Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company to Stage World Premiere of JC Lee's CRANE

Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company presents the world premiere of JC Lee's CRANE directed by Mina Morita. Ferocious Lotus is proud to produce the first premiere of Lee's work since his play LUCE premiered at Lincoln Center Theatre's LCT3.

CRANE opens Monday, September 21, 2015 at NOHspace (2840 Mariposa Street, San Francisco, CA) and runs through October 11, 2015. Previews occur September 17-20, 2015.

When Sadako stumbles into a cabin in the mountains in the dead of winter, she meets Bradley, a young, hermitic artist who once created a great work of art but has since descended into mediocrity. He now risks being dropped by his pushy agent if he doesn't produce another masterpiece. After taking in this mysterious woman, Bradley soon discovers that Sadako has her own secret talent that could potentially save him. But at what cost?

In this wry, poignant story of love, forgetfulness and the nature of art, playwright JC Lee creates a new paradigm for theatrical storytelling. Dreams blend with reality. Ancient myths and rich poetic language merge with blunt contemporary humor. A magical world of flying houses and talking refrigerators collides with a greedy, materialistic status quo. And two artists must choose...between creative integrity and commercial success.

Within these dichotomies, Lee also weaves together two timeless Japanese myths- the memory of a young girl who folds 1,000 paper cranes to save herself after the Hiroshima bombing, and the tale of a crane who weaves her feathers into a stunning cloth to financially save the man she loves. Incidentally, CRANE comes at a significant time; this year marks the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"JC Lee mixes the poetry of our human experience with the absurdity of our everyday concerns to create this stunning play," says director Mina Morita. Lee explains, "I was interested in how mythology persists through history. Why do certain stories resonate and iterate over and over across cultures? Both myths are beautiful and timeless. Yet the Crane Wife myth at its core is terribly sexist. I thought: why not reframe the whole thing from her point of view. Combining the myths enabled me to give her far more depth and control over the choices she makes in the play."

"I've loved CRANE for years," adds Morita. "I'm thrilled that Ferocious Lotus has chosen it as the company's first full production, and I'm excited to work with this fierce creative team and cast." Lee and Morita collaborated on the world premiere of Lee's play THE NATURE LINE at Sleepwalkers Theatre in 2011. "I'm excited to be reunited with Mina Morita," says Lee. "She's the perfect person to be crafting this production. We've talked about this play for so long, and I'm thrilled it finally has a chance to be shared with the world."

CRANE features Monica Ho as Sadako and Greg Ayers* as Bradley. Joining them are longtime Bay Area actors Lily Tung Crystal* as The Mother/The Doctor and Leon Goertzen* as The Merchant. (*Members of Actors' Equity)

The production features direction by Mina Morita, scenic design by Kuo-Hao Lo, costume design by Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, lighting design by Kevin August Landesman, sound design by Emily Fassler, and properties design by Yusuke Soi.

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