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2023 OSCARS WINS! EPIC NIGHT OF FIRSTS FOR WINNERS

Posted by Suzanne Kai - on Sunday, 12 March 2023

2023 OSCARS WINS! EPIC NIGHT OF FIRSTS FOR WINNERS
By Suzanne Joe Kai and Martha Shaw Hollywood March 12, 2023 Everything Everywhere All at Once wins Best Picture!  Nominated for an astounding 11 awards and taking home 7 that night, this film and its historic implications are epic.  Michelle Yeoh is the first Asian actress to win the Best Actress award for her role in the most nominated film "Everything, Everywhere All At Once."  A film industry veteran, Yeoh, 60, received great praise for her role and during her...

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Sept. 18-Oct. 21: La Jolla, CA - Manu Narayan, Johnny Wu, Peter Maloney, Jeff Marlow, Matt MacNelly, Kevin Skousen & Ray Anthony Thomas Set for La Jolla Playhouse’s Glengarry Glen Ross

Posted by Lia Chang on Monday, 17 September 2012

Johnny Wu plays John Williamson in David Mamet's Pulitzer-Prize Winning Glengarry Glenn Ross

La Jolla, California

La Jolla Playhouse is presenting David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Glengarry Glen Ross, directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre, with performances from September 18 – October 21, 2012. Click here for the complete performance schedule and to purchase tickets online, or call The Playhouse Box Office at (858) 550-1010. La Jolla Playhouse is located on the UCSD Campus via the Revelle Entrance, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive in La Jolla, CA.

Manu Narayan (Photo by Lia Chang)


The cast features Peter Maloney (Broadway’s West Side Story, Six Degrees of Separation) as “Shelly Levene,” Jeff Marlow (Colony Theatre’s Around the World in 80 Days) as “James Lingk,” Matt MacNelly (NY Fringe Festival’sFourteen Flights) as “Baylen,” Manu Narayan (Broadway’s Bombay Dreams) as “Richard Roma,” Kevin Skousen (Public Theatre’s Talk Radio) as “Dave Moss,” Ray Anthony Thomas (Broadway’s Race) as “George Aaronow” and Johnny Wu (Playhouse’s Peter and the Starcatchers, Broadway’s Chinglish) as “John Williamson.”

Johnny Wu (Photo by Lia Chang)


The creative team includes: Christopher Ashley, director; Todd Rosenthal, set design; Toni Leslie James (Playhouse’s Milk Like Sugar), costume design; David Lander (Playhouse’s 33 Variations

Art Hsu stars in The FP - the SXSW hit

Posted by AC Team on Friday, 16 March 2012

Art Hsu stars in The FP - the SXSW hit



March 15, 2012 - 

THE FP

Written and Directed by: Brandon Trost & Jason Trost

Starring: Jason Trost, Lee Valmassy, Art Hsu, Caitlyn Folley, Nick Principe, Brandon Barrera, James DeBello, Sean Whalen, and James Remar

Indie film The FP makes its debut in limited release in theaters nationally today March 16, 2012. Click here for The FP screening schedule. 

I would go to see The FP only because Art Hsu is one of the stars in this quirky, funny movie.

Film critics are writing that this homage to retro-80's B movies and 90's hip hop spoken by white folks is hilarious, utterly ridiculous, and fun.

A word of caution however, one reviewer warned there is some rough dialogue that is racist, sexist and homophobic in this retro romp.

The FP won the Audience Award at 2011’s Fantasia International Film Festival in Toronto, and was a hit at 2011's SXSW, the mega film and music festival in Austin, Texas. 

AsianConnections' interview with Art will be posted soon! 

