Photos: In Rehearsals for Public Theater and Ma-Yi Theater Company's SUMO

The Public Theater and Ma-Yi Theater Company will soon present the New York premiere of SUMO, a thrilling new play written by Lisa Sanaye Dring and directed by Obie Award winner Ralph B. Peña. SUMO begins performances at The Public on Thursday, February 20 and officially opens on Wednesday, March 5. The production runs in the Anspacher Theater through Sunday, March 23.

Entrenched in an elite sumo training facility in Tokyo, six men practice, eat, love, play, and ultimately fight. Step into the sacred world of sumo wrestling, with the New York premiere of Lisa Sanaye Dring’s mesmerizing new drama, SUMO. Akio arrives as an angry, ambitious 18-year-old with a lot to learn. Expecting validation, dominance, and fame, and desperate to move up the ranks, he slams headlong into his fellow wrestlers. With sponsorship money at stake, their bodies on the line, and their futures at risk, the wrestlers struggle to carve themselves—and one another—into the men they dream of being. SUMO is a thrilling new play set in an elite and rarely explored world. Obie Award winner Ralph B. Peña directs this powerhouse drama. 

The complete cast of SUMO will include Kris Bona (Kannushi 2), Red Concepción (Fumio),  Akira Fukui (Understudy So/Kannushi 1), Michael Hisamoto (So), Ahmad Kamal (Ren), Earl T. Kim (Shinta), Hank Lin (Understudy Mitsuo/Ren/Shinta/Kannushi 2), Haowen Luo 罗浩闻 (Understudy Akio/Fumio/Kannushi 3), David Shih (Mitsuo), Scott Keiji Takeda (Akio), Paco Tolson (Kannushi 1), and Viet Vo (Kannushi 3). SUMO features live taiko drumming by Shih-Wei Wu.

SUMO will feature scenic design by Wilson Chin, costume design by Mariko Ohigashi, lighting design by Paul Whitaker, sound design and music composition by Fabian Obispo, hair and wig design by Alberto “Albee” Alvarado, projection design by Hana S. Kim, prop design by Thomas Jenkeleit, and taiko drum composition and performance by Shih-Wei Wu. James Yaegashi will be sumo consultant and co-fight director, and Chelsea Pace will be co-fight and intimacy director. Amrita Ramanan will be the dramaturg. Alyssa K. Howard will serve as production stage manager and Taeuk Kang as stage manager.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus