The National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) -- whose revivals of western classics performed by all Asian-American casts since 1989 include such acclaimed productions as BERNARDA ALBA, OTHELLO, A LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, OUR TOWN, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU and IVANOV -- will expand its mission to include world premieres about non-Asian peoples performed by an all-Asian cast with the world premiere of LEAH'S TRAIN, Karen Hartman's play about three generations of women from a Jewish family whose lineage spreads from Russia to present-day San Francisco, previewing February 6th prior to opening February 10th Off-Broadway at the TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street) in Manhattan.
Directed by Jean Randich, the cast of LEAH'S TRAIN will be performed by an all Asian-American cast including
Jennifer Ikeda (TOP GIRLS on Broadway and WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN Off-Broadway), Raphael Aranas, Louis Ozawa Changchein ("Robot Stories"), Kristine Haruna Lee and
Mia Katigbak (DOGEATERS at the Public, LIGHT RAISE THE ROOF at New York Theatre Workshop).
In LEAH'S TRAIN, three generations of love and anger are ignited when a young doctor refuses to attend her grandmother's funeral and what transpires after she boards a train, and its destination mysteriously becomes her Russian Jewish family's untold history.
After nearly 20 years of presenting first-rate revivals of western stage classics with all Asian-American actors, the National Asian American Theatre Company expands its mission to include world-premiere works from other cultures based on the company's founding principle that NAATCO provide Asian American actors the opportunity to portray roles not usually made available to them, and also to challenge audiences to examine their perception and expectations of other cultures.
About this world-premiere production of LEAH'S TRAIN, NAATCO artistic director
Mia Katigbak says, "This new initiative is inspired by courageous playwrights who agree with NAATCO that Asian Americans are capable of interpreting characters from a multitude of cultures. The world premiere of LEAH'S TRAIN, in which characters who are Russian and American Jews are being created by an all Asian American cast, comes at an auspicious time: the historic inauguration of an African American president. What better way to celebrate the richness of American culture."
On a personal level, Ms. Katigbak, who is Filipino-American and will also perform in LEAH'S TRAIN, notes: "I was touched by the story of these three women as it reminded me of a trip I took to Portugal years ago with my mother and grandmother. As our train traveled from Lisbon to Caiscais, the modern world faded away and my Grandmother began to speak of her youth 70 years earlier in a way that seemed as clear as if it had just happened."
Karen Hartman's plays include GOLIATH, a drama set in the Gaza Strip commissioned by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and winner of the 2008
Dorothy Silver Playwrighting Prize; DONNA WANTS; GUM, starring
Daphne Rubin-Vega; GIRL UNDER GRAIN, named Best Drama in New York International Fringe Festival (2000); GOING GONE; and TROY WOMAN. As a librettist, her credits include A SEA CHANGE; CARMEN, LA GITANA, directed by Cirque de Soleil's
Franco Dragone; ALICE: TALES OF A CURIOUS GIRL; and MOTHERBONE. Ms. Hartman is a recipient of the
Daryl Roth Creative Spirit Award and a former Hodder Fellow, Fulbright Scholar, Playwrights' Center Jerome Fellow, and writer-in-residence at London's
Royal National Theatre. LEAH'S TRAIN was initially workshopped at
Long Wharf Theatre and was a finalist for the 2000 Weissberger Award.
Jean Randich has been directing new work and re-imagining classics for nearly two decades. For NAATCO, Ms. Randich has helmed THE DISPUTE, ANTIGONE and HE WHO SAYS YES/NO. In addition to the Off-Broadway premieres of Catherine Filloux's LEMKIN'S HOUSE and KILLING THE BOSS, recent credits include: THE CONSTANT COUPLE (The Pearl Theatre); THE UNKNOWN (NYMTF); COMMEDIA DELL SMARTASS (New Georges); SILENCE OF GOD (CATF); SERIOUS MONEY (Yale Rep); THE FLOATING BOX (Asia Society); DRAWN TO DEATH (St. Ann's); GUM (Magic Theater); and Ms. Hartman's award-winning GIRL UNDER GRAIN.
Richard Eng and Artistic/Producing director
Mia Katigbak founded NAATCO in 1989. Now in its 19th season, it is one of the country's leading theatre companies providing a stage for the talents of Asian-American theatre artists. NAATCO presents classical and contemporary works with all Asian-American casts and adaptations of these works by Asian
American Playwrights. NAATCO began its current season with a revival of Tennessee William's OUT CRY, starring Ms. Katigbak and
Eduardo Machado. Last season, NAATCO presented revivals of its acclaimed productions of THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA and
William Finn's FALSETTOLAND as part of the first-ever National Asian American Theater Festival.
Other notable NAATCO productions since 1990 include OTHELLO, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA, OUR TOWN, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU,
Archibald MacLeish's AIR RAID, Joseph Conrad's TALES OF UNREST, ANTIGONE, Catherine Filloux's EYES OF THE HEART,
Christopher Fry's A PHOENIX TOO FAR, IVANOV, THE DISPUTE, and Michael Golamco's COWBOY V. SAMURAI.
Performances of LEAH'S TRAIN run February 6-28 at TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street, 3rd floor); Mondays-Saturdays at 7:00pm and Saturdays at 3pm. Tickets are $15 during previews, $20 beginning February 10. For reservations, contact SmartTix at
SmartTix.com or 212-868-4444.
For additional information, visit
www.naatco.org.
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