THE HEART SELLERS to Open at Penguin Rep Theatre in Stony Point

Penguin Rep Theatre, under the leadership of Joe Brancato, founding Artistic Director, and Andrew M. Horn, Executive Director, will present Lloyd Suh's The Heart Sellers, directed by Maria Mileaf, Thursday, July 9 through Sunday, July 26 in Stony Point, New York.

The Heart Sellers invites the audience to step back to 1973 – Soul Train, Watergate, Disney World – when two recent newcomers meet by chance in the supermarket just before Thanksgiving. While their medical-resident husbands work through the night, the young woman – one from the Philippines, the other from South Korea – shares stories about their new lives … and how to cook a frozen turkey. Filled with heart and humor, this “laugh-aloud love letter to friendship” (Broadway World) explores what it takes to make a new home.

According to Mr. Brancato, “the title is a play on words that evokes the Hart-Celler Act, landmark immigration reform legislation enacted in 1965.” The Hart-Celler Act, also known as the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, was passed by both Democratic and Republican members of Congress and opened up new pathways for immigrants from Asia, Africa, and South America.

Playwright Lloyd Suh is the author of The Far Country (2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist), The Chinese Lady, Franklinland, Bina's Six Apples, American Hwangap, and many others. His work has been produced across the country, including at Atlantic Theater Company, The Public, Alliance, Huntington, Berkeley Rep, and with Ma-Yi Theatre Company and Ensemble Studio Theatre among others, and internationally at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and with PCPA at the Guerilla Theatre in Seoul, Korea. Awards include the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Horton Foote Prize, the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, and the Guggenheim Fellowship.

Director Maria Mileaf returns to Penguin Rep having directed Kwame Kwei Armah's Let There Be Love in 2023. On the West End, she directed Glen Berger's Underneath the Lintel, starring Richard Schiff. Her Off-Broadway credits include productions with Playwrights Horizons, Vineyard Theatre, WP Theater, Primary Stages, The Play Company, Clubbed Thumb, New Georges, Cherry Lane Theatre, Urban Stages, The Flea, and 59E59 Theaters. The cast under Ms. Mileaf's direction includes Anika Braganza (as Luna), an actor, performer, and singer-songwriter based in New York City, and Mia Mooko (as Jane), whose credits include Begin Again (NAATCO, dir. Knud Adams), And So That Happened (5th Avenue Theater), CIA (CBS), and barely friends (ElevenTwelve).

The production is designed by Tyler Herald (set), Phuong Nguyen (costumes), Christopher Wong (lighting), Max Silverman (original music and sound), and Dana R. Weintraub (props). Michael Palmer is the production stage manager; Isaac Goldbaum is the assistant stage manager.

Performances of The Heart Sellers are scheduled at Penguin Rep Theatre, a repurposed hay barn, located at 7 Crickettown Road. “The converted barn, circa 1880, has never been more inviting” (The New York Times). Says Mr. Horn, “It's theatre so close you can feel it, with comfortable upholstered seats and no seat more than 30 feet from the stage.” The theatre is air conditioned, handicapped accessible, and has plenty of free parking.

Shows will take place: Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Friday matinees at 2:00 p.m. (July 10 and July 17 only), Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are priced at $56 ($49 if ordered before July 1). Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more and young people (30 and under).

There will be cake and coffee with the cast following the official opening on Sunday, July 12. Following the show on Friday, July 24 will be a discussion among the artists and audience.

Cheap Thrills Nights are Thursday, July 9 at 7:00 p.m. and Friday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m. when tickets are $28, half the regular price.

New this season is the introduction of Sweet Treats Friday – July 17 – when audience members are invited to arrive early and enjoy desserts before the show.

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