STAGE TUBE: Jamie Hewlett & Damon Albarn Talk MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST

MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST, an extraordinary music-theater collaboration based on the classic Chinese folktale "Journey to the West" from 1592, will open the 2013 Lincoln Center Festival, playing 27 performances throughout the festival from July 6 - 28 in the David H. Koch Theater. MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST is conceived and directed by internationally renowned opera and film director Chen Shi-Zheng, with music by Damon Albarn, lead singer of Blur, and design and animation by award-winning artist Jamie Hewlett, who, with Albarn, created the virtual band Gorillaz. Check out an interview with Albarn and Hewlett below!

A theatrical spectacle that has performed before sold-out audiences around the world, MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST is a vibrant musical retelling of the ancient Chinese folktale that follows the fantastical trek of the monk Tripitaka, who travels from China to India seeking the Buddhist sacred scriptures. Led by the irrepressible Monkey King on a journey through an enchanted world, the monk and his magical animal companions encounter a series of perilous and comic adventures and misadventures.

Equal parts epic music theater and stunning animation, this hugely successful production includes a remarkable cast of Chinese acrobats, singers, mind-bending contortionists, martial artists, and transfixing animated displays. Damon Albarn's score features washes of electronic sounds, brass fanfares, electronic percussion, and Chinese pop melodies. Jamie Hewlett's designs, animations, and eye-popping costumes are influenced by Japanese animé. And Chen Shi-Zheng's thrilling vision transforms classic Chinese martial arts, circus acts, dance and acrobatics. Together, the three collaborators bring a dazzling, boundary-breaking approach to this timeless Chinese epic.

MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST created a sensation when it premiered at the first Manchester International Festival in England in 2007. It was then performed at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and at Spoleto Festival USA, followed by performances at the Royal Opera House in London.

MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST performance schedule:
Saturday, July 6 at 8 p.m. (preview); Sunday, July 7 at 2 and 8 p.m. (previews); Tuesday, July 9 at 8 p.m. (opens); Wednesday, July 10 at 8 p.m.; Thursday, July 11 at 8 p.m.; Friday, July 12 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, July 13 at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, July 14 at 2 and 8 p.m.; Tuesday, July 16 at 8 p.m.; Wednesday, July 17 at 8 p.m.; Thursday, July 18 at 8 p.m.; Friday, July 19 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, July 20 at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, July 21 at 2 and 8 p.m.; Tuesday, July 23 at 8 p.m.; Wednesday, July 24 at 8 p.m.; Thursday, July 25 at 8 p.m.; Friday, July 26 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, July 27 at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, July 28 at 2 and 8 p.m.

Tickets: Tickets are on sale now. For more information and to buy tickets visit www.LincolnCenterFestival.org, go to the Avery Fisher, Alice Tully Hall or David H. Koch Theater box offices, or call CenterCharge at 212-721-6500.