James Seol News

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's 2019/20 season of complex, beautiful and maddening theater kicks off with a thrilling Chicago premiere by in-demand playwright, Lauren Yee, directed by Jesca Prudencio.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's season opening production of Lauren Yee's THE GREAT LEAP combines the energy of the final moments of a major sporting event alongside moments of great intimacy and intensity for which the company is largely known.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's 2019/20 season kicks off with a Chicago premiere by Lauren Yee, directed by Jesca Prudencio. Set in 1989, The Great Leap tells the story of Manford Lum, a local star of the sidewalk basketball courts of San Francisco's Chinatown who strongarms his way onto an American college team travelling to Beijing for a “friendship” game. Set amidst the friction of the post-Cultural Revolution era, The Great Leap keeps tensions high right up to the final buzzer.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's 2019/20 season of complex, beautiful and maddening theater kicks off with a thrilling Chicago premiere by in-demand playwright, Lauren Yee, directed by Jesca Prudencio.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company announces casting for the first four productions of the 2019/20 season featuring previously announced ensemble members Audrey Francis, Tim Hopper, Caroline Neff, Yasen Peyankov and Karen Rodriguez, and the return of Steppenwolf regulars including Michael Patrick Thornton, Cedric Young and Keith Kupferer, along with dozens of Chicago-based actors and an exciting debut by South African stage and screen star Nondumiso Tembe.

Presented by NAATCO (National Asian American Theatre Company), the parentheses of the title [Veil Widow Conspiracy] hint at this play's structure.  The events to be unveiled center around a 1922 political murder mystery which occurred in Xinjiang, China.  It is also about a 2010 movie filmed on location about that mystery.  Finally, two young Asians in a dystopian Brooklyn in 2035 are discussing the film.  The story lines are related and tucked inside each other but really serve to comment on philosophies and moralities.

The OBIE Award-winning NAATCO, National Asian American Theatre Company, kicks off their 29th season with the World Premiere of Gordon Dahlquist's [Veil Widow Conspiracy]. Aneesha Kudtarkar directs a cast that will include Edward Chin-Lyn, Kimiye Corwin, Bruce McKenzie, David Shih, James Seol, Karoline Xu, and Aaron Yoo. This Off-Broadway limited engagement at Next Door at New York Theatre Workshop (79 East 4th Street) will begin performances Saturday June 8th with Opening Night set for June 15th (7pm).  Performances continue through July 6th only.

The OBIE Award-winning NAATCO, National Asian American Theatre Company, kicks off their 29th season with the World Premiere of Gordon Dahlquist's [Veil Widow Conspiracy].

Prospect Theater Company celebrated twenty years of bringing to life original musical theater works at their 2019 Gala at Manhattan Penthouse in New York on April 8.

Prospect Theater Company (Melissa Huber, Managing Director / Cara Reichel, Producing Artistic Director) is pleased to announce the cast for its upcoming workshop staging of American Morning, with book, music and lyrics by Timothy Huang, from May 8th through May 19th, 2019.     

Producer Victoria Weinberg announced today that Ali Skye Bennet's new play RAFETUS will receive an invited presentation, directed by Jill DeArmon, this Today, September 28, 2018 at 11:00am and 2:30pm at The New Ripley-Grier (305 W. 38th St.) in New York City.  Based on a true story, RAFETUS was developed in part at the HBMG Foundation's National Winter Playwright's Retreat, is a 2018­19 Woodward/Newman Drama Award Finalist, and a 2017 Finalist and 2018 Semifinalist for the National Playwrights Conference at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.

Producer Victoria Weinberg announced today that Ali Skye Bennet's new play RAFETUS will receive an invited presentation, directed by Jill DeArmon, this Friday, September 28, 2018 at 11:00am and 2:30pm at The New Ripley-Grier (305 W. 38th St.) in New York City.  Based on a true story, RAFETUS was developed in part at the HBMG Foundation's National Winter Playwright's Retreat, is a 2018­19 Woodward/Newman Drama Award Finalist, and a 2017 Finalist and 2018 Semifinalist for the National Playwrights Conference at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.

The OBIE Award-winning NAATCO, National Asian American Theatre Company, kicks off their 28th season with Stephen Brown-Fried's new adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry VI. This Off-Broadway limited engagement at the Mezzanine Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theaters (502 West 53rd Street at Tenth Avenue) opens Tuesday August 21st (Part 1) and Wednesday August 22nd (Part 2).  Performances continue through September 8th only.

The National Asian American Theatre Company, kicks off their 28th season with Stephen Brown-Fried's new adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry VI. This Off-Broadway limited engagement at the Mezzanine Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theaters (502 West 53rd Street at Tenth Avenue) will open Tuesday August 21st (Part 1) and Wednesday August 22nd (Part 2).  Performances continue through September 8th only.

Next month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

The OBIE Award-winning NAATCO, National Asian American Theatre Company, kicks off their 28th season with Stephen Brown-Fried's new adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry VI.

Sumayya Ali (Great Comet, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess) joins the cast of the reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Diamond as Big as The Ritz

Sumayya Ali (Great Comet, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess) joins the cast of the reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Diamond as Big as The Ritz, (www.theritzmusical.com) at 7pm, Monday, June 18, and 1PM Tuesday, June 19 at the Dramatists Guild Fund's The Music Hall, 356 W. 40th St., 2nd Floor.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Devin Ilaw, Dorcas Leung, and Charlotte Maltby in 54 Sings 1776 on July 3 and July 4, 2018. The Fourth of July meets Broadway in the fifth annual concert staging of the beloved musical, 1776, at Feinstein's/54 Below. Showcase your patriotism with some of stage's brightest stars singing numbers such as "Sit Down, John," "He Plays The Violin," "Molasses To Rum," and more, as we celebrate the great sacrifices our friends, family, and founding fathers have made to shape our nation.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, (www.theritzmusical.com) is set for a staged reading for the theater industry at 7pm, Monday, June 18, and 1PM Tuesday, June 19 at the Dramatists Guild Fund's The Music Hall, 356 W. 40th St., 2nd Floor.