The York Theatre Company’s 28th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala will be hosted by Tony-winning actor and playwright Charlayne Woodard on Monday evening, November 11, 2019 at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).
Tony Award Winner André De Shields. Photo by Lia Chang
2019 Tony Award winner André De Shields (Hadestown) will receive the 2019 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre and producer Riki Kane Larimer (Cagney) with The York Theatre Company Founders’ Award.
The evening will feature special guest appearances by John Ellison Conlee, Robert Creighton, Darius de Haas, Jeffry Denman, Dawn Driver, Ekele Ukegbu, Mercedes Ellington, Teresa Eyring, Ron Lucas, Richard Maltby, Jr., Larry Owens, Tony Perry, Malvinna Rose, Marc Shaiman, Ben Vereen, Anita Welch, Freida Williams, Patrick Wilson, David Yazbek, and The Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem Alumni Ensemble; with musical numbers from the hit Broadway musicals The Wiz, Hair, Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Full Monty, and more!
The VIP Reception begins at 6:00 p.m. followed by a concert and award ceremony at 8:00 p.m. Michael Unger (York’s former Associate Artistic Director, recently appointed Artistic Director of Skylight Music Theatre in Wisconsin) directs the evening’s celebration under the musical direction of Eric Svejcar.
Show only general seating on the upper mezzanine with open bar begins at 7:30pm and is priced at $150. Tickets may be purchased by contacting Director of Development Shana Farr at (212) 935-5824, ext. 226 or sfarr@yorktheatre.org, or go online at YorkTheatre.org.
The Oscar Hammerstein Award is named in honor of the legendary lyricist and librettist who helped shape American musical theatre through his collaborations with a number of different composers and writers. His contributions to such landmark musicals as Show Boat, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, and Carousel are a legacy for all time. The award was created in 1988 by Janet Hayes Walker, Founding Artistic Director of The York Theatre Company, with the endorsement of the Hammerstein family and the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. Its purpose is to recognize significant lifetime achievement in musical theatre, and it is presented at a gala evening held for the benefit of The York Theatre Company.
André De Shields is the triple-crown winner of the 2019 awards season, having won the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Tony Awards as Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his unanimously critically acclaimed performance as Hermes, Messenger to the Gods, in Hadestown. The Actors’ Equity Foundation followed suit with the Richard Seff Award, which honors veteran stage actors’ best supporting performances of the year. Prior to his Tony Award win, Mr. De Shields was best known for his show-stopping performances in four legendary Broadway productions: The Wiz, Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Emmy Award), Play On!, and The Full Monty. In a career spanning fifty years, he has distinguished himself as an unparalleled actor, director, and educator, receiving in 2018 the 8th Annual Off Broadway Alliance Legend Award, and the 33rd Annual Bob Harrington Life Achievement Bistro Award. Among his other accolades are the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival’s Living Legend Award and the 2007 Village Voice Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. On August 19 of this year, His Honor Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young presented him with the Key to the City of his hometown, Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. De Shields is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and SDC. www.andredeshields.com
“André De Shields is a true man of the theatre, and it is a glorious coincidence that he began his career in 1969, the same year that The York was founded,” said James Morgan, York’s Producing Artistic Director. “We can’t think of a better way to honor his fifty years in showbiz than with the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Musical Theatre. We are ecstatic to honor him for a career as performer that began with Hair and wound its way through Ain’t Misbehavin’ and into the current Hadestown, with detours into writing, directing, choreographing, and teaching. Nobody is more deserving.”
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
On Sunday, December 1, 2019, The Little Dancer… a holiday family musical will make a triumphant return to New York City for its second production at Theatre 71 on the Upper West Side, right off Broadway on 71st Street.
Avelina Sanchez. Photo by Lia Chang
Written and produced by Steven Fisher, the one-hour show tells the heart-warming story of how 14-year-old Marie Van Goethem, Edgar Degas’ model for his one and only sculpture, became the most famous ballerina in the world.
Last year’s premier received rave reviews. “Steven Fisher’s The Little Dancer is nothing less than extraordinary,” wrote Kristen Morale of BroadwayWorld. “This production captures the very essence of magic that exists in a child’s heart.” The show was also featured on Good Morning America.
THE LITTLE DANCER on Good Morning America.
The Little Dancer will once again be directed by Richard Vida and choreographed by Lainie Sakakura.
The cast of The Little Dancer features New York actors Evan Wormald (Degas/Ed), Georgia Monroe (Marie), Heather Caderette (Mama/Mistress de la Ballet), Beatrice Howell (Charlotte), Avelina Sanchez (Louise), Jordan Stanfield (Georges) and Liz Friedman (Swing/Dance Captain), as well as 29 young people who make up the show’s “Musical Theatre Geek Chorus” (MTGC) – Charley Bazzle, Audim Brokenbough, Cole Bryne, Maya Collins, Silas Costa, Lexi Eichel, Margalit Eisenstein, Logan Ford, Chelsea Gadsden, Tate Hamburg, Rose Jeffres, Jeremy Peyton Jones, Ella Keim, Channa Lewenson, Stephanie Moorhatch, Elizabeth Mun, Sade Mutua, Mekhi Patterson-White, Arabella Pirrone, Sophia Repkoe, Nicolena Rivera, Sophie Santago-Sterling, Emma Shay, Christopher Simcox, Cobrin Stanish, Giuliana Stout, Amalia Matetic Undurraga, Sarah Weil-Jones and Tabitha Wismer.
The production will feature Music Director Evan Alparone, Josh Suslak on Piano, Costume Supervisor Rashidah Nelson, Associate Art Designer Chris Williams, Production Stage Manager Tama-Rose Bazzle and Assistant Stage Manager Moriah Tobin.
Fisher prides himself on writing elevated theatre for young people. “Children’s Theatre doesn’t have to be dumbed down for kids or boring for adults. Kids today are savvy, and their parents always appreciate not being put to sleep,” says Fisher. “This particular show has it all for young people, offering them the world of theatre, art, dance, and musical theatre all in one.”
The kids who make up the MTGC are members of Commonwealth Youthchoirs (CY), for which Fisher serves as Founder and Artistic Director. CY transforms the lives of over 800 young people through the power of making music together. Like last year, proceeds from the production will benefit Find Your Instrument!, CY’s award-winning outreach program, which offers hundreds of students in under-resourced schools the opportunity to experience the profound joy of singing with others.
Recommended for children ages 6 to 106, The Little Dancer... a holiday family musical will run at Theatre 71 (152 W. 71st Street, 10023, right off Broadway) throughout the month of December. For more information, visit thelittledancermusical.com. For tickets, visit the Box Office.
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
La Jolla Playhouse is presenting the Oregon Shakespeare Festival production of Cambodian Rock Band, by UC San Diego MFA Playwriting alumna Lauren Yee, directed by Chay Yew, featuring music by Dengue Fever. A co-production with Portland Center Stage at The Armory, Cambodian Rock Band will run November 12 – December 15 (press opening: Sunday, November 17 at 7pm) in the Playhouse’s Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.
The Cambodian Rock Band Learns the Americans Have Left Joe Ngo (Chum), Brooke Ishibashi (Sothea), Jane Lui (Pou), Abraham Kim (Rom), Moses Villarama (Leng). Photo by Jenny Graham, Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
The cast features Brooke Ishibashi as “Neary/Sothea,” Abraham Kim as “Rom,” Jane Lui as “Pou/Guard,” Joe Ngo as “Chum,” Daisuke Tsuji as “Duch,” Moses Villarama as “Ted/Lang.”
Joe Ngo (Chum), Brooke Ishibashi (Sothea), Abraham Kim (Rom), Jane Lui (Pou), Moses Villarama (Leng). Photo by Jenny Graham, Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
The creative team includes Takeshi Kata (Last Tiger in Haiti, Guards at the Taj), Scenic Designer; Sara Ryung Clement (The Astronaut Farmworker), Costume Designer; David Weiner (The Seven, The Darrell Hammond Project), Lighting Designer; Mikhail Fiksel (Seize the King, Tiger Style!), Sound Designer; UC San Diego MFA graduate Matt MacNelly, Music Director and Gwen Turos, Stage Manager.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome UCSD graduate Lauren Yee back to San Diego with her riveting, prize-winning work that offers a rocking and redemptive story of a father and daughter finding each other amidst decades-old secrets,” said Christopher Ashley, the Rich Family Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse.