Meanwhile, enjoy our exclusive interview with Art on his first feature film starring role back in 2009 in Cranked: High Voltage!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berkeley, CA - Extended run through October 21! David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, Starring Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge

Posted by Lia Chang on Monday, 17 September 2012

Larry Lei Zhang and Michelle Krusiec in Chinglish Photo courtesy KevinBerne.com

Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge star in the critically acclaimed West Coast premiere of David Henry Hwang’s recent Broadway comedy Chinglish, in the Roda Theatre of the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre, directed by Leigh Silverman, which opened to stellar reviews, and has been extended through October 21, 2012. The cast of Chinglish also features Vivian Chiu, Celeste Den, Austin Ku, Brian Nishii and Larry Lei Zhang.

(l to r) Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge star in Berkeley Rep’s production of Chinglish, a new comedy from David Henry Hwang. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com

Chinglish received its Broadway premiere in Fall 2011, was named “Best American Play of 2011” by TIME magazine, and as one of the Top 10 Broadway shows of the year by Bloomberg Radio, NY1 and WNYC.

Larry Lei Zhang and Michelle Krusiec star in Berkeley Rep’s production of Chinglish, a new comedy from David Henry Hwang. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com


David Henry Hwang won three Obies and the Tony Award for Best Play with M. Butterfly and FOB. Now he’s back with a canny comedy of cross-cultural errors. Leigh Silverman returns to the Roda Theatre to stage the twists in a terrific play she took to Broadway. Love is on the line, and laughter fills the ledger in Chinglish. Love is on the line, and laughter fills the ledger in Chinglish

San Diego area (Balboa Park, CA) - Sept 7 - Oct 21 - Check here for more dates & events - George Takei, Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and Paolo Montalban in World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical

Posted by Lia Chang on Monday, 17 September 2012

George Takei in Allegiance - A New America Musical  Photo by Henry DeRocco

The cast of the World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.

George Takei stars in an all-star cast in Allegiance - A New American Music. Yes that's George in the uniform below! San Diego's (Balboa Park) The Old Globe is presenting the World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical, an epic story of family, love and patriotism set during the Japanese American internment of World War II.  Opening night is Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box. More dates and related events below.

Michael K. Lee as Frankie Suzuki (center) with (from left) Kay Trinidad, MaryAnn Hu, Ann Sanders and Katie Boren in the World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.

On the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, a meeting with a young journalist forces WWII veteran Sam Kimura to remember his family’s relocation from their California farm to the Heart Mountain internment camp in Wyoming. As they struggle to adjust to their new home, Young Sam and his sister Kei find themselves torn between loyalty to their family and allegiance to their country. With its moving score, Allegiance – A New American Musical takes audiences on a journey into our nation’s history through the eyes of one American family.

Video: Academy Award Winner Chris Tashima Talks with Lia Chang About His Roles in Lily Mariye’s Model Minority and Lil Tokyo Reporter

Posted by AC Team on Monday, 17 September 2012

Filmmaker and Actor Chris Tashima Photo by Lia Chang

By Lia Chang

Academy award winning director and actor Chris Tashima can currently be seen in three very different films.

He is in Jeffrey Gee Chin’s narrative short Lil Tokyo Reporter as Sei Fujii, an immigrant pioneer, leader and publisher.

In Lily Mariye’s impressive directorial debut feature Model Minority, Chris gives a rich multi-layered performance as the Sansei alcoholic father.

And in Eric Byler’s Americanese he plays the romantic lead opposite Joan Chen, which won a Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble Cast at the South by Southwest Film Festival.

Chris Tashima and Joan Chen in Eric Byler’s Americanese. Photo courtesy Eric Byler


He has appeared in several noted independent features including Rea Tajiri’s Strawberry Fields, starring Suzy Nakamura, and Sherwood X. Hu’s Lani Loa -The Passage (from executive producers Francis Ford Coppola and Wayne Wang), as well as Hu’s ensemble drama, On the Roof.

Tashima received an Academy Award® for the dramatic short film, Visas and Virtue, which he directed, co-wrote and starred as Holocaust rescuer Chiune Sugihara. For television, he directed, co-wrote and acted in the PBS Special, Day of Independence, receiving an EMMY® nomination. Visas and Virtue and Day of Independence is available on DVD and can be found here.

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