BULLPEN Star Visits THEY CALL ME Q

Joseph Assadourian, currently appearing in his play The Bullpen at the Playroom Theater, checked out the hit Off-Broadway show They Call me Q this past Monday evening, June 16th and posed for photos afterwards with Q's author & star Qurrat Ann Kadwani. On his Facebook page this week, Joseph dubbed Qurrat his "Solo Show Sister." The award-winning They Call me Q opened June 4th at St. Luke's Theatre to unanimous rave reviews, led by the Village Voice which praised the play for delivering "a winning tale thanks to author and actor Qurrat Ann Kadwani's dead-on impersonations of New Yorkers and some unselfconscious spoofing of her own immigrant iterations growing up tough in the Bronx."

THEY CALL ME Q is the story of an Indian girl growing up in the Boogie Down Bronx who gracefully seeks balance between the cultural pressures brought forth by her traditional parents and wanting acceptance into her new culture. Along the journey, Ms. Kadwani transforms into 13 characters that have shaped her life including her parents, Caucasian teachers, Puerto Rican classmates, and African-American friends. Laden with heart and abundant humor, They Call me Q speaks to the universal search for identity experienced by immigrants of all nationalities.

Under the direction of Obaid Kadwani and Claudia Gaspar, and developed with Ellery Schaar, They Call me Qscored the Best Actress Award for Ms. Kadwani in the production's debut at Variations Theatre Group's 2012 Harvest Theatre Festival. The emotionally charged comedy subsequently opened to ecstatic notices in cities all around the country and Canada including Chicago, Montreal, Washington D.C., Nashville, Orlando, and even Hawaii where They Call me Q was awarded Best Play at the 2013 Maui Fringe Festival.

Qurrat Ann Kadwani is an actress, producer, television host, and philanthropist. She has hosted "Desi Jams" and "100% Desi" on Namaste America, and her stage credits include Blind Angels (Theatre for the New City); Sankalpan, First Language (New Group); Inside Out, The Quaking (Abingdon Theatre Company); Falling Man (NYU); The Greeks (Imua Theatre Company); Baby Taj (TheaterWorks Palo Alto); Perfect Fit, The Women of the Mahabharata, Beneath the Banyan Tree (eyeBLINK). This past December, United Nations UNICEF invited her to perform. Non-profit charity organizations such as Sankara Eye Foundation, Lend-A-Hand India and Sapna NYC have also presented the play as benefit fundraisers.

THEY CALL ME Q is performed Mondays at 7 PM and Wednesdays at 8 PM at St. Luke's Theatre, 308 West 46thStreet (just west of Eighth Ave.) Tickets are $39.50 - $59.50 and are available through www.Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200.