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PEERLESS
by JIEHAE PARK
directed by LILY TUNG CRYSTAL
January 31 - February 16, 2020
A DARK COMEDY INSPIRED BY SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH
High school seniors and Asian American twins M and L will do whatever it takes to get into "The College." When the affirmative action spot is given to D, a white classmate who suddenly claims ambiguous Native American heritage, the sisters will stop at nothing to take back what they think is rightfully theirs. A dark comedy about the very ambitious and the cut-throat world of high school during college admissions.
GENERAL INFORMATION
DATES
January 31 - February 16, 2020
TICKETS
We strive to voice the stories of the Asian American community, and in order to bring performances to those communities whose stories they tell, we are committed to make them as accessible as possible. PAY AS YOU ARE pricing asks those who routinely pay $35 for theater tickets to choose to pay that amount; it is the actual fair market value of the ticket. If an audience member needs to pay less, they can choose to pay less – as little as $5 per ticket.
Seating is general admission.
VENUE
PEERLESS will take place at Gremlin Theatre, located at Annex Building, 550 Vandalia St, St Paul, MN 55114.
For directions or parking information, visit Gremlin Theatre’s website.
ACCESSIBLITY
Sunday, February 2 at 2:00 PM: ASL-interpreted and audio described performance.
POST-SHOW DISCUSSION
February 6 and 13: Stay after the show to have a talkback with the cast.
February 7 and 8: In collaboration with our Twin Cities Theatres of Color Coalition partners, join Theater Mu for post-show discussions to have conversations about racial issues raised in the play.
CONTENT ADVISORY
This production contains strong language, racist and ableist language, violence, death, discussion of suicide.
PEERLESS is recommended for ages 13+.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
There’s a lot of content in the show to discuss and unpack. We’d love to have further conversations with you, but there just isn’t enough time in the day!
CLICK HERE to read more about the social issues raised in the show and view resources to continue your learning.
CAST
FRANCESCA DAWIS
M
ISABELLA DAWIS *
L
NEAL BECKMAN
D / D’s Brother
MEREDITH CASEY
Dirty Girl / Preppy Girl
KENYAI O’NEAL *
BF
CREATIVE TEAM
LILY
TUNG CRYSTAL
Director
KATIE
BRADLEY
Associate Director
LYNDSEY R.
HARTER *
Stage Manager
JAYA
ROBILLARD
Assistant Stage Manager
JOE
STANLEY
Scenic Designer & Technical Director
KHAMPHIAN
VANG
Costume Designer
KARIN
OLSON
Lighting Designer
AIDAN
ENDO
Assistant Lighting Designer
KEVIN
SPRINGER
Sound Designer
KENJI
SHOEMAKER
Properties Designer
ANNIE JIN
WANG
Dramaturg
ERIC POGI
SUMANGIL
Fight Choreographer
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States
PHOTOS
PHOTOS BY RICH RYAN
IN THE NEWS
FEATURES
Sister act: Minneapolis actors return from New York to play siblings in dark comedy ‘Peerless’
Sisters return to Twin Cities to play twin sisters
REVIEWS
“It’s a sparkling local directing debut for Tung Crystal, who admirably guides our slide from smile-inducing comic banter into a dark maelstrom of ambition run amok. If her skill in staging prove as strong as on peerless good things lie ahead for Theater Mu and its audiences.”
“Peerless takes an unflinching look at stereotypes and biases, how we used them to our advantage, how we undermine each other instead of being allies, how minority groups are forced to battle it out for the limited power available to them.”
“peerless was a bold choice for Tung Crystal to open her leadership with, and I'm excited to see what she has next in store.”
“The Dawis sisters are whip-smart as the twins. The have a strong mastery of the dialogue, mesmerizing both the characters in the show and the audience.”
“Lily Tung Crystal, who just last year took over the reins as artistic director of Theater Mu, directs her first production for the company with great success.”
“Lighting designer Emmet Kowler loves the play “Peerless,” now on stage at Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul. The story revolves around two twin sisters who are determined to win a coveted “affirmative action” spot at a prestigious college. Kowler says the play is actually a witty update of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Theater Mu’s production takes audiences on a similarly dark ride.”
“peerless is directed by Theater Mu’s Artistic Director Lily Tung Crystal. She has created a fast paced and inventive production, never sacrificing the humor and entertainment of the play, but also shining a light on the issues underneath.”
“It may seem odd, to have a comedic take on Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's most well known tragedies, but Park's play does it brilliantly.”
“The show settles into its rhythm with the help of a fluid set by Joe Stanley and a killer playlist by sound designer Kevin Springer. An extra kudos goes to costume designer Khamphian Vang.”
“Francesca and Isabella work flawlessly together. Their overlapping dialogue and physical familiarity with one another cement M and L’s relationship as the emotional center of the piece.”
“peerless is dark and relentless. It comments on stereotypes and the lengths people will go to for admission to the “right” college, for themselves or their children.”
MEET THE DIRECTOR
LILY TUNG CRYSTAL is an actor, director, and artistic director of Theater Mu. She is also the founding artistic director emeritus of Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her directing work includes David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish and his revival of Flower Drum Song at Palo Alto Players, and the San Francisco leg of the simultaneous world premiere of Leah Nanako Winkler’s Two Mile Hollow at Ferocious Lotus. For all three shows, she was named a Theatre Bay Area Award finalist for Outstanding Direction. Tung Crystal also directed the Bay Area premiere of the musical Allegiance at Contra Costa Civic Theatre. As a performer, she has worked with theatres across the country, including Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, Cal Shakes, Crowded Fire, Magic Theatre, Mountain Play, New World Stages, Portland Center Stage, SF Playhouse, and Syracuse Stage. Tung Crystal is a 2016 YBCA 100 honoree, named by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as a “creative pioneer making the provocations that will shape the future of culture.”
MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT
JIEHAE PARK’s plays include peerless (Yale Rep premiere, Cherry Lane MP, Marin Theatre Co, Barrington Stage, First Floor, Company One, Moxie), Hannah and the Dread Gazebo (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Here We Are Here (Sundance Theater-Makers residency, Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, Princess Grace Works-in-Progress @ Baryshnikov Arts Center), The Aves (McCarter Spotlight Festival), and contributions to Wondrous Strange (Humana/Actor’s Theatre of Louisville). Her work has been developed through the Soho Rep Writer-Director Lab, the Public’s Emerging Writers Group, p73’s i73, Playwrights Horizons, CTG Writers Workshop, NYTW, Atlantic, Old Globe, Dramatists Guild Fellowship, Ojai Conference, BAPF, and the amazing Ma-Yi Writers Lab. Awards: Leah Ryan, Princess Grace, Weissberger, ANPF Women’s Invitational; two years on the Kilroys List. Commissions: Playwrights Horizons, Yale Rep, Geffen, OSF, Williamstown, MTC/Sloan. Residencies: MacDowell, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, McCarter/Sallie B. Goodman. As a performer, she most recently appeared in Ripe Time/Naomi Iizuka's adaption of Murakami's SLEEP (BAM Next Wave, Yale Rep) and Celine Song’s ENDLINGS (ART). TV: staff writer, season one of Marvel's RUNAWAYS. She is a NYTW Usual Suspect, Lincoln Center Theater New Writer in Residence, former Hodder Fellow, and current New Dramatist. BA, Amherst; MFA, UCSD.