Theater News

Daniel K. Isaac's Once Upon a (Korean) Time Sets World Premiere

Ma-Yi Theater Company produces Isaac’s playwriting debut.

Daniel K. Isaac's Once Upon a (Korean) Time will have its world premiere with Ma-Yi Theater Company.
Daniel K. Isaac's Once Upon a (Korean) Time will have its world premiere with Ma-Yi Theater Company.
(© Emil Cohen)

Ma-Yi Theater Company has announced details for its upcoming world-premiere production of Once Upon a (Korean) Time. Directed by Ralph B. Peña, performances will run from August 23-September 18 at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre, with a press opening set for August 31.

Once Upon a (Korean) Time mixes traditional Korean fables with the horrors of the Korean War. As the characters move through time, the story traces the legacies of trauma that are passed from one generation to the next, and the various coping mechanisms that are used to soldier on.

The cast features Sonnie Brown, Sasha Diamond, David Lee Huynh, Teresa Avia Lim, Jon Norman Schneider, David Shih, and Jillian Sun, with Daniel K. Isaac and Sami Ma serving as understudies.

The production's creative team includes Se Oh (scenic design), Phuong Nguyen (costume design), Oliver Wason (lighting design), Yee Eun Nam (projection design), Fabian Obispo (sound design), Alexander Wylie (props design), and AK Howard (production stage manager).

Isaac is an alumnus of SPACE on Ryder Farm, Page73's Interstate 73, Ensemble Studio Theatre's Youngblood, and a Lambda Literary Playwriting Fellow. As an actor, Isaac's stage credits include The Chinese Lady (Ma-Yi/The Public/Barrington Stage), You Never Touched the Dirt (Clubbed Thumb), The Gentleman Caller (Abingdon), among others. On screen, he is well known for his six seasons as Ben Kim on the Showtime series Billions.