NEW WORKS 09

Four weeks of full one-acts, shorts,
solo works, comedy and music

March 16 – April 11, 2009
At the West End Theater
263 West 86th Street
(Broadway and West End Ave)

Monday - Saturday at 7:30pm;
Sunday matinees at 3:00pm

Tickets: $18

Press and Reviews for NEWWORKS 09

March 25 – April 5
THE SECRET OF O-SONO
B y ELSA OKON RAEL
Directed by RON NAKAHARA
Japanese Movement Consultant: SACHIYO ITO
Music by SHIGEKO SUGA

A ghost-love story for family audiences using Japanese poetic forms and inspired by a Japanese folk tale collected by Lafcadio Hearn.

More information on THE SECRET OF O-SONO

A review of THE SECRET OF O-SONO

Special School Matinee performances

Wednesday March 25,Thursday March 26,
Wednesday April 1 and Thursday April 2;
all at 11:00am

$10 per student; 1 complimentary chaperone
per 10 students

For student matinee reservations, call the
Pan Asian office, 212-868-4030.

March 16 – "THINGS I LOVE," a solo cabaret show by Broadway singer CHRISTINE TOY JOHNSON is an upbeat autobiographical snapshot of her favorite subjects to sing about. Sharing personal musings and joyous memories of husband and dog, Broadway musicals and coconut cake, songs include classic standards as well as a piece she premiered in Kevin So’s award-winning musical, VICTOR WOO, THE AVERAGE ASIAN AMERICAN. Christine Toy Johnson is an award-winning actor, playwright, and filmmaker. As a performer, she has appeared extensively on Broadway, off-Broadway, and in regional theatres, film, television, and concerts worldwide for over 25 years. She is the recipient of a Boomerang Fund for Artists Award for her acting and writing careers. www.christinetoyjohnson.com

A review of Christine's show

March 30 – "SUNG WITH WORDS" Jazz pianist HELEN SUNG has been called “one of the brightest emerging stars in jazz today.” Breaking stereotypes as an Asian-American jazz pianist and composer, her experience in classical, jazz, & popular music gives her a compelling, unique voice. Her CD Helenistique was praised as “…one of the year’s most exciting listens.” (JazzTimes), and her latest CD Sungbird after Albéniz, a jazz-classical adventure, is being hailed “a real winner” (All About Jazz – Los Angeles). Most recently, her project NuGenerations was selected as a 2009 US State Department-Rhythm Road ensemble and will tour as American musical ambassadors. www.helensung.com

A review of Helen's show

April 6 – Steel Pan Percussionist ANDY AKIHO is an award winning composer and performer with a broad range of interests that stretch from steel pan to western classical music. As a percussionist,Andy Akiho has performed with numerous professional ensembles, and his immersion in various genres has given him a unique approach to his primary instrument, the steel pan. Since 2003, he has performed and taught steel pan extensively in New York City and has successfully taught his arrangements to many groups including the Sesame Flyers International Steel Orchestra. He has also had the opportunity to perform for Bill Clinton, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Donald Trump, Billy Crystal, and baseball greats Yogi Berra and Joe Torre. www.andyakiho.com

A review of Andy's show

March 18 – March 22: SMART ASS
A new one-woman comedy by LAN TRAN, exploring psychics, dogs, dating and how she learned to “speak her own body language.” Writer/Performer Lan Tran’s work has been featured on NPR and presented at numerous off-Broadway theaters, New York City Hall, the Walt Disney Concert Hall's REDCAT Theater, and at the Ford Amphitheatre Complex. HOW TO UNRAVEL YOUR FAMILY, her first one-woman show, played to a sold-out audience in the Lincoln Center Theater-produced American Living Room Festival. Her show ELEVATOR SEX was performed as part of Pan Asian Rep’s 2005 FESTIVAL OF NEW WORKS.

A review of SMART ASS

The piece is written in a mix of languages: the primary one is English and the others are Guaraní (Paraguay’s official second language) and Jopará (which is a mix of Guaraní and Spanish). In contrast, DINNER is a humerous look at men and a woman’s place in marriage.

A review of RAMONA and DINNER

March 31 and April 1 – Emerging musician LUCAS KWONG is a dichotomy for the ages. At 24, he is an old soul: you hear it in his trembling voice; you even see it in the lumbering way he walks. And yet his regard for life is that of boyish wonder and joy. Lucas was born and raised in Vancouver. During his college years at Yale, he explored New Orleans, Santa Fe and Mexico City; after a year's jaunt in Seoul, he returned to the East Coast. “I don’t think I’d be the kind of songwriter I am apart from my travels,” Lucas says. “We create when we allow ourselves to be haunted. I allow those cities to haunt me.” (Lauren Ro)
www.myspace.com/lucaskwong