COWBOY VERSUS SAMURAI to Bring Comedic Face-Off to Long Beach Playhouse

What if the classic romantic comedy, Cyrano DeBergerac, was set in modern day Wyoming? What if the large-nosed protagonist was now an Asian American High School English teacher and his love interest was the beautiful new Asian American teacher with a preference for dating white guys? Will the eloquent English teacher put his feelings aside to help his cowboy friend win her heart? Or is there hope for the samurai that lies within the teacher?

"Michael Golamco is the author of Cowboy versus Samurai," said Madison Mooney, Executive Director for the Playhouse. "He's of Filipino and Chinese descent and grew up in a mostly-white small town in Northern California. It's easy to imagine he writes from some experience.

It's a small cast, just four characters. Travis Park, our English Teacher, his friend Chester, who's an Asian Che Guevara, Veronica, the love interest and Cowboy Del."

"It's a very clever script, said Sean Gray, Playhouse Artistic Director. "It's fast-paced dialog with plenty of wordplay and wit. We include a glossary in our program just to make sure our audiences don't miss anything in translation. The play uses irony, humor and social commentary to talk about issues of inter-racial relationships, loyalty among friends and the very human struggle to figure out who we are in the world."

Of the four cast members, three - Rosie Narasaki, Perry Pang, and Christian Skinner - are making their Playhouse debuts. The fourth, Lee Samuel Tanng, is a familiar face to Playhouse audiences, having appeared in shows on both stages including his most recent appearance on the Mainstage in Rumors. Shinshin Yuder Tsai is making his directorial debut at the Playhouse. He has several directing credits including shows at UCI and short films.

Cowboy versus Samurai opens on July 22 and runs through August 19. Performances are 8 p.m. Friday, and Saturday and 2 p.m.Sunday. The box office is open Wednesday-Saturday from 3:00-8:00 pm and Sundays from 1:00-2:00 pm on scheduled matinees.

SPECIAL EVENTS FOR THIS PLAY:

Pay what you can Thursday July 20- community can see this production for whatever they can afford

Two for One Preview Friday July 21 - Tickets are $10.00

Opening Night Champagne Reception with cast on July 22 - Tickets are $27.00

Ticket Pricing:

Friday: Adults are $20.00, Seniors $18.00, and Students $14.00

Saturday and Sunday: Adults are $24.00, Seniors $21.00, and Students $14.00.

Tickets are available at www.lbplayhouse.org, or by calling 562-494-1014, option 1.

Long Beach Playhouse is located at 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, CA, 90804, right across from the Long Beach Recreation golf course. The Playhouse is community-supported theatre with programs and events that cut across age, gender, ethnic, and cultural boundaries.

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