Minneapolis/Saint Paul (July 31, 2019) — Theater Mu welcomes Leah Nanako Winkler back to the Twin Cities for the world premiere of her latest work, “Hot Asian Doctor Husband,” directed by Winkler’s collaborator, Seonjae Kim, and starring Mu veteran, Meghan Kreidler.
“Hot Asian Doctor Husband” will run August 16 through September 1, 2019 at Mixed Blood Theatre.
In order to be as inclusive and accessible as possible, Theater Mu continues its “Pay As You Are” ticket pricing. ASL-interpreted and audio described performances are available on select dates. Individual tickets are now on sale online at www.theatermu.org, by calling (651) 789-1012, or by emailing [email protected].
SYNOPSIS
Following the sudden death of her Japanese mother – Emi, a twenty something Biracial woman – begins to urgently question her own legacy. Afraid that she is White-washing her Asian culture that she is now solely responsible for, she dumps her perfect White boyfriend of three years in pursuit of a hot Asian doctor husband. But nobody is what they seem to be in this highly theatrical comedy that asks the question: is love truly blind?
Or are our relationships just a carefully curated conglomeration of our own racial bias?
NYC-based artist and director Seonjae Kim has been involved throughout the development of Winkler’s latest comedy and will direct its world premiere. Says Kim, “I’m thrilled to be telling this beautiful story by Leah Nanako Winkler, one of the most exciting voices in the American theater right now. This play combines the familiar and the strange to create a complex portrait of a young woman going through an existential crisis – exploring love, grief, and loneliness with plenty of laughter on the way.”
The young woman in crisis is Emi, portrayed by Twin Cities-based artist and Theater Mu veteran, Meghan Kreidler. “Leah is a master of comedy,” says Kreidler, who starred in the rolling world premiere of Winkler’s “Two Mile Hollow” in 2018. “She uses it as a tool to uproot the deep realities of what it means to be Biracial.”
Kreidler is Biracial herself and sees how the play will resonate with other mixed race audiences. “’Hot Asian Doctor Husband’, while seemingly silly in its title, is a profound story about what it means to hold on to the parts of ourselves that can so easily be erased by White culture. It’s about existing in the in-between and becoming deeply lost in the search for self. Seonjae is the perfect director for this piece. She understands the heart and guts of the story and is a spirited collaborator. Audiences will leave this show with a belly full of laughs and a deeper look into the complexities of mixed race identity.”
The cast of “Hot Asian Doctor Husband” includes Meghan Kreidler, Damian Leverett, Danielle Troiano, Mikell Sapp, Eric Sharp, Sun Mee Chomet, and Maekalah Ratsabout. The creative team includes Seonjae Kim (Director), Raul Ramos* (Stage Manager), Sarah Brandner (Scenic Designer), Jeni O’Malley (Costume Designer), Karin Olson (Lighting Designer), Katharine Horowtiz (Sound Designer), Abbee Warmboe (Props Designer), Magnolia Yang Sao Yiaand (Choreographer), and Lauren Keating (Intimacy Consultant).
*Denotes member of Actors Equity Association
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Seonjae Kim is a NYC based director and writer from Seoul, South Korea. Riot Antigone, her original Riot Grrrl musical adaptation of Sophocles’ tragedy, premiered at La MaMa, was seen at Ars Nova’s ANT Fest, Prelude Festival, Bryn Mawr College and will be published in a Routledge anthology of Greek adaptations as well as be released as an independent record. Recent: First Love by Charles Mee (Drama League DirectorFest) and Trojan Women by Euripides translated by Emily Wilson (The University of the Arts). Her work has been seen at Atlantic Theatre Company, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Joe’s Pub, Playwrights’ Realm,
Bushwick Starr, Dixon Place, Williamstown, PEN/World Voices Festival and New York Theatre Barn. 2050 Fellowship (New York Theatre Workshop) New York Fellowship (The Drama League), Van Lier Fellowship (Asian American Arts Alliance), Mike Ockrent Fellowship (SCDF), Robert Moss Directing Fellowship (Playwrights Horizons), New Georges Affiliated Artist. BA: Northwestern. www.jae-k.com
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Leah Nanako Winkler is an award-winning playwright from Kamakura, Japan and Lexington, Kentucky. Her plays include God Said This (Winner: 2018 Yale Drama Series, World Premiere: Humana Festival, Off Broadway Premiere Primary Stages/Cherry Lane), Kentucky (2015 Kilroys List/ World premiere: Ensemble Studio Theatre in co-production with Page 73 and the Radio Drama Network. West Coast Premiere: East West Players ) Two Mile Hollow (2017 Kilroys List, Simultaneous world premiere w/ Artists At Play in LA, Mixed Blood/Theater Mu in Minneapolis, First Floor Theater in Chicago and Ferocious Lotus in SF), Death For Sydney Black (terraNova Collective, Thinking Cap Theater, 2014 Kilroys Honorable Mention) Diversity Awareness Picnic (Clubbed Thumb/Playwrights Horizons Superlab, 2014 Kilroys Honorable Mention), Double Suicide At Ueno Park (EST/Marathon 2015), Linus and Murray (EST/Marathon 2017) and more.
Leah was awarded the first-ever Mark O’Donnell Prize from The Actors Fund and Playwrights Horizons. She is also currently one of the inaugural recipients of a commission from Audible’s Emerging Playwrights Fund and was named the 2017-2019 Jerome New York Fellow at the Lark. The New York Times called her a “distinctive new voice.”
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Friday, August 16, 2019 at 7:30 PM (Opening Night)
Saturday, August 17, 2019 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, August 18, 2019 at 2:00 PM
Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at 7:30 PM
Thursday, August 22, 2019 at 7:30 PM (Post-Show Discussion)
Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 2:00 PM
Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, August 25, 2019 at 2:00 PM (ASL-Interpreted & Audio Described Performance)
Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at 7:30 PM
Thursday, August 29, 2019 at 7:30 PM (Post-Show Discussion)
Friday, August 30, 2019 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, August 31, 2019 at 2:00 PM
Saturday, August 31, 2019 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, September 1, 2019 at 2:00 PM (Closing)
TICKET INFORMATION
Theater Mu strives to voice the stories of the Asian American community, and in order to bring performances to those communities whose stories they tell, Theater Mu is committed to making tickets as accessible as possible. PAY AS YOU ARE ticket pricing asks those who routinely pay $35 for theater tickets to choose to pay that; it is the fair market value of the ticket. If an audience member needs to pay less, they can choose to do so – as little as $5 per ticket.
THEATER MU is the second largest Asian American theater company in the nation. Founded in 1992, Theater Mu tells stories from the heart of the Asian American experience, presenting a fusion of traditional and contemporary artistic influences, which range from classics to up-and coming voices in our community. Theater Mu’s continuing goal to celebrate and empower the Asian American community through theater is achieved through mainstage productions, emerging artist support, and educational outreach programs. www.theatermu.org
Theater Mu is a member of the Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists as well as a member of the Twin Cities Theatres of Color Coalition, proudly standing alongside New Native Theatre, Pangea World Theater, Penumbra Theatre, and Teatro Del Pueblo.
