New York Premiere of Multilingual Musical Rent A White Guy, With Holly Chou, Mara Measor, Begins Sept. 19

By Michael Gioia
19 Sep 2012

Mara Measor
Mara Measor
Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

Fish Out of Water Productions, which features works from Americans living abroad, presents the New York premiere of Rent A White Guy, a multilingual musical fable about the life of foreigners living in China, Sept. 19-30 at the Secret Theatre in Long Island City.

Written by Anna Grace Carter (Prom Night of the Living Dead), the musical chronicles firsthand experiences through scenes and songs in English and Chinese (with English supertitles).

Elizabeth Murray directs a cast that includes Simon Pearl, Danielle Beckmann, Clara Wong, Carl Hsu, Ariel Marcus, German Rodriguez, Helene Ellford, Holly Chou (These Seven Sicknesses, Future Anxiety at The Flea), Mara Measor (Bluebird at Atlantic Theatre Company), Noah Brendemuehl, Paul T. Falzone, Ray Sheen, Ryun Hobbs, Shawna Shin, Ya Han Chang and ZiLong Pu.

Based on Carter's actual experiences of living in Beijing, Rent A White Guy, according to Fish Out of Water, "is a full-length musical about Charlie (from Anytown, USA) who dreams of becoming a famous writer. But, when a magical fortune cookie leads him to get a job as an English teacher in China, he encounters a strange new world that he doesn't understand and that doesn't understand him. Unhappy with his new position as an English teacher (the 'fast-food worker' job for foreigners in China) he meets an agent who offers him the opportunity to pose as a fake businessman and make a lot of cash. After taking the offer, his dreams of completing his novel begin to vanish as he gets sucked deeper into the world of corporate impersonation and fame."

Other members of the creative team include scenic designer Joseph Croghan, costume designer Mike Kaukl, lighting designer Sarah Abigail Hoke-Brady, projections/graphic designer John Wyffels, choreographer Dustin Cross, assistant director Logan Reed, translator Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li and general manager Kevin Lambert. Musical arrangements are by Jeremy Robin Lyons and musical director Rebecca Perlman. Ashley Timm is the production's associate producer.

The Secret Theatre is located at 44 02 23rd Street in Long Island City. For more information and tickets, visit SecretTheatre.com or RentAWhiteGuyTheMusical.com.