A “fierce, gorgeous and heartwarming” (Los Angeles Times) play/rock concert, Cambodian Rock Band thrusts us into the life of a young woman trying to piece together her family history 30 years after her father fled Cambodia. Featuring a cast that performs a mix of contemporary Dengue Fever hits and classic Cambodian oldies, playwright and UC San Diego MFA alumna Lauren Yee brings to vivid life the Cambodian rock scene of the ’60s and ’70s, a movement cut short by the Khmer Rouge’s brutal attempt to erase the music (and musicians) once and for all. This is a story about survivors, the resilient bond of family and the enduring power of music.
Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band, with music by Dengue Fever, premiered at South Coast Rep, subsequent productions at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, City Theatre, Merrimack Rep, Signature Theatre, Portland Center Stage and Jungle Theatre. Her play The Great Leap has been produced at the Denver Center, Seattle Repertory, Atlantic Theatre, Guthrie Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, Arts Club, InterAct Theatre and Steppenwolf, with future productions at Long Wharf and Asolo Rep/Miami New Drama. Honors include the Doris Duke Artists Award, Steinberg Playwright Award, Whiting Award, Steinberg/ATCA Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters literature award, Horton Foote Prize, Kesselring Prize, Primus Prize, a Hodder Fellowship at Princeton, and the #1 and #2 plays on the 2017 Kilroys List. She’s a Residency 5 playwright at Signature Theatre, New Dramatists member, Ma-Yi Writers’ Lab member and Playwrights Realm alumni playwright. Her TV work includes Pachinko (Apple) and Soundtrack (Netflix). She is currently under commission from La Jolla Playhouse, Geffen Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Second Stage and South Coast Rep. BA: Yale. MFA: UCSD. laurenyee.com
Chay Yew’s credits include Off-Broadway productions at The Public, Playwrights Horizons, NY Theatre Workshop, Rattlestick, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Realm, National Asian American Theatre Company, Ma-Yi Theatre. Regional: Victory Gardens Theater, American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Rep, South Coast Rep, Long Wharf Theatre, Denver Center, Humana Festival, Kennedy Center, Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, East West Players, Northlight Theatre, Curious Theatre, Pillsbury Theatre, Teatro Vista, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Mosaic Theatre Company, Playmakers Rep, Round House, Southern Rep Theatre, Boise Contemporary Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, Geva Theatre, Empty Space, Cornerstone Theater, Theatre @Boston Court, Highways, Northwest Asian American Theatre, Singapore Repertory Theatre. Opera: Tanglewood Music Center, Los Angeles Philharmonic. Awards: Obie, Drama-Logue awards.
Brooke Ishibashi’s New York credits include: Good Person of Szechwan with Taylor Mac (The Public); A Beautiful Day in November (NY City Center); Takarazuka! (HERE Arts); Qui Nguyen’s The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G (Ma-Yi); Happy Sunshine Kung Fu Flower (Ars Nova). Regional: Cambodian Rock Band (World Premiere: South Coast Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); All’s Well That Ends Well (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Developmental: originated new works in collaboration with Qui Nguyen/Vampire Cowboys, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Thomas Kail, Dave Malloy, Maltby & Shire, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, BD Wong, Evan Cabnet, Lear deBessonet, May Adrales, Daniel Fish, Lee Sunday Evans, Lloyd Suh, Kimber Lee, Baayork Lee, The Public, Geffen Playhouse, Lincoln Center, La MaMa, Vineyard Theatre, Women’s Project, The Lark, NAAP, NAATCO, Soho Rep., Clubbed Thumb, New Georges, The Foundry. Concerts: Joe’s Pub, Highline Ballroom, City Winery, Stonewall Inn. TV: Series lead in DJ Nash’s People Are Talking (NBC, dir. Pam Fryman). Education: B.A. in Theatre/Musical Theatre, Marymount Manhattan College; Upright Citizens Brigade. Other: Proud Actors’ Equity Association Western Region Principal Councilor and member of Fair Wage Onstage. @BrookeIshibashi / @CambodianRockBand / FairWageOnstage.org
Abraham Kim’s credits include Cambodian Rock Band (Pacific Playwrights Festival, South Coast Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Son in LA Riots (Café-Club Fais Do Do); Orchestra, Alice in Wonderland (Hoover High School). Music: National and international tours with Run River North, DANakaDAN and Magnetic North & Taiyo Na. Drummer on Magnetic North & Taiyo Na’s album, Home: Word. Music band affiliations: IXS, Castor and Pollux, Monroe Street, The Blazing Rays of the Sun, Former Faces, Fyke, Ruth + the Library. TV/Film: Good Sessions (CBS pilot), Jasyn’s Theme (YouTube). Education: Craig Kupka, Daniel Yoo, Angelica Thompson. @0abrahamkim0
Jane Lui’s credits include Huong in Vietgone (East West Players); Pou in Cambodian Rock Band (South Coast Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Maudlin in All’s Well That Ends Well (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Cecily Pigeon in The Odd Couple (Sierra Madre Playhouse); Shannon Baker in The Sparrow, Ute/Chief in Cannibal the Musical (Coeurage Theatre Company); Julie in John Doe the Musical (Lyceum Theatre); Penny in Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog (Chinese Pirate Productions). Composition: Under Milk Wood, Secret in the Wings (Coeurage Theatre Company), San Diego Zoo. Film/TV/Internet/Commercial: 67th Emmy Awards, Odious, The Soulman, Daylight Savings, Luieland (YouTube personality, 4m views). Voiceovers: Call of Duty, San Diego Zoo, Hibakusha. Awards: Stage Raw nomination for Best Original Music, Dublin Web Fest Best Music Video, San Diego Best Recording nominations for albums Goodnight Company and Barkentine, YouTube’s Unsigned Pick. Music: All original albums available on iTunes, Spotify. Upcoming fourth album to be released as music project Surrija. http://www.Surrija.com
Joe Ngo’s credits include: Cambodian Rock Band (South Coast Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Nhan/Khue in Vietgone (Studio Theatre); Actor 1 in King of the Yees, Xu Xian in The White Snake (Baltimore Center Stage); Actor 3 in King of the Yees (A Contemporary Theatre); Hotspur in Henry IV, Part One (Wooden O/Seattle Shakespeare); Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew (Island Stage Left); Hank in Marvin’s Room (Covina Center for the Performing Arts); Boy in Blood Wedding (Odyssey Theatre Ensemble); Elvis in Miss Nelson Is Missing (Lewis Family Playhouse). Solo performances: Words, Words… (The Barn Arts Collective and Leviathan Labs Living Room Series). Film/TV: Crashing, Off the Record, Beach Blossom. Education: B.A., Cal Poly Pomona; M.F.A., UW, Seattle. http://www.joe-ngo.com
Daisuke Tsuji appeared in La Jolla Playhouse’s productions of The Orphan of Zhao, American Night. Regional: Cambodian Rock Band (South Coast Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); With Love and a Major Organ (The Theatre @ Boston Court); Orlando in As You Like It (Antaeus Theatre Company); William Shakespeare in Imogen Says Nothing (Yale Repertory Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (California Shakespeare Theater/Portland Center Stage); The Orphan of Zhao (American Conservatory Theater). International: Public Clown in Dralion (Cirque du Soleil); Meditations on Virginity (Poland tour). Other credits: Writing/directing: Clowns Are Peoples Too (OSF Midnight Project); Death and Giggles (Three Chairs Theater Company); Monkey Madness (Los Angeles Theater Ensemble). Film/TV: Love, Death & Robots; Brockmire; The Man in the High Castle; The Blacklist. Video Game: Jin in Ghost of Tsushima, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Prey. Education: B.A., UCLA. http://www.daisuketsuji.com
Moses Villarama’s Off-Broadway credits include: Fast Company (Ensemble Studio Theatre); The Sonic Life of a Giant Tortoise (The Play Company); Chairs and a Long Table (Ma-Yi Theater). Regional: Cambodian Rock Band, Henry V, The Odyssey, The Winter’s Tale, Snow in Midsummer (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Vietgone (OSF/Seattle Repertory); Warrior Class (Alliance Theatre); Suspense! Radio Hour (Hudson Valley Shakespeare); King Lear, Amadeus, A Christmas Carol (Denver Center); Swamp Is On (Pig Iron). Training: M.F.A., National Theatre Conservatory. B.A., University of San Francisco @themightymos
La Jolla Playhouse is a place where artists and audiences come together to create what’s new and next in the American theatre, from Tony Award-winning productions, to imaginative programs for young audiences, to interactive experiences outside our theatre walls. Founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, the Playhouse is currently led by Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley, the Rich Family Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse, and Managing Director Debby Buchholz. The Playhouse is internationally renowned for the development of new plays and musicals, including mounting 102 world premieres, commissioning 52 new works, and sending 32 productions to Broadway – including the currently-running hit musical Come From Away – garnering a total of 38 Tony Awards, as well as the 1993 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. LaJollaPlayhouse.org.
