Just Announced:
Very thrilled and grateful that Cambodian Rock Band and The Great Leap are the top two on this year’s 2017 Kilroys List.
Read the 2017 List | American Theatre article here.
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Now Playing:
Lesser America presents
in a word
Directed by Tyne Rafaeli
Now playing through July 8
At Cherry Lane Theatre
With Justin Mark, Jose Joaquin Perez, and Laura Ramadei
* NY Times Critic’s Pick! *
“[A] sad and breathless and often pretty funny play about the ways in which loss mangles our world and garbles our speech. … So make like a tree and root out a ticket.” — Alexis Soloski, New York Times
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Just Announced:
Cambodian Rock Band will be a part of South Coast Rep’s upcoming season in March 2018.
More info here.
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and …
The Great Leap will enjoy its New York premiere at the Atlantic Theatre Company in spring 2018!
More info here.
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Now Playing:
The Midwest premiere of my existential slasher comedy Hookman at Steep Theatre has just extended to June 3!
Directed by Vanessa Stalling
With Karen Isabel Rodriguez, Kiayla Ryann, Aja Wiltshire, Sasha Smith, James Doherty, and Mary Tilden
Three out of Four Stars
“high-end gore with a progressive twist.””
Hookman “…displays a sophisticated sense of how real-life horrors usually spring from the quotidian tasks of our everyday”
— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
Read the full review.
“I just think this is an incredibly smart piece about coming of age, and that in some ways the blood and gore is a metaphor for how painful it is to come from childhood into adulthood, and particularly for women. I would see it again…”
— Kelly Kleiman, The Dueling Critics
Listen to the review.
“a string of uncannily excellent performances from Aja Wiltshire, Sasha Smith and Mary Tilden…”
— Kevin Greene, NewCity Stage
Read the full review.
“Hookman at Steep Theatre succeeds in being terrifying and hilarious.”
— Nancy Bishop, Third Coast Review
Read the full review.
“…the talented ensemble interact with a natural authenticity.”
— Katy Walsh, The Fourth Walsh
Read the full review.
“Using a movie genre that primarily appeals to young men, playwright Lauren Yee (whose work is also currently represented in Chicago at the Goodman Theatre) has crafted a cleverly bizarre, female-driven 75-minute one-act that focuses on the lives of four young women and one scary dude sporting a hook.”
— Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review
Read the full review.
“Between Jon Beal’s impressive violence and gore design and the stellar work of Mark Comiskey (who created the projection design), this play delivers at a level similar to those beloved slashers of the 80s.”
— Brent Ervin-Eickhoff, Picture This Post
Read the full review.
Steep Theatre (Chicago)
Performances now through June 3, 2017
Buy tickets here | More info here.
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Just announced:
The Great Leap will debut in 2017/2018, in a co-world premiere produced by Denver Center and Seattle Rep!
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Now closed:
Thanks for coming and see you all in LA!
“You will, without any question, fall madly in love with Larry Yee, or more precisely, with Francis Jue, the wiry, wide-eyed, shrewdly comic, comically un-hip and altogether remarkable actor who plays him with such effortless guile. … Lauren Yee (the real-life playwright), and director Joshua Kahan Brody make it all perfectly clear, with the layers of reality and performance expertly (and often comically) interwoven.” — Chicago Sun Times
“A talented, smart and very funny writer… greatness surely lies ahead.” — Chicago Tribune
“A Brilliant Joy Ride. Yee’s play is brilliant. The ebb and flow of her storytelling is a joy ride, packed with humor and a self-awareness that embraces the audience. The love for this production is unfailing; it’s in the writing, the directing, and the acting. Yee’s compassion, questions, and yearning become ours as the play opens doors within us.” — Performink
“Yee taps into larger ideas and questions of what it means to be authentically Chinese-American. Yet, at the same time, “King of the Yees” is a universal and personal play about grown children and the difficulties of connecting with their aging parents. … The comedy daringly keeps multiple plot and character plates spinning in the air [and] succeeds thanks to the fast-paced work of director Brody and his talented cast and crew… the play ultimately packs an emotional punch.” — Daily Herald
“With two productions opening within a fortnight of each other at the Goodman and Steep Theatre respectively, it’s a good month to be Lauren Yee. … Mining her personal life as well as her rich imagination, “King of the Yees” is a freewheeling adventure that frequently acknowledges earthly concerns, framing them through a personal lens that becomes increasingly warped as we follow Yee down the rabbit hole of her conscience.” — New City Stage
King of the Yees
Directed by Joshua Kahan Brody
With Rammel Chan, Francis Jue, Angela Lin, Stephenie Park, and Daniel Smith
Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles)
Performances July 9-August 6, 2017
Buy tickets here | More info here.
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Just closed:
Cambodian Rock Band, a new play with music by the band Dengue Fever, closed out South Coast Rep‘s 20th annual Pacific Playwrights Festival.
Directed by May Adrales
Music by Dengue Fever
Music direction by Matthew MacNelly
Dramaturgy by Andy Knight
With Brooke Ishibashi, Abe Kim, Raymond K. Lee, Jane Lui, Joe Ngo, and Daisuke Tsuji
One reading only! April 23, 2017 at 10:30am
More info here.
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My play in a word was named the winner of the 2016 Francesca Primus Prize.
It is also one of the six finalists for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association Award.
