SUMO Extended at The Public Theater Through Late March
Originally scheduled to close on Sunday, March 23, the production has now been extended through Sunday, March 30.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Feb. 13, 2025
Ma-Yi Theater Company and The Public Theater will begin previews for the New York premiere of SUMO 相撲 with a Joseph Papp Free Performance on Thursday, February 20. Written by Ma-Yi Theater Company’s 2024 Tow Foundation Resident Playwright Lisa Sanaye Dring and directed by Obie Award winner Ralph B. Peña, the thrilling new play SUMO officially opens in the Anspacher Theater on Wednesday, March 5. Originally scheduled to close on Sunday, March 23, the production has now been extended through Sunday, March 30. Check out rehearsal photos of the production HERE!
Entrenched in an elite sumo training facility in Tokyo, six men practice, eat, love, play, and ultimately fight. Step into the sacred world of sumo wrestling, with the New York premiere of Lisa Sanaye Dring’s mesmerizing new drama, SUMO. Akio arrives as an angry, ambitious 18-year-old with a lot to learn. Expecting validation, dominance, and fame, and desperate to move up the ranks, he slams headlong into his fellow wrestlers. With sponsorship money at stake, their bodies on the line, and their futures at risk, the wrestlers struggle to carve themselves—and one another—into the men they dream of being. SUMO is a thrilling new play set in an elite and rarely explored world. Obie Award winner Ralph B. Peña directs this powerhouse drama.
The complete cast of SUMO includes Kris Bona (Kannushi 2), Red Concepción (Fumio), Akira Fukui (Understudy Akio/Fumio/Kannushi 3), Michael Hisamoto (So), Ahmad Kamal (Ren), Earl T. Kim (Shinta), Hank Lin (Understudy Mitsuo/Ren/Shinta/Kannushi 2), Haowen Luo 罗浩闻 (Understudy So/Kannushi 1), David Shih (Mitsuo), Scott Keiji Takeda (Akio), Paco Tolson (Kannushi 1), and Viet Vo (Kannushi 3)
SUMO features scenic design by Wilson Chin, costume design by Mariko Ohigashi, lighting design by Paul Whitaker, sound design and music composition by Fabian Obispo, hair and wig design by Alberto “Albee” Alvarado, projection design by Hana S. Kim, prop design by Thomas Jenkeleit, and taiko drum composition and performance by Shih-Wei Wu. James Yaegashi is the sumo consultant and co-fight director, and Chelsea Pace is co-fight and intimacy director. Amrita Ramanan is the dramaturg. Alyssa K. Howard serves as production stage manager and Taeuk Kang as stage manager.
This production marks the third collaborative production between Ma-Yi Theater Company and The Public Theater, following successful runs of Teenage Dick by Mike Lew in 2018 and The Chinese Lady by Lloyd Suh in 2022. The Public is proud to continue working with Ma-Yi and to honor and celebrate their important mission of providing a home for Asian American artists, while producing theater that breaks boundaries.
