acclaimed runs of THE GOLDEN HOUR and ONE NATION, UNDER GOD for the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble and WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ for the Fountain Theatre. He also performed in the west coast premiere of Richard Greenberg’s TAKE ME OUT at the Geffen Playhouse. His last Bay Area performance was Phillip Kan Gotanda’s SISTERS MATSUMOTO at the San Jose Rep. He would like to thank Sandy, his parents, Paramahansa Yogananda, and his wonderful wife Nicole who had take care of their mentally challenged one-eyed cat in his absence. Many thanks to the Magic and Loretta for bringing him out here.
York Kennedy (Lighting Designer) Mr. Kennedy’s designs have been seen in theatres across America and in Europe including Berkeley Rep, Seattle Repertory, American Conservatory Theatre, The Alley Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, Yale Rep, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Goodspeed Musicals and the Denver Center. Awards for theatrical lighting design include the Dramalogue, San Diego Drama Critics Circle, Back Stage West Garland, Arizoni Theatre Award and the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award. In the dance world he has designed for Malashock Dance, Brian Webb and Tracey Rhodes. As an architectural lighting designer, he has designed the lighting for numerous themed environment, theme park, residential, retail, restaurant and museum projects all over the world including the Sony Metreon Sendak Playspace in San Francisco, Warner Bros. Movie World in Madrid, Le Centre de Loisirs in Morocco and The LEGO Racers 4D attraction in Germany, Denmark, England and the U.S.A. Current theatre projects include Opus for The Old Globe, Resident Designer for The Old Globe Shakespeare Festival 2009 and Happy Days for California Shakespeare Theatre. He is a graduate of the California Institute for the Arts and the Yale School of Drama.
Brandin Barón (costume designer) Bay Area Highlights: Monkey Room (Magic Theatre); Splitting Infinity, This Wonderful Life (San Jose Rep); Private Jokes, Public Places (Aurora Theatre); The Tempest and Endgame (Shakespeare Santa Cruz).) Regional Highlights: Cloud Tectonics, Dogeaters, Sweet Bird of Youth, and Our Town (La Jolla Playhouse); Imaginary Invalid, Picasso at the Lapin Agile and The Illusion (San Diego Repertory Theater); Dogeaters (NY Shakespeare Festival/The Public). Barón is an Assistant Professor of Design at UCSC. He was awarded the NEA/TCG Career Development Grant for Directors and Designers, as well as a Backstage West Garland Award for Excellence in Costume Design.
Fitz Patton (Sound Designer) BROADWAY: Broadway Bound, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Charles Busch and Julie Halston, Back on Broadway, As Long As We Both Shall Laugh.
OFF-BROADWAY: Boy’s Life, 50 Words, This Is How It Goes, Fran’s Bed, Manic Flight Reaction, Modern Orthodox, A Soldier’s Play, Barbra’s Wedding, The Voysey Inheritance, Trip to Bountiful, Dirty Tricks, Guinea Pig Solo, Matt and Ben, The Butter and Egg Man and A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop. REGIONAL: Travels of Angelica, Crime and Punishment, Cincinnati Playhouse; The Seagull, The Crucible, Great Lakes Theater Festival; Brendan, Huntington Theatre Company; Blithe Spirit, Beyond Therapy, Williamstown Theatre Festival; Third, Some Men, Nerds, Philadelphia Theatre Company; Things of Dry Hours, Pittsburgh Public Theater; Dallas Theater Center, American Conservatory Theater, Arizona Theatre Company, The Acting Company, New York Stage and Film, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse. ORCHESTRATIONS: The Araboolies of Liberty Street, Imagination Stage. ORIGINAL MUSICAL: Cinderella, published by Theatrical Rights Worldwide. OPERA: Kunju Cowboy. TEACHING: Columbia University/Barnard College.
Erik Flatmo (Set Designer): Magic Theatre: The Hopper Collection, The God of Hell, Luminescence Dating, The Crowd You’re In With, Octopus, Evie’s Waltz. Regional: The Imaginary Invalid, The Government Inspector (ACT), Betty’s Summer Vacation (Yale Rep), The Constant Wife (Asolo Rep), Richard III, Uncle Vanya (CalShakes), Radio Golf (Theatreworks), Endgame, Playboy of the Western World (Shakespeare Santa Cruz), Frozen (Marin Theatre Company). Opera: Eugene Onegin, The Magic Flute (Opera San Jose), Transformations, Cenerentola (San Francisco Opera, Merola Program). Dance: Joe Goode Performance Group and Trajal Harrell Dance Style. Education: Columbia University and Yale School of Drama. Teaching: Stanford University.
