Curtain Call: ‘Blikbayan Box’ Chronicles Filipino Immigrant Experiences
Broadway: A Broadway revival of 1776 is currently in previews at the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard University and is set to arrive on Broadway in 2023. This musical revival provides a bold perspective and creative reimagining of early United States history, casting women, trans, and nonbinary actors as the Founding Fathers.
André De Shields performed for the last time as Hermes in the Broadway run of Hadestown. In 2019, he received the Tony for “Best Featured Actor in a Musical”. In addition to this, De Shields has won both Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards, playing this role. His replacement in the role of Hermes is yet to be announced.
Off Broadway: A collaborative musical piece between South Korean and American theater troupes is finally seeing the stage after three years of incubation. The Legend of The Waitress & The Robber had its world premiere at P.S. 21. The musical combines two literary works, “The Robbers” and “The Story of Hong Gildong”. This fused interpretation takes place in a dystopian future telling a story about family alienation.
Primary Stages has announced two new plays set to premiere at the 59E59 Theaters this summer. On That Day in Amsterdam is a love story about two young men: a Middle Eastern refugee and an American backpacker who is the child of immigrants. The play chronicles the final day the two have together before they part ways. Peerless is a dark comedy, that reimagines the events of The Tragedy of Macbeth under a high-pressure college admissions environment. It follows two Asian American siblings as they conspire to seize their rightful place at “The College”.
The Art of Killin’ It, an interactive murder mystery comedy with people of color cast, is set to open in early June. This story takes the audience to Hardigan Manor for an exclusive album release party, however, when an influencer is found murdered, the night takes a turn for the playfully mysterious.
Making its New York debut in May, Fat Ham reimagines the story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a comic tragedy, following Juicy, a black, queer college student as he grapples with identity and navigating personal trauma. This collaborative work from The Public Theatre and the National Black Theatre recently received an extension into early July after its initial run received gloving reviews.
Regional: The west coast premiere of Tambo & Bones recently finished its run at the Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre. This provocative piece dissects the history of minstrelsy in the United States and the implications of that history on modern-day black performance. This conversation is explored through the story of titular characters, who find themselves trapped within a minstrel show.
Blikbayan Box, a new play by Jeffrey Lo, is currently running at TheaterFirst’s Live Oak Theater thru Jun 12th. The show tells a modern love story about Joseph and Bethany, two Filipino immigrants who, under family pressure, agree to an arranged marriage. As they begin to live together, waiting out the time until they can apply for US Citizenship, love emerges, complicated by family obligations.
David Hooley
International: Son of Bylos, a cross-cultural dramedy that examines queer sexuality under a Lebanese-Australian cultural context, recently ended its run at the Belvoir Downstairs Theatre. The play explores the complex lives of Adam, Claire, and Angela, all struggling to fend off the cultural and parental pressure they exist under, with the quickest escape being the equally pressurized institution of heterosexual marriage.
