Photo Flash: THE CHINESE LADY's Daniel K. Isaac, Shannon Tyo, Lloyd Suh And Ralph Pena At MOCA

On October 25th, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) and Ma-Yi Theater Company presented an excerpt from Lloyd Suh's new play The Chinese Lady, which begins performances on Theatre Row on November 7 and will play a limited run through November 18, 2018. The two-hander stars Shannon Tyo (Bright Half Life) as "Afong Moy" and Daniel K. Isaac ("Billions") as "Atung". Click here for more information and tickets.

Written by Lloyd Suh (Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery) and directed by Ralph Peña (Among the Dead),The Chinese Lady is a co-production between Barrington Stage Company (BSC) and Ma-Yi Theater Company.

The Chinese Lady received three 2018 Berkshire Theatre Critics Award nominations including Outstanding New Play for Lloyd Suh, Best Supporting Actor for Daniel K. Isaac and Best Sound Design for Fabian Obispo.

In 1834, Afong Moy is brought to the United States from Beijing and put on display for the American public as the "Chinese Lady." Over the next 45 years, she performs in a side show that both defines and challenges her own view of herself. Inspired by the true story of America's first female Chinese immigrant, playwright Lloyd Suh spins a tale of dark poetic whimsy in this piercing portrait of America as seen through the eyes of a young Chinese woman.

Set and Costumes designed by Junghyun Georgia Lee. Lighting design by Oliver Wason. Sound design by Fabian Obispo. Production Stage Manager is Geoff Boronda.

Daniel K. Isaac (Atung) is an actor and writer born and raised in Southern California, currently based in New York City. You can currently see him on the small screen as 'Ben Kim' in Showtime's "Billions."

Isaac co-wrote and stars in the short film/pilot presentation, "According To My Mother." The project was selected for IFP Film Week and the inaugural Sundance New Voices Lab and was an Official Selection at ITVFest, Newfest, Outfest Fusion, Outfest, CAAMfest, SeriesFest (where it was awarded Best Actress), and New York Television Festival (Best Drama and Best Actor). "According To My Mother" is currently in development to become a digital series on First Look Media's new platform, TOPIC. Isaac is a member of Page 73's 2018 Interstate 73 Writers Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre's Youngblood, and a Lambda Literary Playwriting Fellow. Training: UCSD, BADA. www.AccordingToMyMother.com

He recently appeared as William Inge in the Off-Broadway production of Philip Dawkin's The Gentleman Caller, produced by Abingdon Theatre at The Cherry Lane. Select NYC: Sagittarius Ponderosa (NAATCO), Underland (59E59), La Divina Caricatura (La MaMa, Under the Radar & St. Ann's Warehouse), Anna Nicole the Opera (BAM). Select Regional: The Ballad of Little Jo (Two River Theater), Miss Electricity (La Jolla Playhouse). Film/TV: MONEY MONSTER (dir. Jodie Foster), "The Jim Gaffigan Show" (TV LAND), "Search Party" (TBS), "Crashing" (HBO), "The Following" (FOX), "Person of Interest" (CBS), "Believe" (NBC, pilot), TOO BIG TO FAIL (HBO). www.DanielKIsaac.com

Shannon Tyo (Afong Moy) Off-Broadway credits include Kentucky, Bikeman: A 9/11 Play, Dear Edwina. Favorite regional credits include The White Snake at The Old Globe, San Diego; Miss Saigon at the Pioneer Theatre Co, Music Theatre of Wichita and Cape Fear Regional; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Northern Stage, Tuacahn PAC and Pioneer Theatre Co.; and Broadway Bounty Hunter at Barrington Stage. BFA Syracuse University.

Playwright Lloyd Suh is the author of Charles Francis Chan Jr's Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, American Hwangap, The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go!, Jesus in India, Great Wall Story, and others, produced with Ma-Yi, Magic Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Play Company, La Mama, Denver Center Theatre Company, ArtsEmerson, The Guthrie Theatre with Mu Performing Arts, East West Players, and internationally at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila, and with PCPA in Seoul, Korea. He has received support from the NEA Arena Stage New Play Development program, the Andrew W. Mellon Launching New Plays Into the Repertoire initiative via the Lark, NYFA, NYSCA, Jerome Foundation, TCG, and Dramatists Guild, and has been a recipient of the Roe Green Award from Cleveland Playhouse, the Lilah Kan Red Socks Award, and the Helen Merrill Award. His plays have been published by Samuel French, Playscripts, Smith & Kraus, Duke University Press and American Theater magazine. He is an alum of Youngblood and the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and from 2005-2010 served as Artistic Director of Second Generation and Co-Director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab. He currently serves on the Dramatists Guild Council and has since 2011 served as Director of Artistic Programs at The Lark.

Director Ralph B. Peña is the current Artistic Director of Ma-Yi Theater Company. Recent directing credits include Among the Dead, House Rules (Ma-Yi) The Orphan of Zhao (Fordham Theatre), Macho Dancer: A Musical (Cultural Center of the Philippines), Livin' La Vida Imelda (Ma-Yi), Lloyd Suh's The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra GO! (Cultural Center of the Philippines, Children's Theater Co. and Ma-Yi, Off Broadway Alliance Award), Julia Specht's Down Cleghorn, Joshua Conkel's Curmudgeons in Love (EST Marathon), Mike Lew's microcrisis (Youngblood, Ma-Yi), and House/Boy (Dublin and Singapore Theater Festivals). His theater work has been seen at The NYSF/Public Theater, Long Wharf Theater, Laguna Playhouse, NAATCO, Second Generation, Victory Gardens, and LaMama ETC, among others. He received an Obie Award for his work on The Romance of Magno Rubio. Ralph is a member of The Ensemble Studio Theater. This is for Damien, always and forever.

Photo Credit

THE CHINESE LADY's ASM Erin McCoy, Daniel K. Isaac, Playwright Lloyd Suh, Director Ralph Pena and Shannon Tyo

THE CHINESE LADY's ASM Erin McCoy, Director Ralph Pena, Daniel K. Isaac, Shannon Tyo and Playwright Lloyd Suh. Photo by Lia Chang

Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo, stars of THE CHINESE LADY

 

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