COWBOY VERSUS SAMURAI Makes LA Debut at The Rosenthal Theater Tonight

Cowboy Versus Samurai, Michael Golamco's hit comedy inspired by Cyrano de Bergerac, will make its Los Angeles debut at The Rosenthal Theater at Inner-City Arts with an opening tonight, September 28, 2013.

Presented by Artists at Play, this production will be Golamco's third Los Angeles premiere over the past three years. The prior shows being the West Coast premiere of Year Zero at The Colony Theatre in 2011 and the world premiere of Build at Geffen Playhouse in 2012. Founding members Peter J. Kuo and Julia Cho will direct and perform, respectively. Additional cast members and artists to be announced.

"As Artists at Play continues to present plays new to Los Angeles, we are proud to produce a show by locally based playwright Michael Golamco," said founder Stefanie Lau. "Michael is an growing, prominent voice in American theatre, and is at the forefront of the next generation of great Asian American Playwrights."

"We've all known about the play for years; it's been around even before Artists at Play came to be," said founder Julia Cho. "Productions of it have been done all over since 2006, so we were shocked that it had yet to be produced in Los Angeles. And we thank our lucky stars that we get to be the ones to present it."

In Breakneck, Wyoming -- population 1,000 -- Travis and Chester are the only Asian Americans in town. Chester evokes an Asian American Che Guevara, pointing out the racial injustices in their small town, while Travis couldn't care less. That is, until Veronica Lee, a beautiful and bright Korean American, moves into town. Before Travis can make a move, he learns Veronica has a dating preference for white men -- like Travis's good friend Del whom she's fallen for. But what happens when Veronica learns the letters from Del that stole her heart were actually penned by Travis?

"This play is a wonderfully comedic addition to the Asian American theatre canon, and the American theatre canon as a whole," said founder Marie-Reine Velez. "It articulates the comparison between dating experiences of the regularly exotified Asian American female and the often-emasculated Asian American male. And it humorously and heartily delves into issues like (racial) dating preferences and the insecurities that follow."

"The L.A. theatre community should have an opportunity to see these great plays that are being produced across the nation," said founder Peter J. Kuo. " We recognize we're filling this void with the work we produce that may not be seen in L.A. otherwise."

Cowboy Versus Samurai will be presented at The Rosenthal Theater at Inner-City Arts located at 720 Kohler Street, Los Angeles, CA 90021. Previews are on September 26-27 at 8 p.m.. Opening Night is September 28 at 8 p.m. and performances run through October 20. Performance times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $15-$35 with student and group (10+) discounts available. Tickets may be purchased a http://bit.ly/AAPCvsS. Additional information about the show and Artists at Play can be found at ArtistsatPlayLA.blogspot.com.

Artist Bios

Michael Golamco (Playwright) is a Los Angeles-based screenwriter and playwright. In 2012, his play Build received its world premiere at Geffen Playhouse. His critically-acclaimed playYear Zero has been produced at The Colony Theatre in Los Angeles, Second Stage Uptown in New York and Victory Gardens in Chicago, where it was the Grand Prize Winner of Chicago Dramatists' Many Voices Project, as well as nominated for a Jeff Award for Best New Work. His play Cowboy Versus Samurai has had several productions since its premiere in NYC, including in Canada and Hong Kong. Michael is the recipient of the Helen Merrill Award and is a member of New Dramatists. He recently became a staff writer for the NBC television show Grimm.

Peter J. Kuo (Director) is a founding member of Artists at Play and an L.A.-based theatre artist and administrator. He recently served as an assistant director at Geffen Playhouse with Jonathan Lynn (writer and director of the 1985 cult classic Clue) and at South Coast Repertory with Tony Award-winning director Pam MacKinnon. In 2011, he directed Artists at Play's inaugural production Ching Chong Chinaman. Select directing credits includeOrdinary Days (Los Angeles premiere), Songs for a New World and Letters to a Student Revolutionary. As an arts administrator, he has worked at South Coast Repertory, East West Players and LA Stage Alliance, among others.

Julia Cho ("Veronica Lee") is a founding member of Artists at Play and helped produce the Los Angeles premieres of Ching Chong Chinaman and Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them. As an actor, Julia has performed/toured with East West Players, hereandnow theatre company, Lodestone Theatre Ensemble and sketch comedy group OPM. She is best known for her role as "Charlotte Lu" in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a web series adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. TV/film credits include Larry Crowne, Wedding Palace,Cougar Town, The Office, The Newsroom and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Artists at Play, founded in 2011 by Julia Cho, Peter J. Kuo, Stefanie Wong Lau and Marie-Reine Velez, is a new collective of Asian American creative professionals who have come together to curate quality theatre in Los Angeles. In 2013, Nicholas Pilapil joined the Artists at Play team as an Associate Producer. They present theatrical productions missing from Los Angeles' local landscape that tell the stories of the communities underrepresented in theatre. Their inaugural production was the Los Angeles premiere of Lauren Yee's Ching Chong Chinaman which was a box-office hit. Their last production, Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them, received critical acclaim including an Ovation Recommendation and GLAAD Media Award nomination.

Cowboy Versus Samurai by Michael Golamco, directed by Peter J. Kuo plays Previews: September 26-27, 2013 at 8 p.m. Opening Night: September 28, 2013 at 8 p.m. Closing Night: October 20, 2013 at 2 p.m. Previews: Thursday & Friday at 8 p.m. Regular Performances: Fridays & Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m. All shows run at The Rosenthal Theater at Inner-City Arts, 720 Kohler Street, Los Angeles, Calif. Tickets: $15-35. Student and group (10+) discounts available. To purchase: http://bit.ly/AAPCvsS.

For more information, visit ArtistsatPlayLA.blogspot.com or e-mail ArtistsatPlayLA@gmail.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.