La MaMa Presents 13 FRUITCAKES

LA MAMA - the 2018 Tony Award winning theater - will present the world premiere music drama from South Korea, 13 FRUITCAKES, written and directed by BYUNGKOO AHN, as part of the STONEWALL 50 festival at the Ellen Stewart Theater (66 E. 4 St.) in Manhattan, June 13-16. BYUNGKOO AHN returns to La MaMa having previously directed a Korean adaptation of HAMLET in 2011.

13 FRUITCAKES depicts the story of Orlando, a fictional character, who inspires and encourages people to start fighting against social injustice and oppression by telling them stories about great gay ancestors, highlighting 13 noteworthy LGBTQ+ figures and their impact throughout history: from Eleanor Roosevelt to Hans Christian Andersen to Alan Turing to Leonardo da Vinci. The music drama is performed by a cast of Korean actors - including 'More' Zimin, the most prominent drag performer in Korea.

13 FRUITCAKES is comprised of 13 musical vignettes, with beautiful original songs composed by Gihieh Lee, lyrics by Lorca, Wilde, Whitman and other Queer Poets and Electronic Music by Los Angeles Laptop Collective.

"I am very excited to come back to La MaMa next month with this new production. When I did research on the Stonewall Riots, people say somehow the air that day was different from before, even though it was a routine police raid, and on this occasion they did not submit to the police. I wanted to create what the 'different air' that day might have been. I am very attached to this project more than any I have worked on before," states creator BYUNGKOO AHN.

13 FRUITCAKES, is presented as part of La MaMa's pride programming, STONEWALL 50 AT LA MAMA, a festival of LGBTQ+ artists from NYC, Philadelphia, Paris, Italy, and South Korea being presented at the Tony Award-winning theater (66 E. 4 St.) in Manhattan, from May 23-June 30 as part of WORLD PRIDE. La MaMa Squirts (May 31-June 2), Global Gay (June 6-9), and Contradict This (June 20-30) are among other highlights during the month-long pride celebration.

Ticket prices are $25 General Admission; $20 Student/Senior (plus $1 facility fee); La MaMa also offers 10@$10, these are the first ten tickets for every performance at $10 each, first come first served, advance sales only, with code: 10AT10.

To purchase tickets, please call OvationTix at: 212-352-3101; or to buy online visit http://lamama.org/13_fruitcakes/

La MaMa is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. La MaMa's vision of nurturing new artists and new work remains as strong today as it was when Ellen Stewart first opened the doors in 1961. La MaMa has presented more than 5,000 productions by 150,000 artists of all nations, cultures, races and identities. Cultural pluralism and ethnic diversity are inherent in the work created on our stages. Here, artists find a supportive environment for artistic exploration, and audiences are part of the development of an artist's work over time.

A recipient of the 2018 Regional Theater Tony Award, and more than 30 Obie Awards and dozens of Drama Desk, Bessie, and Villager Awards, La MaMa has been a creative home for thousands of artists, many of whom have made lasting contributions to the arts, including Blue Man Group, Ping Chong, André De Shields, Adrienne Kennedy, Harvey Fierstein, Diane Lane, Warren Leight, Michael Mayer, Tadeusz Kantor, Bette Midler, Meredith Monk, Peter Brook, David and Amy Sedaris, Julie Taymor, Kazuo Ohno, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

Photo Credit: Ki Seok Cho