Qui Nguyen's VIETGONE Begins Next Week at OSF

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival will open Vietgone by Qui Nguyen, directed by May Adrales, on April 3 in the Thomas Theatre. Preview performances are March 30, April 1 and April 2.

With an electric combination of humor, sexuality, saltiness and tenderness, as well as added ninja fights for good measure, the play traces Nguyen's parents' 1975 escape from war-torn Saigon to a relocation camp in Arkansas. Rather than choosing to tell his family's story through a sentimental lens, Nguyen opted for a different approach, creating, in his words, "a sex comedy about my parents." As the Los Angeles Times enthused about the play's premiere at South Coast Repertory in 2015, "...Nguyen's antic manner conveys the extent of his characters' losses, and their brave determination to survive them, more piercingly than a more sentimentally somber work would."

Playwright Nguyen is the co-founder of Vampire Cowboys, an OBIE Award-winning "geek theatre" company that creates and produces new works of theatre based in action/adventure and dark comedy with a comic-book aesthetic. The company actively pursues the blending of different genres with varied theatrical styles to create an eclectic structure to tell its stories.

The cast of Vietgone features James Ryen as Quang and ensemble, Jeena Yi as Tong and ensemble, Will Dao as Asian Guy, American Guy, Nhan, Khue and others, Amy Kim Waschke as Thu, Huong, Asian Girl, American Girl and others and Paco Tolson as Playwright, Giai, Bobby and others.

Director May Adrales has been part of Vietgone from the first draft of the play. "Vietgone is one of the most important plays I've worked on to date. It speaks to the resilience, courage and strength of the Vietnamese, giving voice to often voiceless refugees. It's a love story first and foremost between two people who have lost absolutely everything but their sense of humor and their ability to love. Never before have I had to stage a production replete with raps, kung fu fights, motorcycle bump and runs and a romantic montage sequence. Never before have I laughed and cried and been so thoroughly changed by a piece of theatre."

Vietgone was recently announced as a finalist for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, recognizing playwrights for the best scripts that premiered professionally outside New York City during 2015. Vietgone was also a finalist for the 2016 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History.

Scenic and costume design for Vietgone is by Sara Ryung Clement, and lighting is by Seth Reiser. Shane Rettig is composer/sound designer, Lydia G. Garcia is dramaturg, David Carey is voice and text director, Shawn Duan is video designer and Karl Alphonso is stage manager. Playwright Qui Nguyen also serves as fight director, with U. Jonathan Toppo as associate fight director.

Brad and Louise Edgerton are the Production Sponsor for Vietgone; Production Partners are Peter and Jane Carpenter, Sandy Farewell, Kevin and Suzanne Kahn, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Oregon Cultural Trust. OSF's 2016 season is sponsored by U.S. Bank.

Founded by Angus Bowmer in 1935 and winner of a 1983 Tony Award for outstanding achievement in regional theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival has grown from a three-day festival of two plays to a major theatre arts organization that presents an eight-month season consisting of 11 plays that include works by Shakespeare as well as a mix of classics, musicals, and new works. The Festival also draws attendance of more than 400,000 to almost 800 performances every year and employs approximately 575 theatre professionals. In 2008, OSF launched American Revolutions: the United States History Cycle, a 10-year cycle of commissioning new plays that has already resulted in several OSF commissions finding success nationwide.

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