THE BUDDHA PRINCE Returns To NYC For Free Performances In Central Park 9/4-7

At the invitation of the Dalai Lama's Office of Tibet in New York City, the beloved outdoor "walking play" The Buddha Prince returns to the city for several free performances in Central Park over Labor Day Weekend, September 4 - 7. The play has been performed since 2001 in several cities coinciding with visits of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The last NYC performance was in 2005.

The upcoming performances are the first stop on a tour affiliated with the 50 Years in Exile worldwide celebration commemorating the anniversary of the Tibetan diaspora since China occupied the country (see www.50yearsinexile.org for background and affiliated events worldwide). Following New York, the production will travel to Minneapolis, home to TigerLion Works, the production company behind its creation.

A play for all ages, The Buddha Prince shares the story of the Dalai Lama's early life in a free Tibet and his subsequent escape into India, narrated with excerpts from his own teachings and autobiographies.

Performances
Friday, Sept. 4: 5:30 PM
Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Sept. 5 - 7: 2:00 PM and 5:30 PM
Central Park - West 103rd St. entrance (follow colorful Tibetan prayer flags/banners)
Subways: B or C to 103rd St; Bus: M10
All performances are free to the public, with a suggested donation. Proceeds benefit the Tibetan communities of New York and New Jersey.

The Buddha Prince was created as an outdoor "walking play," taking the audience on a journey through a natural environment as the scenes unfold around them. "The process creates a bond among the audience and they leave with open hearts, wide eyes and changed minds," says the play's creator and TigerLion Works founder Markell Kiefer. "Because of this many consider it a healing play, an offering for peace."

The Buddha Prince draws from both eastern and western artistic traditions, mixing physical theatre with mask, puppetry and traditional Tibetan music and dance. Fully half of the cast is Tibetan. The current script and score are the result of a collaboration between Kiefer and renowned Tibetan musicians Tenzin Ngawang and Ngawang Choephel, both of whom trained at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA), founded by the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India.

Minnesota native Markell Kiefer (writer/director/executive producer) was raised as a Tibetan Buddhist in the Shambhala community. She has a B.A. in Religion and Environmental Ethics from Middlebury College and an M.F.A. in Lecoq-based physical theater from Naropa University. After two years with Circle in the Square Theatre School in NYC, she went on to direct and perform with theater companies throughout the US, including The Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis.

The Buddha Prince has received full endorsement from the Office of TIbet.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!