Pan Asian Rep's IMELDA, A New Musical Plays At Julia Miles Theatre, Opens 9/30

Tisa Chang, Artistic Producing Director of Pan Asian Repertory Theatre announces its 33rd season with the East Coast premiere of IMELDA, A New Musical. The limited engagement plays September 22nd - October 18th, 2009 at The Julia Miles Theatre, 424 West 55th Street. Opening night is Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.

With a book by Sachi Oyama, music by Nathan Wang and lyrics by Aaron Coleman, IMELDA is a portrait of the ambitious and controversial woman often referred to as "The Steel Butterfly." The musical spans the 1940s to 1980s, the pivotal years after The Philippines gained its independence. Imelda Marcos wanted to set her country as an equal player on the world stage and gain the respect of the world.

Under the direction of Tim Dang, Producing Artistic Director of East West Players in L.A., the East Coast premiere of IMELDA, A New Musical stars Jaygee Macapugay as Imelda Marcos, Liz Casasola as Corazon Aquino, Mel Sagrado Maghuyop as Ferdinand Marcos, Brian Jose as Ninoy Aquino and features Alan Ariano, Angelica-Lee Aspiras, Billy Bustamante, Leanne Cabrera, Sacha Iskra, Loresa Lanceta, Jonelle Margallo, and Romney Piamonte.

The scenic design is by Kaori Akazawa, lighting design by Victor En Yu Tan, costume design by Ivy Chou and hair and makeup by Leslie Espinosa.

New York's first Filipino themed musical, Pan Asian Rep's production of IMELDA, A New Musical, is presented in Association with East West Players who produced the Los Angeles premiere in 2005.

PAN ASIAN REP, founded in 1977 by Tisa Chang, is the most veteran producer of Asian American theatre east of the Rockies, with a New York season off-Broadway, training programs and international touring. For more than 30 years, Pan Asian Rep has celebrated the artistic expressiveness of Asian American theatre artists working under the highest standards of professional theatre. The company produces new plays that draw upon the unique heritage of Asian history, music and movement. Benchmark productions have focused on the historical acmes and nadirs of migration, assimilation, joys and celebrations of Asian American society. A 5 year Masterpiece cycle of iconic classics from the repertoire, as well as new works, was launched in 2007 to unite Pan Asian Rep's Senior Artists Core, and the next generation of Emerging Artists and began with the critically acclaimed new production of The Joy Luck Club by Susan Kim and based on the novel by Amy Tan, followed by Shogun Macbeth directed and re-envisioned by Ernest Abuba.

SACHI OYAMA's (Book) first play, Oyakoshinju, was produced over National Public Radio. Other one acts and full lengths include Day Care for Cold Tofu; The Painter, Tortoise, and Boat; Poodles in Free Market for the Working Theatre/New York; Homeland in Rowing to America: The Immigrant Project for Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey (Dramatic Publishing); Yearnings (C.Y. Lee Award), Boundaries in Collected Shadows; Imelda for East West Players. Workshop productions as librettist and lyricist include Pineapple True for Stages/Chicago and Daughter Of Beijing, ASCAP/Burbank.

Nathan Wang (Music) started his musical studies at the age of four. At nine, he was accepted to the University of Southern California to study musical theory and composition. After high school he decided to get a liberal arts education from a small campus, and graduated from Pomona College and received a Fulbright Fellowship to study at Oxford University, England. He is proud of having started his career in theater, having composed music for shows such as The Traveler at the Mark Taper Forum, Shakespeare's Timon Of Athens at The Old Globe in San Diego and Bouncers at the Tiffany Theater. For East West Players Nathan has composed Big Hunk Of Burnin' Love, Performance Anxiety, Sisters Matsumoto, and Chay Yew's Reds, and written The Canton Jazz Club, which was one of EastWest Players' most successful musical runs in the history of the theater, and a reading of The cathayian Pirate.

AARON COLEMAN (Lyricist) earned his B.A. in Drama from UC Irvine, and his MFA in Writing for Screen and Television from the USC School of Cinema-Television. Aside from Imelda, he co-wrote the book for Stay Forever: The Life and Music of Dusty Springfield (Renberg Theatre, Los Angeles). As an Artistic Associate with Prospect Theater Company, Aaron co-directed and contributed lyrics to Craigslist: The Musical. He has also worked with the Mark Taper Forum, Reprise! and New Dramatists, plus written for DisneyChannel.com, Next Magazine and marketing copy for numerous Broadway shows. Aaron is a member of the Academy for New Musical Theatre.

TIM DANG (Director) has been artistic director of East West Players, the nation's oldest Asian Pacific American Theater founded in 1965, since 1993 and affiliated with the organization since 1980 in various capacities from actor to director to producer. East West Players directing credits include Pippin, Sweeney Todd, Equus, Imelda, Passion, Monster, Pacific Overtures, A Language Of Their Own, Porcelain, Queen Of The Remote Control (co-director) and Into The Woods. Tim has also directed at Singapore Repertory Theatre, Asian American Theater Company (San Francisco), Mark Taper Forum New Works Festival, Celebration Theatre, West Coast Ensemble and Perseverance Theatre (Juneau, Alaska). As a writer, Tim wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Beijing Spring, the lyrics for Canton Jazz Club, and was co-writer on The Nisei Widows Club and The Nisei Widows Club Holiday On Thin Ice.

Opening night is Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. Performances are Tuesday - Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with matinees on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $55. Senior tickets are $35 and student tickets are $20. For tickets, call Telecharge.com (212) 239-6200 or visit www.panasianrep.org.

 

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