Komaki's Drama 'If Truth Be Known' Plays June 4-24

Blue Heron Theatre will continue its 19th season with the world premiere of Judi Komaki's drama If Truth Be Known, directed by Christine Simpson.  The play will begin performances at The ArcLight, 152 West 71st Street (between B'way and Columbus) on June 1 and will officially open on Monday, June 4 at 8:00 p.m.  Performances will run through June 24.

If Truth Be Known "takes place in the Nation's capital in 1982, as a woman (Max) struggles to understand the problems she's been having with the man of her dreams (Philip T. Clark, IV), a Vietnam vet.  Initially, she blames their problems on class differences.  He's the scion of an old American family and she's the granddaughter of a Japanese picture bride.  Eventually the woman realizes that her superficial resemblance to the Vietnamese women her lover probably killed in the war may pose an insurmountable hurdle," state press materials.

Author Judi Komaki, a professor of psychology, recently retired from Baruch College of City University of New York, is a specialist in issues of discrimination in the workplace.  She has written two one-act plays, Between a Rock and a Hard Place and Her Hair that have been produced in New York. 

Director Christine Simpson is the co-founder and artistic director of Fluid Motion Theater & Film, Inc.  She is also an actress and adapter of literary material for stage and film. 

The cast will be headed by Lydia Gaston (The King and I, The Red Shoes) as Max Kjellin and James Patrick Earley (productions at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, etc.) as Philip T. Clark, IV.  Rounding out the four-member cast will be Constance Boardman (as Jane Horino) and Bea Soong (as Mrs. Betty Ota). 

The set design will be by Czerton Lim, the costume design by Deborah J. Caney, the lighting design by Alan Kanevsky and sound design by David M. Lawson. The production stage manager will be Sarah Ford. 

The complete schedule for If Truth Be Known (June 1 through 24) will be: Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 pm with Sunday matinees at 3:00 pm.  There will be two additional performances: Monday, June 4 at 8:00 pm and Saturday, June 23 at 3:00 pm.  Tickets: $20.00.  Students and seniors:  $15.00.  TDF vouchers are accepted.  Tickets for all performances are available at 212-868-4444 (or online at www.smarttix.com).  Visit www.blueheron-nyc.org for more on Blue Heron Theatre.

Photo by Carol Rosegg - Pictured (from top left, then clockwise): Bea Soong, James Patrick Earley, Lydia Gaston, and Constance Boardman