Center Repertory Company presents “The Great Leap” at Lesher Center for the Arts

Center Repertory Company will be slam dunkin’ it in style when it presents “The Great Leap” by San Francisco native and award-winning playwright Lauren Yee (“Cambodian Rock Band,” “King of the Yees”). This high-stakes work follows a University of San Francisco college basketball team that travels to Beijing in 1989 for a well-publicized exhibition game. For coaches and players, the match offers a chance to claim personal victories on and off the court. Tensions escalate right up to the final buzzer, as a pivotal historical moment collides with the action in the arena. Fueled by dynamic and rapid-fire dialogue, this sharp-witted dramatic comedy—partially set on the basketball courts of San Francisco’s Chinatown—explores the cultural and political risks of raising one's voice and standing one's ground. After helming last season’s “In the Heights,” celebrated regional theatre director Nicholas C. Avila returns to Center REP to coach this riveting roundball play to a power finish.