NAATCO To Present Caryl Churchill's A NUMBER At Cherry Lane Studios

The OBIE Award-winning National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) - now in its 21st season - presents A NUMBER, OBIE Award-winner and 2010 Theatre Hall of Fame inductee Caryl Churchill's acclaimed play about human cloning and identity, starring OBIE Award-winner James Saito and Joel de la Fuente, with previews set to begin March 12 prior to it official press opening March 17 at Cherry Lane Studio Theatre (38 Commerce Street) in Manhattan. Christoph Hahner is co-producer. Maureen Payne-Hahner directs.

In A NUMBER, Caryl Churchill explores the human experience, the essence of personality, and nature versus nurture as a man confronts his father after discovering that he has several siblings - each one of his clones.

Since the arrival of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned, in the late-90s, the possibility of human cloning has sparked controversy. In recent years, with advances in genetic engineering, the practical and ethical issues regarding cloning continue to make headlines and incite lively debate. "We've got ninety-nine percent the same genes as any other person. We've got ninety per cent as a chimpanzee. We've got thirty percent the same as lettuce," says Michael Black in A NUMBER. "Does that cheer you up at all? It makes me feel I belong,"

James Saito, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Chen in the ABC drama "Eli Stone" and OBIE Award-winning work in Julia Cho's DURANGO, stars as Slater, a man who had his son cloned. Joel de la Fuente, previously seen in NAATCO's productions of COWBOY V. SAMURAI and IVANOV, co-stars as the young man who must face his father -- and several clones of himself.

The design team for A NUMBER includes Czerton Lim (Set Design); Maureen Payne-Hahner (Costume Design); Alex Bright (Lighting Design); and Kate Brown (Sound Design).

"Caryl Churchill is one of the most critically acclaimed playwrights in the English-speaking world, and perhaps the single most acclaimed female one, but she is a mystery wrapped in an enigma...who lets her work speak entirely for itself," claims the New York Times regarding Ms. Churchill. A 2010 inductee into the Theater Hall of Fame, Ms. Churchill is widely acclaimed for her experiments with form and daring language. She is best known for her OBIE Award-winning plays CLOUD NINE, TOP GIRLS and SERIOUS MONEY, which also garnered the Evening Standard Award, Laurence Olivier Award and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Other notable plays include FEN, MAD FOREST, THE SKRIKER, LIGHT SHINING IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, A MOUTH FULL OF BIRDS, BLUE HEART, DRUNK ENOUGH TO SAY I LOVE YOU?, and FAR AWAY. A NUMBER premiered in 2002 at London's Royal Court Theatre, starring Michael Gambon and Daniel Craig.

Director Maureen Payne-Hahner most recently directed the Chicago premiere of QED by Peter Parnell for ETOPiA productions at Northwestern University. Other directing credits include: TALK RADIO by Eric Bogosian ("Recommended" by Equity Wing Jefferson Award Citation Committee) at The Gift Theatre Company, Chicago; COPENHAGEN by Michael Frayn for ETOPiA productions at Northwestern University; THE COUNTESS by Gregory Murphy (Chicago Premiere) at The Victory Gardens Theatre in association with The Gift Theatre Company. She has also been Assistant Director for the Summer Cabaret at Yale University. Directing credits in Europe include: COPENHAGEN (Munich, Vienna, Zagreb), SWEET PHOEBE by Michael Gow, and TWO CONVERSATIONS, DARK PONY, LITKO and EPILOGUE by David Mamet (Munich). Other credits with The Gift include: BOYS LIFE, ORESTES 2.0, SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR. She attended The School at Steppenwolf (2001). New York credits include Naked Angels Theatre and The Ensemble Studio Theatre. She is slated to direct CLOUD 9 by Caryl Churchill for The Gift Theatre's 2011 season where she has been an ensemble member since 2001.

Now in its 21st season, NAATCO was created to provide opportunities for Asian-American theatre artists - actors, directors, designers, etc. - to do work in Western works they might not ordinarily be cast in or hired for in traditional circumstances. To that end, NAATCO has presented a host of classic works and new plays with all Asian-American casts, including last season's Drama Desk nominated A PLAY ON WAR (nominated for Outstanding Music in a Play), and the critically acclaimed THE SEAGULL. Other notable productions include OTHELLO, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, OUR TOWN, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, William Finn's FALSETTOLAND, Archibald MacLeish's AIR RAID, Joseph Conrad's TALES OF UNREST, ANTIGONE, IVANOV, THE DISPUTE, and the world premieres of Karen Hartman's LEAH'S TRAIN, Catherine Filloux's EYES OF THE HEART, Michael Golamco's COWBOY V. SAMURAI, and most recently, JorDan Harrison's FUTURA.

Performances of A NUMBER run March 12-April 3, Tuesdays-Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 pm at the Cherry Lane Studio Theatre (38 Commerce Street). Tickets are $20 (March 12 & 13) and $25 (March 15-April 3). For tickets, visit Telecharge.com or call 212-239-6200 or 800-432-7250. Tickets may also be purchased at the Cherry Lane box office: Tuesdays-Fridays, 4-8 pm; Saturdays, 12-8 pm; and Sundays, 1-7 pm.

For additional details, please visit www.naatco.org.