Long Beach, California's International City Theatre (ICT) has presented a number of bold, challenging plays throughout its 33-year history. With Cardboard Piano, however, the company goes farther than I have known them to go during the 12 years I have been associated with them. ICT is staging the West Coast premiere of Hansol Jung's powerful, lesbian-themed drama now through May 20th at the Beverly O'Neill Theater.
caryn desai, ICT's Artistic Director/Producer, caught the world premiere of Cardboard Piano at
2016's Humana Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. She was deeply moved
and felt immediately inspired to seek the rights to present it locally.
Although Jung is Korean, the playwright drew from Uganda's tortured
political history for her latest work.
During the 1980's-1990's, more
than half a million Ugandans were either killed or expelled from the
county between four different, harsh presidential regimes. A civil war
raged in the country for 21 years. The play opens in 1999, on the eve
of the new millennium, and concludes 15 years later. This provides a
glimpse into conditions both during and after the civil war.
It is difficult to relate the plot of Cardboard Piano
without revealing what might be considered spoilers by those who
haven't seen it. As the play begins, a young American missionary in
Uganda, Chris, is solemnizing her same-sex relationship with a local
girl, Adiel. The couple has prepared to flee Chris's disapproving
parents and the troubled country right after their marriage ceremony.
Fate intervenes tragically via the arrival of Pika, a teenaged soldier.
Chris returns alone to Uganda
in 2014 and the small church her father established there. An
unexpected reunion as well as a chance meeting with Adiel's gay cousin
provides Chris with both challenge and hope as she tries to reconcile
with her past. As the play's author has observed, "Religion can do two
opposite things: it can destroy, hurt, and be an instigator of violence,
but it can also be the only thing capable of controlling that
violence." This is well-illustrated during the course of Cardboard Piano.
desai directs this provocative
work with her usual clarity and compassion. Scenic designer Yuri
Okahana, working with ICT for the first time, has provided an impressive
set for the action to take place. Most impressive though is the
four-member cast, two of whom play double roles. I
felt Allison Blaize lacked a little focus or commitment on opening
night with her performance as Chris but this could have been due to
nerves. Dashawn "Dash" Barnes, JoJo Nwoko and Demetrius Eugene Hodges
were excellent. All four actors are to be commended for their
willingness to take on this emotionally wrenching play.
While exiting the theater, I
overheard another attendee say "Well, not every play can have a happy
ending." This is true but I believe Cardboard Piano has an open, ultimately hopeful ending. Kudos to ICT for having the courage to mount this noteworthy premiere.
For tickets, call 562-436-4610
or visit the ICT website. Use coupon code CENTER18 at
checkout for a $10.00 discount on each ticket that will also benefit the
LGBTQ Center of Long Beach.
Plenty of us LGBTQ folk feel like we’ve long lived on the fringes
of society. The irony is that over time we’ve become cultural
tastemakers, deciding which TV shows, movies, plays and musicals are
truly worthy of attention.
The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual, open access,
community-derived event celebrating freedom of expression and
collaboration in the performing arts community. Begun in 2010, this
year’s dates are June 7th-24th. World-premiere plays, musicals, revivals
and other theatrical events will infiltrate the Hollywood neighborhood.
Fully-equipped theaters, parks, clubs, churches, restaurants and other
unexpected places will host hundreds of productions by local, national,
and international arts companies as well as independent performers.
Participation in the non-profit fest is completely open and
uncensored. This free-for-all approach underlines the festival’s mission
to be a platform for artists without the barrier of a curative body. By
opening the gates to anyone with a vision, the festival is able to
exhibit the most diverse and cutting-edge points of view the world has
to offer. Additionally, by creating an environment where artists must
self-produce their work, the Fringe motivates its participants to
cultivate a spirit of entrepreneurialism in the arts.
- The Importance of Being Oscar, which follows Oscar Wilde at the end of his life. Released from prison, he discusses love, loss, morality and lack thereof. A whimsical and heartbreaking tribute, laced with Wilde’s own words and wit.
- The Actor’s Nightmare, by award-winning gay playwright Christopher Durang, is a one-act comedy exploring different styles of theatre (Shakespeare, Beckett, Coward) and how one man deals with being thrust onstage to perform without having seen his lines.
- Expectations High, written by teens for teens (and anyone who has ever been a teen). Overheard humor, rumor, drama, trauma, bromance, romance and karma play out during passing periods in high school.
- Snap Honey. Do you wanna get snapped? Grab a seat, get some tip money and enjoy female impersonator Vageena Honey as she tells the story of her rise to fame in a no-holds-barred diva style.
- The Book That I’m Going to Write, by Judy Garland. Tasked with dictating her memoirs alone to a tape recorder, the legend's life story quickly gives way to the searing inner-rage and personal revenge fantasies of a woman left robbed and broken by decades of abuse in Hollywood, now living the profound heartbreak of not being heard.
- A Pride of Queers. What does it mean to be queer? What is queer art? And how do we approach the truth, the vanity, and the stereotypes to find something new? Come and find out.
- My Calico Soul, a theatrical journey about taking all the labels that get thrust upon us or even give to ourselves and fully embracing them, including bisexuality.
- Cameron’s in Drag, an emotionally driven musical about adolescence and the difficulties of a young black teen being bullied as he struggles with gender identity, both at his private high school and at home with his widowed father.
- The Craftlesque, a musical-burlesque parody of the cult classic horror film The Craft!
- Salve Regina: A Coming of Gay Story. Born in Puerto Rico to an ultra-religious mother and a domineering father is not easy, especially when it’s likely you are a big Queen. Thank God for Madonna.
- Lorelei: I'm Coming Out. Glitter, Grace, and Grindr… who says the life of a drag queen is easy?
- Converted. Matt and Zeke get caught having sex at a gay conversion therapy camp in southern Ohio is just the beginning of this one-act comedy.
- Sex and the Musical. A new parody musical, this prequel to Sex and the City answers the question of how our favorite ladies became friends.
- Les Deux Remember This: The Musical. This juke box musical begins in 2006 where Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton go out to the famed club Les Deux and discover that their Bentley can time travel.
- Marilyn Monroe: The Last Interview. Subtitled "The Raw Truth of a Hollywood Legend", this solo show is based on Marilyn's final interview for Life Magazine in 1962.
- The Bitch is Back: An Elton John Cabaret. A musical journey through Elton John’s hits from the early 70’s to the late 80’s.
- The Oz Monologues goes beyond the story you already know, exploring each of the beloved characters from The Wizard of Oz... with a poetic and irreverent modern take.
Who knows, some of these shows could go on to off-Broadway or
even Broadway as previous Fringe offerings have done. For more
information about these performances and the festival, visit the HFF website.
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