Oregon Children's Theatre Presents WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON

Oregon Children's Theatre (OCT) will present Where the Mountain Meets the Moon at the Newmark Theatre, located at Portland'5 Center for the Arts, April 30 through May 28. In addition to public performances, OCT will welcome schools back for field trips: daytime performances will be offered Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays, May 2 through May 26. Field trips can be booked online or by calling the OCT box office.

Based on the award-winning novel by Grace Lin, this musical tells the story of Min Li, a young girl who lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents in the valley of Fruitless Mountain. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Min Li sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer. Written by Min Kahng, the musical was originally commissioned by Bay Area Children's Theatre in 2014 where it won three Theatre Bay Area Awards.

"As theatre makers, we have a responsibility to tell stories that everyone can see themselves in, including those whose stories are not often told in a mostly Caucasian-dominated city. At a time when we are seeing unprecedented levels of anti-AAPI rhetoric and hate crimes nationally, OCT is proud to uplift the AAPI community during AAPI Heritage Month by telling this story of love, family, imagination, and joy, seeped in Chinese folklore and culture," explained Michael Hammerstrom, Director of Marketing & Development. "This show has often been compared to The Wizard of Oz, and who doesn't love cheering on a young girl as our heroine, as she learns and grows? It's an adventure that the whole family will enjoy, complete with the high caliber production elements that families have come to expect from OCT." OCT is hopeful that the subject matter will draw more AAPI families to the theatre and has enlisted cultural consultation and support from several community nonprofits including MediaRites, Northwest China Council, Lan Su Chinese Garden, and the Portland Chinatown Museum.

MediaRites' Executive Producer Dmae Lo Roberts returns to OCT as director, having previously directed The Journal of Ben Uchida in March 2020. "I'm excited to be working on this production because it's a Chinese folktale musical with an all Asian-American cast set in China," explained Roberts. "Creating theater in Oregon can be a lonely and difficult experience when you are usually the only person of color in the production. Through the years I've tried to create more opportunities for BIPOC actors and through co-founding Theatre Diaspora with Samson Syharath, I believe we started a movement to represent more Asian Americans on Portland stages as well as more BIPOC audience members. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a milestone for me in Portland since I first moved here in 1989: I believe this production is the first all-Asian American local cast in a musical here."

The cast includes Maddie Tran as Min Li, Beatriz Abella as Ma, Jeremy Abe as Ba, and Samson Syharath as the Dragon. Terry Kitagawa, Jenna Yokoyama, and Lulu Kashiwabara perform as the ensemble, with Jason Nuesa and Kaitlyn O'Neill serving as understudies. Designers for the production include John Kashiwabara (Set Design), Sumi Wu (Costume Design), Jeff Forbes (Lighting Design), Lawrence Siulagi (Sound & Projections Designer), and Victoria Alvarez-Chacon (Props Designer). Addison DeSantis serves as Music Director and Minh Tran as choreographer, with Willow Zheng of the Northwest China Council serving as Art Director & Cultural Consultant.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a family-friendly production, recommended for ages 6 and up. The production will perform Saturdays at 2:00 pm & 5:00 pm, and Sundays at 11:00 am & 2:00 pm. Tickets start at $22 and are on-sale now; limited $5 tickets are available through the Regional Arts & Culture Council's Arts for All Program. Tickets can be purchased by visiting octc.org/where-the-mountain-meets-the-moon or by calling the OCT Box Office at (503) 228-9571.