Dimo Kim Musical Theatre Factory Presents COMFORT WOMEN: A NEW MUSICAL

Dimo Kim Musical Theatre Factory, a new theatre company providing more roles for Asian American actors has announced that it will present the Off-Broadway revival of COMFORT WOMEN: A NEW MUSICAL written by South Korean Theater Director Dimo Hyun Jun Kim, Osker David Aguirre, and Joann Malory Miese with music by Bryan Michaels and TaeHo Park on Friday, July 20th through Sunday, September 2nd in the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (416 West 42nd Street). The official opening will be on Friday, July 27th. The production is supported by the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.

COMFORT WOMEN: A NEW MUSICAL first premiered at Theatre at St. Clements in 2015, and was nominated for Best Off-Broadway Musical by BroadwayWorld and has received critical acclaim for shedding a light on the horrific story of 'comfort women' and featured the first all-Asian Off-Broadway cast led by an East Asian native.

Set in Korea under Japanese colonial rule, COMFORT WOMEN tells the story of a Korean teenage girl named Goeun who embarks on a journey to Tokyo to make money for her family, but ends up at a 'comfort station' in Indonesia, where hundreds of teenage girls were abducted and forced to become sex slaves, also known as 'comfort women,' for the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. The musical evolves around the stories of Goeun and other 'comfort women,' and the audience witnesses how such a tragedy can permanently and painfully transform the life of a young woman.

Based on true war crimes committed by the Japanese Imperial Army, 'comfort women' included girls as young as 14, who were promised with well-paying jobs abroad but instead were taken to islands in Indonesia to forcefully serve as sex slaves for 50 to 100 soldiers a day. Many died from the horrendous mistreatments, and the small number of survivors still alive today are scarred forever, living in shame and reluctant to speak out about what happened to them.

"In the past century, Korea and Japan have dealt with many historical arguments," says Mr. Kim. "Sexual Slavery is one of the most controversial subjects between our two countries. But in the past 70 years, Korea couldn't get an official apology from Japan. I believe that our generation has a responsibility to remind the world of the distorted history of sexual slavery and human rights. But, sexual slavery is not just a political problem between Korea and Japan. It is a global human trafficking issue from other countries as well. Victims from world War II are still alive and what's most troubling is that it's still happening in the world."

As for the casting, Mr. Kim explains that in the past 5 years, "Asian actors were cast in only 2 percent of the roles in Broadway and major Off Broadway productions, so I'm very happy to offer this opportunity to 22 Asian actors. I hope this production can be one of the starting points for a golden age of Asian Theatre and help solve this historical problem that previous generations of Asian actors have struggled with."

COMFORT WOMEN: A NEW MUSICAL features Associate Director, Mark Cirnigliaro, choreography by Natanal Hyun Kim and music direction by Tek Goo Kang, set design by Stella Hyun Joo Oh and associate Kelvin Pater, lighting design by Byung Chul Lee and associate Jiyoung Chung, sound design by Tae Jong Park and associate Gahyae Ryu, mixing engineering by Jisu Jang, costumes by Lucius Seo. The show's dramaturgy is Dayoung Jeong, General Manager is Sarah Reynolds, the Managing Director is So Jung Choi, Production Manager is Michelle Strauss and Production manager is ALEXIS NALBANDIAN, Stage Manager is Dennis Ho and the assistant stage manger is MARIKO TAKIZAWA .

This production is hosted by I.A. Lab and Hwarang Entertainment, and is produced by the Dimo Kim Musical Theater Factory, Sejoon Oh, and Matthew Thomas Burda. Associate producers are Janice Yeonju Lee and You-rhee Min. Marketing is by Hyun (Amy) Jae Hong.

Performances are on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30PM with matiness on Saturdays at 2PM and Sundays at 2PM. There are also Sunday evening performances at 7PM.

Tickets are $39 - $79 and available at https://www.dimokimfactory.org/tickets - by calling Ticket Central at 212-479-4200 or at the Ticket Central box office prior to each performance.

Dimo Kim Musical Theatre Factory is a theatre company based in New York City and providing more opportunities for Asian American actors and theater professionals. Since its foundation in 2015, its staff has been committed to the development and production of entertaining and thought-provoking contemporary musicals that can engage audiences from all over the world. The company stages emotionally engaging stories that deserve to be told in musical form, through collaboration with multi-talented and multi-ethnic artists.

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