TheaterMania to Stream NAATCO's All-Asian American Our Town, Led by Amy Hill and Midori Francis Iwama
(images via NAATCO)
In celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the National Asian American Theatre Company will present a one-night only reading of Thornton Wilder's Our Town, taking place May 19 at 8pm ET. The event will be streamed by TheaterMania, with tickets available here.
The benefit reading will include an entirely Asian American company delivering the enduring messages of the drama: "that the eternal exists in the everyday, and that knowing true joy and happiness comes from taking the time to look and listen. During this divisive time in our country, NAATCO's Our Town reflects and emphasizes the kinship among people of disparate cultures."
The reading was proposed by actor Yumi Iwama, who played Emily Webb in NAATCO's 1994 production of the play. For this reading, Iwama will take on the role of Mrs. Webb, with her niece, Midori Francis Iwama (Usual Girls) taking on the role of Emily. Amy Hill (Magnum P.I.) will play the Stage Manager.
In alphabetical order, the rest of the cast includes Cindy Cheung as Mrs. Gibbs, Autumn Domingo as Baseball Player 1, Ron Domingo as Mr. Webb, John D. Haggerty as Dr. Gibbs, Paul Juhn as Simon Stimson, Glenn Kubota as Joe Stoddard, Clara Haru Mulligan as Rebecca Gibbs, Olivia Oguma as Professor Willard, Trevor Salter as George Gibbs, Jon Norman Schneider as Howie Newsome, Alok Tewari as Constable Warren, CJ Uy as Wally Webb, Izaac Wang as Si Crowell, and Rita Wolf as Mrs. Soames. There will be guest appearances from NAATCO cofounder Richard Eng (2nd Dead Man), associate producer Peter Kim (Sam Craig), board founder Larry Schafer (1st Dead Man), and graphic designer Kate Katigbak (Lady in the Box), as well as New Georges Artistic Director Susan Bernfield (1st Dead Woman) and Clubbed Thumb Artistic Director Maria Striar (2nd Dead Woman).
NATTCO cofounder Mia Katigbak will direct, with Sean Koa Seu as assistant director, Alyssa K. Howard as production stage manager, and Miranda Cornell as production assistant. The company will collaborate with Virtual Design Collective (VidCo) on this project. All proceeds from this reading will support NAATCO's work.