Portland Center Stage at The Armory is among the top 20 regional theaters in the country. Established in 1988 as a branch of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the company became independent in 1994, and is under the leadership of Artistic Director Marissa Wolf and Managing Director Cynthia Fuhrman. The company offers a mix of 10 classic, contemporary, and world premiere productions; plus a variety of education and community programs. The company has produced 27 world premieres and presents JAW, an annual new works festival. The Armory (originally built in 1891) became the first building on the National Register of Historic Places and the first performing arts venue in the country to achieve a LEED Platinum rating.
Founded in 1935, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) has grown from a three-day festival of two plays to a nationally renowned organization that presents an eight-month season of up to 11 plays, including works by Shakespeare, classics, musicals and world-premiere plays. OSF’s commissioning programs have generated works that have been produced on Broadway, internationally, and at regional, community and high school theatres across the country. OSF’s mission statement: “Inspired by Shakespeare’s work and the cultural richness of the United States, we reveal our collective humanity through illuminating interpretations of new and classic plays, deepened by the kaleidoscope of rotating repertory.”
2019 Tony Award Winner André De Shields. Photo by Lia Chang
The York Theatre Company has announced show only tickets are now available for the 28th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala honoring 2019 Tony Award winner André De Shields (Hadestown) with the 2019 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre and producer Riki Kane Larimer (Cagney) with The York Theatre Company Founders’ Award on Monday evening, November 11, 2019 at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).
General seating on the upper mezzanine with open bar begins at 7:30pm and is priced at $150. Tickets may be purchased by contacting Director of Development Shana Farr at (212) 935-5824, ext. 226 or sfarr@yorktheatre.org, or go online at YorkTheatre.org.
It was previously announced, the 28th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala will be hosted by Tony-winning actor and playwright Charlayne Woodard. It will include special guest appearances by John Ellison Conlee, Robert Creighton, Darius de Haas, Jeffry Denman, Dawn Driver, Mercedes Ellington, Kylie Kuioka, Teresa Eyring, Ron Lucas, Richard Maltby, Jr., Larry Owens, Tony Perry, Malvinna Rose, Melissa Schott, Marc Shaiman, Edward Tolve, Ekele Ukegbu, Ben Vereen, Anita Welch, Freida Williams, Patrick Wilson, David Yazbek, and The Alumni Ensemble of The Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem and will feature musical numbers from the hit Broadway musicals The Wiz, Hair, Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Full Monty, and more!
The Reception begins at 6:00 p.m. followed by a concert and award ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Michael Unger (York’s former Associate Artistic Director, recently appointed Artistic Director of Skylight Music Theatre in Wisconsin) directs the evening’s celebration under the music direction of Eric Svejcar.
For additional information, pricing and reservations, please contact Director of Development Shana Farr at (212) 935-5824, ext. 226 or sfarr@yorktheatre.org, or go online at YorkTheatre.org.
2019 CACF Catalyst of Change Awards. Photo by Lia Chang
The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) hosted its 3rd Annual Catalyst for Change Awards Gala at the Edison Ballroom in New York on November 4 to celebrate CACF’s empowerment of Asian Pacific American (APA) children and families and to honor those who are a force for positive change in the APA community.
Co-emcees Ernabel DeMillo and Alan Muraoka. Photo by Lia Chang
Co-emcees Ernabel DeMillo and Alan Muraoka. Photo by Lia Chang
Co-emcees Ernabel DeMillo and Alan Muraoka. Photo by Lia Chang
The emcees for the evening were Ernabel Demillo, Reporter/Host of 7-time Emmy nominated show “Asian American Life” and Contributing Reporter for “Arts in the City” and “Science and U” on CUNY-TV; and Alan Muraoka, Actor/Director of “Sesame Street”. Alexander Tsui, DMD served as gala chair.
Gala Chair Alexander Tsui, DMD. Photo by Lia Chang
Honorees included two-time Tony nominated actress Eva Noblezada, who can be seen on Broadway as Eurydice in Hadestown and in Diane Paragas’ feature film, Yellow Rose, a coming of age story about an undocumented Filipina; Jason DaSilva, Film Director, Producer, Writer, and President of AXS Lab and founder of AXS Map, a website and accessibility database to find disability friendly places around the world; Dr. Ram Raju MD, MBA, FACHE, Senior Vice President and Community Health Investment Officer of Northwell Health who evaluates the needs of Northwell Hospital’s most-vulnerable communities and helps the health system eliminate health disparities; and Project by Project, which is an innovative philanthropic nonprofit that empowers the Asian American community, accepted by Liliana Chen, Cofounder.
2019 CACF Catalyst of Change Award Recipients Eva Noblezada, Liliana Chen, Co-Founder of Project by Project, Emmy Award-winning Filmmaker Jason DaSilva and Dr. Ram Raju MD, MBA, FACHE. Photo by Lia ChangFrom left to right: Eva Noblezada (Two-time Tony Nominated Actress, theater and film, Liliana Chen (Co-Founder of Project by Project), Anita Gundanna (Co-Executive Director of Coalition for Asian American Children and Families), Jason DaSilva (film director and President of AXS Lab), Dr. Ram Raju MD, MBA, FACHE (Senior Vice President and Community Health Investment Officer of Northwell Health), Vanessa Leung (Co-Executive Director of Coalition for Asian American Children and Families). Photo by Lia ChangFrom left to right: Eva Noblezada (Two-time Tony Nominated Actress, theater and film, Liliana Chen (Co-Founder of Project by Project), Anita Gundanna (Co-Executive Director of Coalition for Asian American Children and Families), Jason DaSilva (film director and President of AXS Lab), Dr. Ram Raju MD, MBA, FACHE (Senior Vice President and Community Health Investment Officer of Northwell Health), Vanessa Leung (Co-Executive Director of Coalition for Asian American Children and Families), Gala Chair Alexander Tsui, DMD. Photo by Lia Chang
The Gala united more than 350 community advocates and professionals across industries and raised funds to benefit CACF’s leadership training programs and policy advocacy campaigns.
2019 CACF Catalyst of Change Awards Benefit and Gala at Edison Ballroom in New York on November 4, 2019. Photo by Lia Chang
CACF is the nation’s only pan-Asian children and families’ advocacy organization bringing together community-based organizations, as well as youth and parents, to fight for equity and to fight against racism and discrimination towards APA communities. CACF listens, trains, unites and fights to build an APA community too powerful to ignore.
