'THE FOUR IMMIGRANTS' Musical Manga to Launch TheatreWorks' 2017-18 Season

Although audiences are accustomed to waiting until the February unveiling to learn what's in store for the coming season, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley today offered a sneak peek, revealing two of the attractions planned for the company's 48th season.

The announcement was made at noon at the Lohman Theatre, located on the campus of Foothill College, and was streamed live on social media.

Kelley announced that TheatreWorks will present a bonus holiday production next year, in addition to the eight main stage shows in the company's 2017/18 season. TheatreWorks will produce a new production of The Santaland Diaries, the riotous tale by David Sedaris that chronicles his hilarious and humiliating season serving as a department store Santa elf, to be presented at the Lohman Theatre.

Kelley also announced that the company will launch its 2017/18 Season at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto with the World Premiere of The Four Immigrants: An American Musical Manga. A hit of TheatreWorks 2016 New Works Festival, this tuneful, often-comic new musical is drawn from one of the first graphic novels ever created. This engaging new piece tracks the adventures of four Japanese immigrants who land in San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century to discover a world of both thrilling possibilities and crushing prejudice.

TheatreWorks is breaking new ground by adding a second holiday show to its season, when The Santaland Diaries is presented in a limited three-week run at the intimate 180-seat Lohman Theatre. Sedaris' international career as a memoirist took off when he recounted his short tenure at Macy's as Crumpet the Elf in an essay he first read on NPR's Morning Edition in 1992. It was adapted by Joe Mantello into a stage production in 1996. The Santaland Diaries, which is recommended for mature audiences, will be presented December 5 - 23, 2017 at the Lohman Theatre, located at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. Tickets are available to subscribers for $39 general/$20 students. Any remaining tickets will be offered to the general public next fall.

The Four Immigrants: An American Musical Manga, was created by Min Kahng (Books, Music, Lyrics) based on Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama's Manga Yonin Shosei, translated as The Four Immigrants by Frederik L. Schodt. With a lively score that draws on ragtime and other period influences, the audience follows the four friends as they navigate their limited options in the land of opportunity. The Four Immigrants: An American Musical Manga will be directed by TheatreWorks Associate Artistic Director Leslie Martinson, and will kick off the season, performing July 12 - August 6, 2017 at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto. Subscriptions will be available January 3, single tickets for this show will go on sale in April 2017.

The remainder of the 2017/18 season will be announced at TheatreWorks Season Release event on February 13, 2017 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. The eight main stage shows will be presented at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto and at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.

For more information or to purchase subscriptions ($138-$551), the public can call 650-463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org. Special pricing is available for seniors (65+), as well as patrons 35 and under.

Pictured: TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley making a special announcement at Foothill College's Lohman Theatre. Photo by Carla Befera.

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