LAUGHING WITH MY MOUTH WIDE OPEN Comes To El Centro Theatre 11/20

Actress/musician Gwendoline Yeo (Desperate Housewives) brings Laughing with My Mouth Wide Open, the sharply observed and riotously funny story of her cultural journey from Singapore to America, to Hollywood's El Centro Theatre beginning November 20. Road Theatre Company's Mark St. Amant directs the five week run.

When KCRW Politics of Culture producer Sarah Spitz learned of Gwendoline Yeo's unique experience as an immigrant from Singapore and her talent on the Chinese long zither ("gu-zheng"), she invited Yeo to create a half-hour performance for radio. That segment became the basis for Gwendoline's new play, Laughing with My Mouth Wide Open, which was recently presented to critical acclaim at the Denver Center Theatre as part of its Stories on Stage series.

Born in Singapore to traditional Chinese parents and uprooted to San Francisco when she was on the cusp of adolescence, Yeo struggled to form a coherent identity that was compounded by a huge cultural divide. She perfected her American accent by watching soap operas like General Hospital ("That's why I'm so dramatic," she jokes), going on to become a Miss Chinatown U.S.A. and to receive a degrees from both UCLA and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

"The first thing that struck me about the piece is Gwendoline's beautiful and captivating performance on the zither," says St. Amant. "Then, as the story unfolds you realize that her coming of age is not a solo journey - it belongs to the whole family. By the end, everyone's a little wiser and better equipped to understand and appreciate each other and their new life in America."

"It's not just an Asian-American story," notes producer Gaalan Michaelson, whose credits include productions On and Off Broadway as well five years with the Black Dahlia Theatre here in L.A. "Gwendoline has taken it beyond the dynamics of class and race. It's an American story. And - best of all - she's funny!"

Actor and playwright Gwendoline Yeo Gwendoline Yis best known for her two seasons as Eva Longoria's naughty maid, Xiao-Mei on Desperate Housewives, for which, she was submitted for an Emmy nomination as best female guest star. She was nominated for a NAMIC Best Actress Award for her role alongside Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church in AMC's Broken Trail. Gwendoline has been seen recurring on 24 and General Hospital, and as a top-of-show guest star on The Mentalist, Chuck, The Beast, Eli Stone, Stand Off, NYPD Blue, JAG, and Hannah Montana. Her film credits include The Jane Austen Book Club, Vacancy 2, A Day Without A Mexican, The Magic of Ordinary Days, Freeloaders, and the upcoming Heathens & Thieves. Gwendoline also lends her voice as a series regular on Wolverine and the X-Men and Safety Patrol. She was the lead in Marvel's animated feature Iron Man and a recurring guest star on Star Wars The Clone Wars, Higglytown Heroes, Kim Possible, and Family Guy among many others. Gwendoline is the voice of the wry and sexy "Paine" in the wildly popular video games Final Fantasy X-2 and Kingdom of Hearts 2.

Mark St. Amant most recently directed the Los Angeles premiere of The Butcher of Baraboo at the Road Theatre Company, where he is a member and serves on the artistic board. He also directed the Road's critically-acclaimed West Coast premiere of Keith Huff's The Bird and Mr. Banks last season, and served as chairman/producer of their inaugural Summer Playwrights Festival in which he directed the late Harold Gould. As an actor, Mark. St. Amant has appeared in film, television and theater around the country, working with such directors as Robert Falls, Michael Maggio, Adrian Hall, Gary Griffin, Rhondi Reed, and Joanna Settle, at theaters including The Goodman Theatre, American Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, Drury Lane Theatre, New American Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre, Circle Theatre, Casa Manana, and Stage West.

For the last five years, Gaalan Michaelson has served as a producer at L.A.'s Black Dahlia Theatre where his productions (Huck & Holden, Tryst, Secrets of the Trade, Forgiveness) have garnered numerous awards. In New York, Gaalan produced both on and Off Broadway, including Squonk - BigsmorgasbordWunderwerk at the Helen Hayes Theater; Jodie's Body (Drama Desk nomination), Hallow'd Ground, Desperalex, How To Cook A Man, One For The Road and The Collection at The New York Mercury Players, where he was the founding artistic director; and A Mom's Life (directed by Jack Hofsiss, starring Catherine Grody), Tennessee Williams Remembered (directed by Gene Saks, starring Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach), and It's My Party... (with F. Murray Abraham, Joyce Van Patton, Adam Grupper and John Cariani), all at the Arclight Theatre which Michaelson co-founded. He also co-produced the LABrynth Theater Company's workshop production of Jesus Hopped the A Train by Stephen Adly Gurgis, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and starring John Ortiz.

Set design and projections for Laughing with My Mouth Wide Open are by Adam Flemming; lighting design is by Leigh Allen; costumes are by Rachel Shachar; sound design is by David B. Marling, and Production Stage Manager is by Susan Coulter.

Laughing with My Mouth Wide Open opens for press on November 20 and continues through December 19. Performances take place Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 7 pm, with three preview performances on November 16, 17, and 18 at 8 pm. Tickets are $30; previews are $22.50. The El Centro Theatre is located at 804 N. El Centro Ave, Hollywood CA 90038. To purchase tickets, call (800) 838-3006 or go to www.brownpapertickets.com.

 

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