(l-r) Voices of the Community speakers: Rehan Mehmood, South Asian Council for Social Services, Jeehae Fischer, Korean American Family Service Center, Linda Oalican, Damayan Migrant Workers Association, and Jason Wu, Esq. Photo by Lia Chang Testimonial speaker: Sadaf Omar, Senior Program Manager, Neighborhood 360 Small Business Services. Photo by Lia Chang
Jenny Low, Director, Community Engagement Division, New York City Council, Office of Speaker Corey Johnson presented CACF with a citation commending CACF’s work and dedication to New York’s APA community.
Jenny Low, Director, Community Engagement Division, New York City Council, Office of Speaker Corey Johnson presented CACF’s Co-Executive Directors Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung with a citation commending CACF’s work and dedication to New York’s APA community. Photo by Lia Chang
“CACF is incredibly thankful to our generous event sponsors and donors whose support allows us to be an independent and strong voice for those most marginalized in the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. We are honored to share tonight with Jason DaSilva, Eva Noblezada, Dr. Ram Raju and Project by Project and are truly moved by their persistent and incredible contributions towards furthering social justice and equity for APA communities.” said Anita Gundanna, Co-Executive Director, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families.
CACF Co-executive Directors Vanessa Leung and Anita Gundanna. Photo by Lia Chang
“I am deeply honored to be awarded as a Catalyst for Change by CACF, said Eva Noblezada. “In my career I’ve been lucky enough to portray such strong women whose stories revolve around humanity and truth. Little Eva never saw herself represented by roles that dealt with survivorship, identity and a struggle for rights. And these are present challenges that immigrant communities face today. So I am humbled to be recognized by CACF- an organization that for over three decades has helped build a voice to advocate for the largely immigrant Asian American community in NYC. It means the world to me. And I can stand here in confidence knowing that powerful organizations like this are here to lift up such incredibly diverse communities that I am so lucky to be a part of. Thank you.”
Anita Gundanna, Eva Noblezada and Vanessa Leung. Photo by Lia ChangEva Noblezada. Photo by Lia ChangEva Noblezada. Photo by Lia ChangReeve Carney and Eva Noblezada. Photo by Lia ChangReeve Carney and Eva Noblezada. Photo by Lia Chang
“I am truly honored to be recognized by CACF. My most important mission in life has been to give voice to the unheard. CACF and I have been working closely to gather meaningful data about Asian Americans with disabilities, which could help improve their stations in life. I am grateful to CACF for their continued efforts to serve the Asian American community.” said Jason DaSilva, founder and CEO of AXS Lab.
Jason DaSilva, Anita Gundanna, Vanessa Leung. Photo by Lia ChangJason DaSilva. Photo by Lia ChangJason DaSilva. Photo by Lia Chang
“Over 70% of Asian Pacific American (APA) New Yorkers are foreign-born, and over one in four APAs struggle in poverty. Our communities face multiple challenges accessing services to support their health, education, and well-being. CACF advocates for equity and opportunity for marginalized APAs and we are grateful to share tonight with our allies, partners, and friends who graciously and generously support our work.” said Vanessa Leung, Co-Executive Director, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families.
Dr. Ram Raju MD, MBA, FACHE, Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung. Photo by Lia Chang
Ram Raju MD, MBA, FACHE, Senior Vice President and Community Health Investment Officer of Northwell Health, said “I am proud to receive CACF’s Catalyst for Change Awards. For over 30 years, CACF has advocated for the most marginalized of our Asian American community. They understand the importance of working with government and other systems to ensure that children and families receive the services they need in a language they understand. As a medical professional and administrator, I believe everyone should have access to quality healthcare regardless of their language, their socioeconomic status and their history. It is important for health care systems to partner with groups like CACF to ensure we build strong connections to communities and work together to address health disparities.”
Dr. Ram Raju MD, MBA, FACHE. Photo by Lia Chang
Dr. Ram Raju MD, MBA, FACHE. Photo by Lia Chang
“Project by Project has built a network of community-minded professionals who care about social issues and building an empowered Asian America. It is an honor to be recognized by CACF — an organization relentlessly fighting for the Asian American community for over 30 years! This award will energize our passion to make a positive difference” said Liliana Chen, Co-Founder of Project by Project.
Vanessa Leung, Liliana Chen and Anita Gundanna. Photo by Lia ChangLiliana Chen. Photo by Lia ChangLiliana Chen. Photo by Lia Chang
A live auction and a pledge auction was led by auctioneer Charles Antin, which took place after the awards ceremony.
Auctioneer Charles Antin. Photo by Lia ChangAuctioneer Charles Antin at work. Photo by Lia Chang
Event sponsors of CACF’s 2019 Catalyst for Change Awards Gala included Northwell Health, Edward Pauly and Barbara Turvett, Blossom, Frensco Building Products, Main Street Radiology, Muskasey Frenchman & Sklaroff LLP, and The Poses Family Foundation.
ASAP Youth Leaders. Photo by Lia Chang2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia ChangRisa Morimoto, Liliana Chen, June Jee, Elaine Chang, Ti-Hua Chang, Lia Chang, Vivian Lee, Alexander Tsui and Susan Kim Tsui.2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang2019 CACF gala guests of Edward Pauly and Barbara Turvett. Photo by Lia ChangLiliana Chen, Vivian Lee, Jean Hon. Photo by Lia ChangVanessa Leung, Jean Hon. Photo by Lia Chang
Anita Gundanna, Larry Lee and Lori Tan Chinn. Photo by Lia Chang
Alan Muraoka, Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, Vivian Lee and Ernabel DeMillo. Photo by Lia Chang
Sree Sreenivasan. Photo by Lia Chang
Alan Muraoka and Eva Noblezada. Photo by Lia Chang
Eva Noblezada, Alan Muraoka and Reeve Carney. Photo by Lia Chang
Edward Pauly, Vanessa Leung, Barbara Turvett and Alan Muraoka. Photo by Lia Chang
Filmmakers Jason DaSilva and Risa Morimoto. Photo by Lia Chang
Asian American Life’s Maria Yip Lord and Ernabel DeMillo. Photo by Lia Chang
Ti-Hua Chang, Lori Tan Chinn, Ernabel DeMillo and Alan Muraoka. Photo by Lia Chang
Nina Zoie Lam and Lori Tan Chinn. Photo by Lia Chang
Alexander Tsui, Eva Noblezada and Susan Kim Tsui. Photo by Lia Chang
Ti-Hua Chang, Elaine Chang, Susan Kim Tsui and Alexander Tsui. Photo by Lia Chang
Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada and Alexander Tsui, DMD. Photo by Lia Chang
Liliana Chen and Cao O. Photo by Lia Chang
Tasfia Rahman and Suki Terada Ports. Photo by Lia Chang
Liliana Chen. Photo by Lia Chang
Ernabel DeMillo, Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada and June Jee. Photo by Lia Chang
Risa Morimoto and June Jee. Photo by Lia Chang
Vivian Lee, Susan Kim Tsui and a guest. Photo by Lia Chang
Ti-Hua Chang, Susan Kim Tsui and Risa Morimoto. Photo by Lia Chang
Elaine Chang, Mark Decambre, Anita Gundanna, Ti-Hua Chang and Ernabel DeMillo. Photo by Lia Chang
Lori Tan Chinn and Alan Muraoka. Photo by Lia Chang
Eva Noblezada, Lori Tan Chinn and Reeve Carney. Photo by Lia Chang
Vivian Lee and Alan Muraoka. Photo by Lia Chang
Edward Pauly, Barbara Turvett and Alan Muraoka. Photo by Lia Chang
CACF Board President Larry Lee. Photo by Lia Chang
Vivian Lee and Ernabel DeMillo. Photo by Lia Chang
Eva Noblezada, Ernabel DeMillo, Ayesha Vera-Yu and Reeve Carney. Photo by Lia Chang
Chinese-American Planning Council and Mekong NYC Gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang
2019 CACF Gala Guests, CACF Board Member Kanika Priya Sethi and Andrea Wu, CACF Director of Operations. Photo by Lia Chang
Ernabel DeMillo, Alan Muraoka, Barbara Turvett, Edward Pauly. Photo by Lia Chang
2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang
A guest and Joyce Ma. Photo by Lia Chang
2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang
Ti-Hua Chang and Elaine Chang. Photo by Lia Chang
Ti-Hua Chang, Elaine Chang, Jason DaSilva, Anita Gundanna and guests. Photo by Lia Chang
Susan Kim Tsui, Jason DaSilva and Alexander Tsui, DMD. Photo by Lia Chang
Anita Gundanna, Jason DaSilva and Alexander Tsui. Photo by Lia Chang
Liliana Chen and Vivian Lee. Photo by Lia Chang
Elaine Chang and Larry Lee, CACF Board President. Photo by Lia Chang
Ti-Hua Chang and Alexander Tsui, DMD. Photo by Lia Chang
Vanessa Leung, Alexander Tsui, DMD and Vanessa A. Li. Photo by Lia Chang
2019 CACF gala guests. Photo by Lia Chang
Eva Noblezada and Lia Chang. Photo by Alan Muraoka
Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
MOCA and $6.99 Per Pound Podcast presented their first live recording featuring Asian American Hip Hop pioneer, Scott “Chops” Jung at 215 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013 in September at the Museum of Chinese in America.
