The Lyric Stage Company of Boston Announces Cast & Creative Team for WARRIOR CLASS

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston has announced the cast & creative team for its upcoming production of WARRIOR CLASS by Kenneth Lin (writer, House of Cards), directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Performances are October 21 - November 13, 2016.

Playwright Kenneth Lin (TV's House of Cards) delivers "an absorbing, incisive new play that crackles with authenticity" (NY Times), just in time for the climax of a surprising election season. Michael Tow (Chinglish) plays a New York assemblyman who's been dubbed "The Republican Obama."

The son of Chinese immigrants and a decorated war veteran, he looks forward to a seemingly limitless political career. When someone from his past threatens to reveal a college transgression, he must decide how far he'll go to keep the incident out of the public eye. Whatever his decision, the consequences may be costly.

Featuring: Steven Barkhimer*, Jessica Webb*, Michael Tow* Scenic Design, Jenna McFarland Lord; Costume Design, Chelsea Kerl; Lighting Design, Dan Jentzen; Sound Design, Elizabeth Cahill

*Member of Actors' Equity Association (AEA)

Kenneth Lin's plays Warrior Class (TCG Edgerton New Play Prize), FALLOW (Barrymore Nomination: Outstanding New Play, Brown Martin Philadelphia Award), Intelligence-Slave, Po Boy Tango(TCG Edgerton New Play Prize), said Saïd (Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition Winner, L. Arnold Weissberger Award, Princess Grace Award), Life on Paper, Agency,* and Genius in Love have been seen at theaters throughout the country, including the Second Stage Theatre Company, ALLIANCE THEATRE, Northlight Theatre Company, Alley Theatre, People's Light and Theatre Company, South Coast Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Marin Theater Company and East West Players. Film/Television: House Of Cards (Netflix); American Way (USA). Commissions: Ensemble Studio Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Rep, Wilma Theater and Arena Stage. Residencies: Ojai Playwrights Conference, Ucross Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Lark Playwrights Workshop, Interstate 73, New York Stage and Film, McCarter Playwrights Retreat. Education: Cornell University, Fulbright Scholarship, Yale School of Drama.

Dawn M. Simmons (Director) returns to the Lyric Stage having directed Saturday Night, Sunday Morning last season. She has directed productions for Boston Public Works, New Exhibition Room, Suffolk University, Fresh Ink Theatre, Dorchester Fringe Festival, GAN-e-meed Theatre Project, The Theatre Offensive, Our Place Theatre Project, Mill 6, Actors Refuge Repertory Theatre, Fort Point Theatre Channel, Boston Theatre Works, and As Yet To Be Theatre. Dawn is an Artistic Director of New Exhibition Room and Director of Performing Arts for Boston Center for the Arts.

Steven Barkhimer (Nathan Berkshire) has appeared at the Lyric Stage in Superior Donuts, The Underpants, and Book of Days (IRNE Award). A Resident Acting Company member of the Actors Shakespeare Project, he was recently in ASP's Winter's Tale; he also portrayed a version of himself in Kate Snodgrass'Bark's Dream and The Last Bark, both produced by Sleeping Weazel. Steven played Waldo Lydecker in Laura (Stoneham Theatre), as well as writing music and lyrics for Stoneham's latest musical, Lobstergirl. Director of award-winning productions of The Compleat Works of Wm Shakespeare and Fully Committed, he is also the author of Windowmen (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding New Script; IRNE Award, Best New Play; Kennedy Center Award, Best New Play).

Michael Tow (Julius Weishan Lee) returns to the Lyric Stage having appeared in Chinglish. Michael is a professional film, TV and theater actor living in Boston. He has appeared in Hollywood films such as Unfinished Business opposite Dave Franco and Universal's RIPD with Ryan Reynolds & Jeff Bridges. Last year he appeared in Netflix's Masters of None, Daredevil (Season 1) and USA's Royal Pains. Other theatre credits include Wild Swans (American Repertory Theater), Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Wheelock Family Theatre), and After The Quake at Company One. Currently he is producing the Hollywood full-length version of his award-winning short film, East of Hollywood.

NB: East of Hollywood is a short mockumentary that follows Ken Chang who, in order to land a role on network TV, undergoes Actor "Orientalification" to prove that he can be Asian enough to make it in Hollywood. chimeraentertainment.com/eastofhollywood/

Jessica Webb (Holly Lillian Eames) is making her Lyric Stage debut. Boston area credits include: The Yellow Wallpaper (Off The Grid Theatre Company)Burning, The Company We Keep, and Five Down, One Across (Boston Playwrights' Theatre), Hamlet (Bay Colony Shakespeare Company), Hamlet (GAN-e-meed Theatre Project), Macbeth, Animal Farm, The Crucible (New Rep On Tour), It's a Wonderful Life (Stoneham Theatre), Doubt, The Rainmaker, A Streetcar Named Desire, and A Witness for the Prosecution (Foothills Theatre Company). Regional credits: The Dressing Room and The $30,000 Bequest (The Organic Theatre Company, Chicago), The $30,000 Bequest (Moscow Art Theatre/MXAT, Moscow), Jake's Women, Cinderella, and Amadeus (The Nomad Theatre, Boulder), and Oleanna (The Hilberry Theatre, Detroit). Film credits include: Crooked Lane, Dark Scribbles, Hosed, The Conservatory, Meet the Mayfarers, The Proposal, and Mall Cop. She has a B.F.A. in Acting from Northern Illinois University and is currently an Alexander Technique teacher, having graduated from The Boston Conservatory Teacher training program. Jessica is humbled and grateful to her partner and son (young Prince Hal) for their unconditional support. Jessica is a proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. alexanderactors.com.

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