Rodgers and Hammerstein’s multiple Tony-winning classic The King and I is on a tour starring Ronobir Lahiri as The King of Siam and Victoria Mallory as Anna, helmed by Baayork Lee, with choreography by Susan Kikuchi and Jerome Robbins, in a three city tour.

The King and I tour presented by Theater of the Stars, kicked off at The Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach, VA. on August 28, 2012, for three performances. From August 31st – September 2, the show will have five performances at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA., before heading to the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA., September 5 – 11.

Based on the real life adventures of the English widow Anna Leonowens, and the best-selling 1944 novel, Anna and the King of Siamby Margaret Landon, The King and I is a fascinating tale about a clash of customs and finding love in spite of our differences.

Set in the 1860’s in Bangkok, The King and I is the timeless love story between a powerful and stubborn king and a determined governess named Anna. The show features opulent settings, a beautiful story of honor and forgiveness, and is filled with memorable songs such as “Hello Young Lovers,” “I Whistle A Happy Tune,” “Shall We Dance?” and “Getting To Know You.”

The King and I

Concert pianist Lang Lang will be performing
in a live broadcast to theaters across the country on
Saturday October 22 at 8:00pm EST
(6:00pm MT/8:00pm PT tape delay).

A rebroadcast performance is scheduled for
Monday, October 24 at 6:00pm ET
(6:00pm MT/8:00pm PT). 

Tickets and the complete list of
theaters are available now at:

http://www.fathomevents.com

Nearly 130 years after it voted to ban Chinese immigrants from entering the United States, the U.S. Senate expressed its regrets Friday for that law and decades of racial discrimination against Chinese Americans. Click here for the full story.

Desipina & Co. – a fusion arts company focusing in film and theatre, dedicated to promoting cross-pollinations of artistic, political and cultural dialogues – in conjunction with Ma-Yi Writers Lab, will present a workshop of LONELY LEELA, a new play by Rehana Lew Mirza (TCG Future Leader Fellow, Lark/IAAC Playwright in Residence). The play is an “Alice in Wonderland” inspired multi-media, puppet adventure where malicious codes and white knight bloggers meet in a shifting world of everything’s at your fingertips but you can’t quite find what you’re looking for.

Performances for LONELY LEELA are Wednesday, September 5 to Saturday, September 8 at 7:00pm, at HERE (145 6th Avenue, enter on Dominick, 1 block south of Spring Street) in New York.

Directed by Robert Ross Parker (co-Artistic Director of the Obie Award-winning Vampire Cowboys), LONELY LEELA features a cast that includes: Quinlan Corbett (YOUR BOYFRIEND MAY BE IMAGINARY), Andrew Guilarte (INVASION), Anna Kull (MILK), Maria-Christina Oliveras (BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON), Matt Park (WE IN SILENCE HEAR A WHISPER), Lipica Shah (DOV & ALI), and David Shih (CRANE STORY).

LONELY LEELA is produced by Ying Le for Desipina & Co. and has a design team that includes Jason Simms (set), Jake Witlen (video and lighting), Spica Wobbe (puppets), Ien DeNio (sound and music), Dax Valdes (choreographer), Jenny Fisher (costumes) and stage management by John Nehlich.

This...

        The recent death of Steve Jobs, a man who dared to dream and create beyond the constraints of the prevailing consciousness, brought many people including me to a place of deeper reflection. What does it mean to be really alive? How do I make sure that I am living my highest potential every day? How do I ensure that I will feel at peace when it is my time to leave this planet?

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.
Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.
  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
                  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
                 Everything else is secondary.”  --- Steve Jobs 

I believe above quote holds a key to Jobs’ success. He followed his life purpose, what he was born to do. He didn’t have his life path handed to him on a silver platter. He was given up for adoption; he quit college after one semester because it was draining his parents’ entire life savings for him to attend. He still wanted to learn so he slept on the floor of his friends’ dorm rooms. He sold soft drink bottles he scavenged to return for money to buy food so he could sneak in to attend classes.