Jaeki Cho, Scott “Chops” Jung and Joann Park. Photo by Lia ChangJaeki Cho, Scott “Chops” Jung and Joann Park. Photo by Lia Chang
Hosts Jaeki Cho and Joann Park sat down with Chops to discuss how his group, Mountain Brothers, became the first ever Asian American Hip Hop group signed to a major label in the 1990s and how Hip Hop has evolved over the years. They also highlighted his work with artists (Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Raekwon, Talib Kweli), brands (Nike, Coca Cola, X Games), and TV shows/Films (“Warrior,” “Wu Assassins,” “Empire,” “Grey’s Anatomy”).
The conversation was followed by a listening party featuring exclusive music from Chops’ latest Chinese Hip Hop album D.REAMS C.OME T.RU with Founder of Iron Mic Freestyles in China, Dana “Showtyme” Burton, and a special live set from legendary beat juggler DJ Roli Rho.
Seph Duong, Avec Plasir, Michael Stewart, Scott “Chops” Jung, Joann Park and Jaeki Cho. Photo by Lia Chang
$6.99 Per Pound is a bi-weekly podcast featuring interviews with leaders and professionals from a wide variety of fields. Paying homage to Korean-owned hot food delis in New York City, the inquisitive duo Joann Park and Jaeki Cho treat listeners to a buffet of HOT takes on career, culture and community.
@699perpound
info@699perpound.com
Scott “Chops” Jung. Photo by Lia Chang
Scott “Chops” Jung is a music maker whose multi-instrument style helped his group Mountain Brothers become the first Asian American rap group signed to a major label. He’s since worked with many of rap’s biggest and most respected artists (Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Raekwon, Talib Kweli, E-40, Ice Cube, Snoop). His Strength in NUMBERS album featured over 30 talented Asian American rappers and singers. Chops’ music is heard in ads (Nike, Coca Cola, X Games), TV shows (“Arrow,” “Empire,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House of Lies,” “Breaking Bad,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Parks & Recreation,” “The Night Of,” “iZombie,” “Pitch,” “Lucifer”), and movies (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Brown Sugar,House of Wax, Hurricane Season, Face, Ping Pong Playa). He credits the sports documentary 9-Man for reigniting his love of writing music to picture; scoring credits include the feature documentaries Breathin’: The Eddy Zheng Story, Good Luck Soup, & And Then They Came for Us. He will be composing an original score for Patrick Chen and Henry Chang’s A Father’s Son. https://chopsmusic.tumblr.com/
@chopsmusic
Scott “Chops” Jung will emcee the Philadelphia Asian American Film & Filmmakers 6th annual Hip-Hop Showcase at the Asian Arts Initiative, 1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA on Friday, November 15 at 8pm, featuring up-and-coming musical talents in the community including MiyachiAisha Fukushimajason chu & Leo Xia, and will be joined by longtime collaborator DJ Roli Rho. Click here for tickets and more information.
DJ Roli Rho and Scott “Chops” Jung. Photo by Lia Chang
DJ Roli Rho is one of the founding members of the world renowned NYC turntablist crew 5th Platoon alongside other greats such as Daddy Dog, Neil Armstrong, Do Boy, Kuttin Kandi, Vin Roc, and I-Emerge. Roli quickly climbed the ranks of the battle scene and became one of the fiercest beat Jugglers of his time. It is this honed skill which brought him titles such as New York’s Zulu Champion (1995), the Rhythm Method Champion (1995), 105.9 (NYC) Champion (1995), the ITF East Coast Beat Juggling Champion (1998), a 2 time Vibe World Dominance Champion (98 & 99), and the DMC East Coast Champion (1999). He went on to teach the skills of the art form and shared his knowledge of the culture to students at Jam Master Jay of (RUN DMC) Scratch Dj Academy NYC. These days Roli can be found in his hometown of New York where he has been working on community projects such as Openfaders and Tableturns.
rolirho.com
mixcloud/djrolirho
@djrolirho
Lia Chang, Scott “Chops” Jung and Garth Kravits. Photo by Patrick Chen
Avec Plasir, Michael Stewart, Jaeki Cho and Joann Park. Photo by Lia Chang
Scott “Chops” Jung, Lia Chang, Henry Chang. Photo by Patrick Chen
Patrick Chen and El Jubilation Lee. Photo by Garth Kravits
Scott “Chops” Jung and Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits
Jaeki Cho. Photo by Lia Chang
Patrick Chen, El Jubilation Lee, Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits
El Jubilation Lee, Mei-yann Hwang and Scott “Chops” Jung. Photo by Lia Chang
Scott “Chops” Jung. Photo by Lia Chang
DJ Roli Rho. Photo by Lia Chang
DJ Roli Rho. Photo by Lia Chang
DJ Roli Rho. Photo by Lia Chang
Andy Miami, Jaeki Cho and Scott “Chops” Jung. Photo by Lia Chang
Scott “Chops” Jung and Ursula Liang. Photo by Lia Chang
Scott “Chops” Jung and Dan Evans Farkas Photo by Lia Chang
Mikey Fresh and Jo Park. Photo by Lia Chang
Seph Duong and Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits
Scott “Chops” Jung and Julie Young. Photo by Lia Chang
Mei-yann Hwang and Scott “Chops” Jung. Photo by Lia Chang
Scott “Chops” Jung and El Jubilation Lee. Photo by Lia Chang
Scott “Chops” Jung and Garth Kravits. Photo by Lia Chang
Jaeki Cho, Judy Lei and Mikey Fresh. Photo by Lia Chang -144
Geoff Lee, Scott “Chops” Jung, Henry Chang and Vic Huey. Photo by Lia Chang
Hella Chluy and Scott “Chops” Jung. Photo by Lia Chang
Scott “Chops” Jung and Baiyu. Photo by Lia Chang
Joey Orlando and Geoff Lee. Photo by Lia Chang
Seph Duong, Scott “Chops” Jung and Patrick Chen. Photo by Lia Chang
Vic Huey and Scott “Chops” Jung. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) is presenting the 2019 Catalyst for Change Awards Benefit and Awards Gala on Monday, November 4 at Edison Ballroom, 240 W. 47th Street in New York at 6:00 pm. Please visit www.cacf.org for tickets and more information.
This year, Catalyst for Change Awards will be presented to two-time Tony nominated actress Eva Noblezada; Jason DaSilva, Film Director, Producer, Writer, President and Founder, AXS Lab; Ram Raju, MD, Senior Vice President and Community Health Officer, Northwell Health; and Project by Project (PbP).
Eva Noblezada. Photo by Lia Chang
The Catalyst for Change Awards honor APA Leaders who are a force for positive change in the community and in their fields of work.
