New Musical HUA MULAN Will Receive Industry Reading With Ali Ewoldt and Claire Kwon

Hua Mulan, a new musical by Jason Ma inspired by the legendary 5th century Chinese folk heroine, will have an industry presentation today, November 7, in New York City. Co-directed by Billy Bustamante and Chongren Fan, Hua Mulan features an ensemble cast of 14 led by Ali Ewoldt as Madam Hua and Maybe Happy Ending’s Claire Kwon as Mulan. This presentation is produced by Yangtze Repertory Theatre, whose 2023 production of Salesman之死 was awarded an Obie Award for Outstanding New Play.

Hua Mulan explores the origin story of the mythic woman warrior in 5th Century China - a ten-year-old girl who, after struggling to find herself in a world of men, becomes a legendary hero, immortalized for the ages.

Completing the cast for Hua Mulan are Liz Casasola, Emy Coligado, Alex Humphreys, Steven Huynh, Jimmy Nguyen, Elijah V. Ramos, Sam Simahk, Bebe Browning, Andrew Cristi, Emily Song Tyler, Viet Vo, and Haoyi Wen. Stage directions read by Victoria Pommalath.

Additional creative team members include music director Minhui Lee, assistant director Haoyi Wen, and stage manager Merrick Williams.

This invitation-only reading will take place at Pearl Studios NYC (500 8th Ave).

About the Artists

Jason Ma (馬智培 | Book/Music/Lyrics) is the son of an immigrant family, a grateful descendant of a long line of those who were able to persist, overcome, and succeed on their way to becoming Americans. He made his Broadway debut in 1989 and has been a multi-hyphenate citizen of the theater in New York City ever since. Along with a decades-long career as a performer, he is an award-winning writer/composer, including the ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award for his work as a composer/lyricist and a Harold Adamson Award for his musical theater lyrics. He wrote the book, music and lyrics for Gold Mountain, which received its world premiere in the fall of 2021, presented by the Utah Shakespeare Festival. As board president at Prospect Musicals, he is an active supporter of new work in the American musical theater and an advocate for expanding the canon to include more stories that reflect the vast array of communities that are the great American melting pot and highlight the shared history that has made and shaped our country. Most recently, Jason was a part of the lead producing team for the out-of-town tryout of the original musical The Hello Girls. www.jasonmamusic.com 

Billy Bustamante (Co-Director) is a New York-based director, choreographer and photographer. His work in theatre includes, as director / choreographer, Here We Are at The National Theatre and The Shed; FINN for the Kennedy Center; Soft Power for Signature Theatre (Helen Hayes nomination); Notes from Now for Prospect Theatre Company; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for Virginia Stage Company; Whisper House for The Civilians; Gold Mountain for Utah Shakespeare Festival; The Wild Party and The Adding Machine for B-Side; and Here Lies Love on Broadway; and as actor, The King and I at Lincoln Center; The Last Goodbye at The Old Globe; Tulipomania for Arden; Cabaret for Arena Stage; Pacific Overtures for North Shore Music Theatre; Sweet Charity for Media Theatre; and Miss Saigon on Broadway. Billy Bustamante is the co-founder of Broadway Barkada and is on teaching faculty at Jen Waldman Studio and Circle in the Square Theatre School. www.billybustamante.com 

Chongren Fan (范崇人 | Co-Director) is a New York-based bilingual stage director. Hailing from Shanghai, he is the Artistic Director of OBIE Award winning theatre company Yangtze Repertory Theatre. Off-Broadway: Citizen Wong and The Emperor’s Nightingale (Pan Asian Rep); Romulus the Great, 410[GONE] and Behind the Mask (YZ REP); Regional: Quixotic Professor Qiu (InterAct Theatre Company); The Dragon King’s Daughter (Kennedy Center/Helen Hayes Nomination); Tiger Style! (TheatreSquared); Shanghai Sonatas in Concert (The Wallis); International: China Premiere Stones in His Pockets (Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre). Chongren was the Deputy General Manager of China Performing Arts Agency overseeing large scale live performances from China to the USA from 2015-2020. He was a Jonathan Alper Directing Fellow at Manhattan Theatre Club and Resident Artist at Mabou Mines. He has been a guest lecturer at Barnard College and Yale School of Drama. Proud member of SDC and Off-Broadway League’s EDIJ committee. www.chongrenfan.com