terraNOVA Welcomes Diana Oh and More in THE SISTER ROSETTAS, Now thru 9/27

The music of legendary Asian rock group, Ming Dynasty, is revived in The Sister Rosettas, presented by terraNOVA Collective tonight, September 13th and September 20th & 27th at 9:30 at IRT Theater. Featuring Diana Oh.

A revival of the rock/pop-punk/cabaret music of world touring, from Tokyo to Georgia, MING DYNASTY last seen on City Stages in 2009 alongside Diana Ross, Ben Harper, and Al Green. This new collaboration, The Sister Rosettas, features Diana Oh on lead vocals. The night will also feature original music written by The Sisters. Part rock concert, part cabaret show, this theatrical event will have special opening guest appearances by: Hip Hop Artist and Comedian, Christopher Gabriel Nunez; Queer Asian Comedian, Jes Tom (9/20); Actor and Comedian, Lauren Hennessy (9/27).

The Sister Rosettas came about when a chance encounter brought together critically acclaimed performer Diana Oh and the founding member of the innovative Asian rock/pop group Ming Dynasty. Diana Oh explains how the collaboration began, "I met Eric Miranda, the founding member of Ming Dynasty, in a classic New York kind of way. We bumped into each other as strangers on the corner of Bleecker and Lafayette. I found out he was a musician and songwriter as well. We shared stories and our music with one another, during a rushEd Stroll through New York City. He played me songs of Ming Dynasty's album Yellow Tiger. Ming Dynasty was fronted by a woman named Ming, she really did grow up in a rice field. She sang in poetic broken English. She couldn't have been more honest. They were touring and all making a living off of Ming Dynasty and their art and yet, life still happened, and brought new transitions, and so the band dispersed in 2009. I met Eric and I could feel his passion, his hunger to make art again. He wanted to revive Ming Dynasty but with a complete re-branding. He heard my voice and knew I was the one to revive it with. We immediately took to one another. We met on a Monday, and six days later we decided to put together a show reviving Ming Dynasty, and also debuting our own original musical collaborations."

terraNOVA's Artistic Director, Jennifer Conley Darling is thrilled to be presenting the premiere of The Sister Rosettas, "Diana Oh was part of our soloNOVA Arts Festival and truly wowed audiences with her powerful voice and soulful connection to each member of the crowd. Seeing Diana now front a band that is continuing the legacy of Ming Dynasty is going to be an event not to be missed." The Sisters Rosettas was developed, in part, through IRT Theater's Residency Program.

All performances take place at, IRT Theater 154 Christopher Street, 3rd Floor. (Subway: 1 Christopher Street, A/B/C/D/E/F/M to West 4th). Tickets are available at www.terranovacollective.org. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

Show Dates:

Friday, September 13th @ 9:30 pm
Friday, September 20th @ 9:30 pm
Friday, September 27th @ 9:30 pm

Diana Oh (Lead Vocals): is the Lead Vocalist for The Sister Rosettas (Presented by terraNOVA Collective, September 2013). She recently closed an extended sold-out run of her solo show Diana Oh is GOING ROGUE, the solo show that was based upon her original music, songwriting, and relationships. MFA, NYU Musical Theatre Writng (Elphaba Thropp Fellow). National Theater Institute Alum. BA, Smith College. As an actor, musician, lyricist, and songwriter, her work has been featured at Lincoln Center, The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Barrington Stage, Goodspeed Opera House, Caps Lock Theatre, LAByrinth, Gideon Productions, FullStop Collective, the Bad Boyz II soundtrack, BBC National Geographic. She also leads Filling the Well Artist's Retreats. www.dianaoh.com www.fillingthewell.org

Eric Miranda (Vocals/Lead Guitar): has sung and played guitar with Rick Derringer and Rainbow's Joe Lynn Turner, played bluegrass with Boo Reiners in the Demolition String Band, written and performed with Jesse Malin and Francis Dunnery, and been on stage with the Counting Crows and Ryan Adams, who called Miranda's The Plums, his favorite band. He's played punk, power pop, rock and bluegrass, drums, bass and guitar and was also the vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, and drummer for Ming Dynasty before the band dispersed in 2009.

Jessi D. Hill (Creative Director): is Associate Artistic Director of terraNOVA Collective in NYC where she curates the Groundbreakers Playwrights Group. Recent and upcoming directing projects include work at The Public/Joe's Pub, New York Theatre Workshop, Women's Project, Primary Stages, The New Group, Dixon Place, New Dramatists, The Lark, The Playwrights Realm, The Playwrights Center, Chicago Dramatists, New Georges, Ensemble Studio Theatre and others. She has been a guest director in professional training programs at Yale School of Drama, Fordham University, Long Island University, Powerhouse/NY Stage & Film, NYU/Tisch, NYU/Atlantic, NYU/Strasberg Institute of Theatre and Film, NYU/Playwrights Horizons, Hunter College and others. MFA: Yale. www.jessidhill.com

Matt Harrington (Vocals/Percussion): Grew Up in Carl Place Long Island and started Playing drums and singing in Local Bands at age 15. After minor success as the singer of the Robot Monsters, Matt was asked to drum for Reverb Recording Artist the Plums when he was 21. After two records, some touring in the US and appearances in New Music Express and Rolling Stone Magazines, the Plums disbanded and the members went in separate directions. Several years later when Plum's front man Eric Miranda teamed up with Ming Chan to create Ming Dynasty, Harrington was called on to drum on recordings and perform live in the New York area.

Philippe Arman (Vocals/Bass): was born in the Bronx in New York City in the beginning of 1987. Adopted by a family of artists and raised in downtown Manhattan, he was inspired by the art and the music that was constantly surrounded by inside his home and on the streets of the city. He has studied at Pratt, The New School, and Parsons Paris School of Art and Design.

Christopher Gabriel Núñez (Opening Act, 9/13): is an actor, writer, and rapper. He holds a dual degree in Television Writing and Acting from NYU Tisch. As an actor he has work shopped the role of Petey Junior in the LAByrinth Theater Company Barn Series reading of Stephen Adly Guirgis' play UNTITLED ASS alongside David Zayas and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Under his rap moniker Anonymous [And.On.I.Must} he has released a full length Album, EP, and a Mixtape, performed on four national tours, and shared the stage with Latin Grammy nominee Ana Tijoux. www.andonimust.com

Jes Tom (Opening Act, 9/20): is a new voice in stand-up comedy, offering the genderqueer Asian-American radical separatist perspective everybody never knew they wanted. A San Francisco native, she has performed stand up alongside such prominent West Coast folks as Marga Gomez and D'Lo.

Lauren Hennessy (Opening Act, 9/27): Raised in Hawaii, braised in NYC -Recent credits include: Interstate: The Musical reading (Dixon Place), Mrs. Mayfield's 5th Grade Reunion, Ampersand (NYC Fringe Winner),Degeneration X (Living Theatre), Romeo and Juliet: A Forbidden Love Story (NYC & North Carolina), Genderf*ck Cabaret (Paradise Factory, NYC). Accolades include: Overall Excellence in Performance (NYC Fringe Festival), EDDA Icelandic Academy Award (For short film, Clean), Winner: Cabaret Showdown (Theatre Under St. Marks), Dating Chemda. LaurenHennessy.com

About terraNOVA: terraNOVA is an ever-expanding collective of artists devoted to nurturing distinct and innovative theatrical voices. We are dedicated to cultivating environments where the art of storytelling thrives, and actively seek stages for the new theatre we develop.

Pictured: Diana Oh

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