Alan Muraoka, Actor/Director, Sesame Street and Ernabel Demillo, Reporter/Host of the 7-time Emmy nominated show “Asian American Life” and Contributing Reporter for “Arts in the City” and “Simply Science” will co-emcee the evening, which includes a cocktail reception, seated dinner and silent and live auctions run by Charles Antin, Co-Founder, International Auctioneer.
ERNABEL DEMILLO Reporter/Host of the 7-time Emmy nominated show “Asian American Life” Contributing Reporter for “Arts in the City” and “Simply Science” CUNY-TV Channel 75, 25.3 and now on NYC Media, Channel 25, and PBS stations across the country; Chair of the Communication and Media Culture Department, Saint Peter’s University
ALAN MURAOKA Actor/Director, Sesame Street
CHARLES ANTIN Co-Founder, International Auctioneer
EVA NOBLEZADA Tony Nominated Actress, Theater and Film
EVA NOBLEZADA received her second Tony nomination for her current role as Eurydice on Broadway in Hadestown after her critically acclaimed run in the show last fall at the National Theatre in London. She’ll soon be seen as the lead in Diane Paragas’ film, Yellow Rose, a coming of age story about an undocumented Filipina, which has been scooping up awards at film festivals across the country, and has recently been acquired by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. In 2017, she received her first Tony nomination when she made her Broadway debut as the title role in Cameron Mackintosh’s epic revival of Miss Saigon. Variety called her Broadway debut “entrancing.” She previously starred in the West End revivals of Miss Saigon and Les Miserables. She is the recipient of the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival for Best Breakout Actor for Yellow Rose and the WhatsOnStage Award for “Best Actress in a Musical,” for Miss Saigon. Noblezada was a high school student in Charlotte, NC, when she was discovered by casting director Tara Rubin at the 2013 Jimmy Awards in NYC.
JASON DASILVA Film Director, Producer, Writer President and Founder, AXS Lab
Jason DaSilva is a director, producer, writer and disability rights activist best known for the Emmy Award winning documentary, When I Walk, the first film in a documentary trilogy. The documentary follows his diagnosis of primary progressive multiple sclerosis for seven years as he progresses from cane to walker to wheelchair. Following the success of When I Walk, Jason released the second film in the trilogy, When We Walk. When We Walk follows his life as he deals with his MS and fights to stay close with his son. The film is based on his New York Times Op-Ed article, Mapping the Disability Trap. In 2019, the film premiered at the Hot Docs Film Festival, won best documentary at the Center for Asian American Media’s CAAMFest, and had its New York debut at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. The final film, When They Walk, is currently in production.
RAM RAJU, MD, MBA, FACHE Senior Vice President and Community Health Investment Officer, Northwell Health
Ram Raju, MD, combines his executive leadership experience in health care with a deep commitment to achieving social equity to improve the health of communities in need. As senior vice president and community health investment officer, he evaluates the needs of Northwell’s most-vulnerable communities, and provides solutions for them by collaborating with community-based organizations. He’s responsible for promoting, sustaining and advancing an environment that supports equity and diversity, and helping the health system eliminate health disparities.
PROJECT BY PROJECT (accepted by Liliana Chen, Co-Founder)
Project by Project (PbP) was founded in 1998 by a group of young Asian American professionals motivated to empower the Asian American community by developing leaders through innovative philanthropy. Core to PbP’s methodology is a three-pronged approach to enhancing volunteerism, awareness, and fundraising for issues uniquely affecting Asian America. Building upon those principles, PbP created a platform of annual thematic campaigns tackling different causes from year to year. From domestic violence, to immigration, to homelessness, PbP has become a gateway for young Asian Americans to explore civic engagement while exercising leadership skills.
CACF: The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families was founded in 1986 by a group of social service providers who were concerned that New York City’s private and public health, education and human service institutions found not adequately serve the growing number of Asian Pacific American (APA) and immigrant families. CACF is the nation’s only pan-Asian children and families’ advocacy organization bringing together community-based organizations as well as youth and parents to fight for equity for Asian Pacific Americans (APAs).
The Catalyst for Change 2019 Benefit and Awards Gala is sponsored by Northwell Health, Barbara Turvett and Edward Pauly, blossom, Frensco Building Productions, Mukasey, Frenchman & Skaroff, Main Street Radiology, and The Poses Family Foundation. Alexander Tsui, DMD is the gala chair and the host committee includes Julie Azuma, John J. Chin, PH.D. & Haftan Eckholdt, PH.D, Wayne Ho and Eda Chao, Geoffrey James, Jessica S. Lee, Sumie Okazaki, PH.D., Beesham A. Seecharan, Udai Tambar, Norma Tan, PH.D.
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
The Umami Fund (Daniel Blinkoff and Tamlyn Tomita) is presenting the International/Canadian debut of Jeanne Sakata’s award-winning play, Hold These Truths at the Cultch Historic Theatre, 1895 Venables Street in Vancouver, which began previews on Friday, October 18, and has performances through Saturday, November 2.
Joel de la Fuente (Amazon’s “The Man in the High Castle”) is reprising his Drama Desk-nominated turn in this solo play inspired by the life of Gordon Hirabayashi, in which he seamlessly portrays more than thirty characters under the direction of Lisa Rothe (Irish Repertory Theatre’s Wild Abandon).
Joel de la Fuente as Gordon Hirabayashi. Photo by Lia Chang
Unsung American hero Gordon Hirabayashi fights passionately for the Constitution against an unexpected adversary: his own country. During World War II, he defies the US government’s orders to forcibly remove and mass incarcerate all people of Japanese ancestry, launching a 50-year journey from college to courtroom and eventually to a Presidential Medal of Freedom. A story filled with hope, this play will leave you cheering for a man who stood up for the true meaning of patriotism.
Joel de la Fuente as Gordon Hirabayashi. Photo by Lia ChangJoel de la Fuente as Gordon Hirabayashi. Photo by Lia Chang
The design team includes Cat Tate Starmer (lights), Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams (sets), Daniel Kluger (sound) and Margaret Weedon (costumes), with stage manager Mary K. Botosan.
Mary K. Botosan, Jeanne Sakata, Lisa Rothe, Cat Tate Starmer and Mikiko Suzuki Adams. Photo by Lia Chang
Performance schedule and ticket information:
General admission tickets are $50, seniors/students are $25. The remaining performance schedule is Friday, November 1 @ 8pm; Saturday, November 2 @ 2pm and 8pm. For tickets and more information, click here.
Joel de la Fuente as Gordon Hirabayashi. Photo by Lia Chang
Joel de la Fuente. Photo by Lia ChangIn the dressing room with Joel de la Fuente, who stars as Gordon Hirabayashi in Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths at The Theatre at the 14th Street Y in New York on November 24, 2012. Joel is holding a photo of Esther Schmoe and Gordon Hirabayashi on their wedding day. Photo by Lia Chang
Joel de la Fuente (Gordon Hirabayashi) received a Theatre Bay Area Award for Outstanding Principal Performance for the run of Hold These Truths at Theatreworks SV and garnered a Drama Desk Nomination in New York City for Outstanding Solo Performance when it debuted in 2012. On television, Joel plays Chief Inspector Kido on “The Man in the High Castle,” one of Amazon Studios’ most watched original series. He also portrays Dr. Johann Pryce on Netflix’s second original series, “Hemlock Grove,” and can be seen in perpetual reruns on “Law & Order: SVU,” where he played TARU Tech Ruben Morales for 10 seasons. Currently, he appears as President Datu Andrada on “Madam Secretary” for CBS. Joel has performed in theaters all over the world, as both an avid classical theater actor and as a developer of new work. He is an alumnus of Brown University and the Graduate Acting Program at NYU.
Jeanne Sakata. Photo by Lia Chang
Actress and playwright Jeanne Sakata, whose talents span across TV, film, voiceover and stage, recently received the East West Players Trailblazer Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement and Raising the Visibility of the API Community. This summer, Ms. Sakata appeared in the Off Broadway premiere of the brilliant new comedy Do You Feel Anger? at the Vineyard Theatre in New York. She is familiar to TV audiences in the recurring roles of genius scientist Lenore Shimamoto/Mayor Saito on the animated TV series “Big Hero 6,” based on the Disney smash hit movie, and can currently be seen in three national commercials. Jeanne’s nationally acclaimed solo play Hold These Truths (2013 Drama Desk Nomination, Outstanding Solo Performance; 2019 Theatre Bay Awards, Outstanding Production, Principal Performance and Direction) has had over twenty productions across the country, and will be produced in the 2019-20 season at Barrington Stage, San Diego Rep, and People’s Light, after sold-out and extended runs last year at Arena Stage and TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Since April 2019, Hold These Truths became available internationally as a special audio recording, produced by L.A. Theatre Works. The play has also been produced in recent years at Pasadena Playhouse, ACT Seattle, Portland Center Stage, Guthrie Theater, PlayMakers’ Rep, Perseverance Theatre, Honolulu Theatre for Youth (Daniel Dae Kim, co-producer), Terra Nova Collective, Silk Road Rising, Coachella Valley Rep, Plays and Players, and New Century Theatre. Premiering with the East West Players in Los Angeles, and then Off Broadway with the Epic Theatre Ensemble, the play was workshopped by the Lark Play Development Center and the New York Theatre Workshop. Hold These Truths is now published by Ageloff Books and available on Amazon, and it is on display at the Library of Congress Playwrights Archive in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection in Washington DC, where the Jeanne Sakata Collection was established in July 2011. Special honors: LA Ovation Award for Outstanding Lead Actress, Chay Yew’s Red, East West Players; Lee Melville Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Los Angeles Theatre Community, Playwrights’ Arena; Outstanding Artist Award, Los Angeles’ Pacific American Friends of Theatre. For more information on Hold These Truths, click on www.holdthesetruths.info.
Jeanne Sakata, Joel de la Fuente, Tamlyn Tomita. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
The York Theatre Company has announced the roster of performers at the 28th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala who will honor 2019 Tony Award winner André De Shields (Hadestown) with the 2019 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre and producer Riki Kane Larimer (Cagney) with The York Theatre Company Founders’ Award on Monday evening, November 11, 2019 at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).
Tony Award Winner André De Shields. Photo by Lia Chang
The 28th Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala will be hosted by Tony-winning actor and playwright Charlayne Woodard. It will include special guest appearances by John Ellison Conlee, Robert Creighton, Darius de Haas, Jeffry Denman, Dawn Driver, Ekele Ukegbu, Mercedes Ellington, Teresa Eyring, Ron Lucas, Richard Maltby, Jr., Larry Owens, Tony Perry, Malvinna Rose, Marc Shaiman, Ben Vereen, Anita Welch, Freida Williams, Patrick Wilson, David Yazbek, and The Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem Alumni Ensemble and will feature musical numbers from the hit Broadway musicals The Wiz, Hair, Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Full Monty, and more!
The VIP Reception begins at 6:00 p.m. followed by a concert and award ceremony at 8:00 p.m. Michael Unger (York’s former Associate Artistic Director, recently appointed Artistic Director of Skylight Music Theatre in Wisconsin) directs the evening’s celebration under the musical direction of Eric Svejcar.
For additional information, pricing and reservations, please contact Director of Development Shana Farr at (212) 935-5824, ext. 226 or sfarr@yorktheatre.org, or go online at YorkTheatre.org.
The Oscar Hammerstein Award is named in honor of the legendary lyricist and librettist who helped shape American musical theatre through his collaborations with a number of different composers and writers. His contributions to such landmark musicals as Show Boat, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, and Carousel are a legacy for all time. The award was created in 1988 by Janet Hayes Walker, Founding Artistic Director of The York Theatre Company, with the endorsement of the Hammerstein family and the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. Its purpose is to recognize significant lifetime achievement in musical theatre, and it is presented at a gala evening held for the benefit of The York Theatre Company.
André De Shields is the triple-crown winner of the 2019 awards season, having won the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Tony Awards as Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his unanimously critically acclaimed performance as Hermes, Messenger to the Gods, in Hadestown. The Actors’ Equity Foundation followed suit with the Richard Seff Award, which honors veteran stage actors’ best supporting performances of the year. Prior to his Tony Award win, Mr. De Shields was best known for his show-stopping performances in four legendary Broadway productions: The Wiz, Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Emmy Award), Play On!, and The Full Monty. In a career spanning fifty years, he has distinguished himself as an unparalleled actor, director, and educator, receiving in 2018 the 8th Annual Off Broadway Alliance Legend Award, and the 33rd Annual Bob Harrington Life Achievement Bistro Award. Among his other accolades are the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival’s Living Legend Award and the 2007 Village Voice Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. On August 19 of this year, His Honor Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young presented him with the Key to the City of his hometown, Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. De Shields is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and SDC. www.andredeshields.com
“André De Shields is a true man of the theatre, and it is a glorious coincidence that he began his career in 1969, the same year that The York was founded,” said James Morgan, York’s Producing Artistic Director. “We can’t think of a better way to honor his fifty years in showbiz than with the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Musical Theatre. We are ecstatic to honor him for a career as performer that began with Hair and wound its way through Ain’t Misbehavin’ and into the current Hadestown, with detours into writing, directing, choreographing, and teaching. Nobody is more deserving.”
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
The 2018-2019 class of Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellows presented excerpts of full length works at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center on October 28.
Lynnette Freeman and Lizan Mitchell in Erika Dickerson-Despenza’s shadow/land. Photo by Lia Chang
This presentation caps off a year spent working under the tutelage of Michael Korie (Grey Gardens), Laurence O’ Keefe (Heathers), and Diana Son (Stop Kiss).
Tessa Raden Gregory hosted the evening which featured the work of the 2018-2019 class, including Jay Adana and Zeniba Now, Rae Binstock, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Mathilde Dratwa, Aryanna Garber and Benjamin Velez, Charles Gershman, Nambi E. Kelley, Melissa Li and Kit Yan, and Zack Zadek.
1st row: Allison Gold, Benjamin Velez, Jay Adana, Kit Yan. 2nd Row: Michael Korie, Charles Gershman, Melissa Li, Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Aryanna Garber, Nambi E. Kelley, Zeniba Now, Rae Binstock, Zack Zadek, Mathilde Dratwa, Laurence O’Keefe, Tess Raden Gregory. Photo by Lia Chang
Directed by Candis C. Jones with Music Direction by Josh Kight, the Presentation featured performances by Cathy Ang, Cole Bullock, Al Bundonis, Kiet Tai Cao, Lincoln Clauss, John Coons, Cherrye J. Davis, Lynnette Freeman, Mark Andrew Garner, Allison Gold, Michael Hartung, Antwayn Hopper, Ashley D. Kelley, Kevin Kilner, Teddi Milan, Lizan Mitchell, Zeniba Now, Margaret Odette, Sushma Saha, Stacey Sargeant, Mary VanArsdel, Jason Veasey, Aviva Winick.
Melissa Li, Cole Bullock, Kiet Tai Cao, Sushma Saha, Ashley D. Kelley, Cathy Ang and Kit Yan. Photo by Lia ChangAntwayn Hopper, Lizan Mitchell, Lynnette R. Freeman, Nambi E. Kelley, Candis C. Jones, Margarette Odette, Jason Veasey and Cherrye J. Davis. Photo by Lia Chang1st Row: Cherrye J. Davis, Jay Adana. 2nd Row: Ashley D. Kelley, Cole Bullock, Zeniba Now, Jason Veasey, Candis C. Jones, Antwayn Hopper. Photo by Lia ChangRae Binstock and Cathy Ang. Photo by Lia Chang
Associate Director Signe V. Harriday, Director Candis C. Jones and Music Director Josh Kight. Photo by Lia ChangThe Fellows program is a selective, year-long intensive for playwrights, composers, lyricists, and bookwriters. The program pairs talented writers with accomplished professional mentors, who help them hone their process, and find their unique voice.
Stephen Flaherty, Gretchen Cryer and Lynn Ahrens. Photo by Lia Chang
This program increases the likelihood that Fellows will be able to turn their passion and talent into a successful career, impacting audiences around the globe. The Fellows program, currently headed by Michael Korie (Grey Gardens), Laurence O’Keefe (Heathers), and Diana Son (Stop Kiss), is highly sought after for its uniquely successful format of partnering playwrights and musical theater writers together in the learning process. In addition, Fellows receive a stipend and the opportunity to partner with several arts organizations for Fellows-specific development opportunities.
Michael Korie and Laurence O’Keefe. Photo by Lia Chang
Former Fellows include Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Frozen), Lauren Yee (Cambodian Rock Band), Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop) Antoinette Nwandu (Pass Over), Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen), and many more.
Gretchen Cryer. Photo by Lia Chang
Gretchen Cryer, Lynn Ahrens. Photo by Lia Chang
Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, Randy Adams. Photo by Lia Chang
Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens. Photo by Lia Chang
Benjamin Velez, Aryanna Garber. Photo by Lia Chang
Erika Dickerson-Despenza. Photo by Lia Chang
Rae Binstock. Photo by Lia Chang
Zack Zadek and Rae Binstock. Photo by Lia Chang
Nambi E. Kelley. Photo by Lia Chang
1st Row: Michael Korie, Benjamin Velez, Jay Adana, Kit Yan. 2nd Row: Michael Korie, Charles Gershman, Melissa Li, Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Aryanna Garber, Nambi E. Kelley, Zeniba Now, Rae Binstock, Zack Zadek, Mathilde Dratwa, Laurence O’Keefe. Photo by Lia Chang
1st Row: Michael Korie, Benjamin Velez, Jay Adana, Kit Yan. 2nd Row: Michael Korie, Charles Gershman, Melissa Li, Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Aryanna Garber, Nambi E. Kelley, Zeniba Now, Rae Binstock, Zack Zadek, Mathilde Dratwa, Laurence O’Keefe. Photo by Lia Chang
Michael Korie, Benjamin Velez, Melissa Li, Aryanna Garber, Jay Adana, Zeniba Now, Zack Zadek, Kit Yan and Laurence O’Keefe. Photo by Lia Chang
Charles Gershman, Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Nambi E. Kelley, Mathilde Dratwa and Rae Binstock. Photo by Lia Chang
Charles Gershman, Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Nambi E. Kelley, Mathilde Dratwa and Rae Binstock. Photo by Lia Chang
Nambi E. Kelley and Mathilde Dratwa. Photo by Lia Chang
Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Nambi E. Kelley and Zeniba Now. Photo by Lia Chang
Kit Yan, Melissa Li and Jay Adana. Photo by Lia Chang
Kit Yan, Melissa Li and Jay Adana. Photo by Lia Chang
Kit Yan, Melissa Li and Jay Adana. Photo by Lia Chang
Kit Yan and Melissa Li. Photo by Lia Chang
Zeniba Now and Jay Adana. Photo by Lia Chang
Zeniba Now and Jay Adana. Photo by Lia Chang
Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Nambi E. Kelley. Photo by Lia Chang
Benjamin Velez and Rae Binstock. Photo by Lia Chang
Jay Adana. Photo by Lia Chang
1st Row: Benjamin Velez, Rae Binstock, Kit Yan and Melissa Li. 2nd Row: Signe V. Harriday, Allison Gold, Charles Gershman, Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Candis C. Jones, Zeniba Now, Zack Zadek, Nambi E. Kelley, Jay Adana, Aryanna Garber, Josh Kight, Mathilde Dratwa. Photo by Lia Chang
Candis C. Jones. Photo by Lia Chang
Kit Yan and Rae Binstock. Photo by Lia Chang
Mathilde Dratwa. Photo by Lia Chang
Kit Yan, Zeniba Now, Rae Binstock, Benjamin Velez, Melissa Li, Charles Gershman and Signe V. Harriday. Photo by Lia Chang
1st Row: Kit Yan, Benjamin Velez and Melissa Li. 2nd Row: Zeniba Now, Rae Binstock, Signe V. Harriday and Charles Gershman. Photo by Lia Chang
Ericka Dickerson-Despenza and Candis C. Jones. Photo by Lia Chang
Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Candis C. Jones, Zeniba Now and Nambi E. Kelley. Photo by Lia Chang
Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Candis C. Jones, Zeniba Now and Nambi E. Kelley. Photo by Lia Chang
Mathilde Dratwa, Rae Binstock, Candis C. Jones, Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Zeniba Now, Nambi E. Kelley, Jay Adana, Melissa Li, Aryanna Garber and Signe V. Harriday. Photo by Lia Chang
Joey Stocks and Tari Stratton. Photo by Lia Chang
Nambi E. Kelley and Daniel Carlton. Photo by Lia Chang
Kyoung H. Park, Nikhil Mahapatra. Photo by Lia Chang
Lizann Mitchell, Lynnette R. Freeman, Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Candis C. Jones. Photo by Lia Chang
Lizann Mitchell, Lynnette R. Freeman, Ericka Dickerson-Despenza, Candis C. Jones. Photo by Lia Chang
Nambi E. Kelley and Lynnette R. Freeman. Photo by Lia Chang
Cole Bullock with his grandmother. Photo by Lia Chang
Kit Yan, Paulo Tiról, Melissa Li, Kyoung H. Park and Nikhil Mahapatra. Photo by Lia Chang
Kit Yan and Paulo K. Tiról. Photo by Lia Chang
Melissa Li, Kit Yan and Paulo Tiról. Photo by Lia Chang
Jason Veasey, Lynnette R. Freeman and Margaret Odette. Photo by Lia Chang
Mathilde Dratwa, Signe V. Harriday. Photo by Lia Chang
Ashley D. Kelley and Antwayn Hopper. Photo by Lia Chang
Allison Gold and Tessa Raden Gregory. Photo by Lia Chang
Ashley D. Kelley and Kit Yan. Photo by Lia Chang
Signe V. Harriday and Candis C. Jones. Photo by Lia Chang
Kiet Tai Cao and Lia Chang
Nambi E. Kelley and Lia Chang
Antwayn Hopper and Lia Chang
Rachel Routh and Lia Chang
Lia Chang and Paulo K Tiról
Tessa Raden Gregory. Photo by Lia Chang
Benjamin Velez, Mathilde Dratwa. Photo by Lia Chang
The DFG Fellows Class of 2019-2020 includes Melis Aker, Nolan Doran, Avi Amon, Kate Douglas, Elliah Heifetz, Jessica Kahkoska, Nikhil Mahapatra, Kyoung H. Park, Andrew Rincón, Andy Robinson and Paulo K Tiról.
Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellows, Class of 2019-2020- 1st Row: Elliah Heifetz, Andrew Rincón, Nolan Doran. 2nd Row: Andy Roninson, Jessica Kahkoska, Paulo K Tiról, Nikhil Mahapatra, Kyoung H. Park. Photo by Lia ChangDramatists Guild Foundation Fellows, Class of 2019-2020- Andy Roninson, Elliah Heifetz, Jessica Kahkoska, Paulo K Tiról and Nolan Doran. Photo by Lia ChangDramatists Guild Foundation Fellows, Class of 2019-2020-Nikhil Mahapatra, Andrew Rincón and Kyoung H. Park. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
The conversation was followed by a listening party featuring exclusive music from Chops’ latest Chinese Hip Hop album D.REAMS C.OME T.RU with Founder of Iron Mic Freestyles in China, Dana “Showtyme” Burton, and a special live set from legendary beat juggler DJ Roli Rho.
Tessa Raden Gregory hosted the evening which featured the work of the 2018-2019 class, including Jay Adana and Zeniba Now, Rae Binstock, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Mathilde Dratwa, Aryanna Garber and Benjamin Velez, Charles Gershman, Nambi E. Kelley, Melissa Li and Kit Yan, and Zack Zadek.
