The co-production will open April 20 for a run at the Connecticut company's Stage II in New Haven through May 1. The same staging will then transfer May 19 to the New York troupe's Peter Jay Sharp Theater for a May 31 opening and run though June 12.
Long Wharf artistic director Gordon Edelstein directs a cast that includes Jeremy Hollingworth (Broadway's Sly Fox, Fortune's Fool), Scott Hudson (Off Broadway in Our Lady of 121st Street, MCC's The Glory of Living ), three time Obie Award winner Karen Kandel (Lear, Peter and Wendy, Talk ), Sue Jean Kim (The Imaginary Invalid at The Pearl), Kel Martin (2004 NYU/Tisch graduate in her Off-Broadway debut), James McMenamin (Austin Pendleton's Three Sisters and Ann Reinking's Tonight at 8:30 at Williamstown), Olivia Oguma (the national tour of Les Misérables, Sarah Plain and Tall at The Lortel), Kate Rigg (Off-Broadway in The Vagina Monologues, Dogeaters, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told ) and James Saito (Broadway's Golden Child, national tours of Flower Drum Song, The King & I).
In BFE, "An Asian-American family attempts to escape its stifling Arizonan home life." The play "tells the story of Panny (Oguma), a spunky 14-year-old; her socially awkward uncle (Saito); her homebound mom (Rigg), who fantasizes about General MacArthur; and the serial killer (Hudson) that stalks their neighborhood in search of bubbly blondes. A cautionary tale about the devastating effects of an image obsessed society, BFE calls into question the nature of beauty and desirability in contemporary America."
BFE is the winner of Williamstown Theatre Festival's 2004 L. Arnold Weissberger Award. Julia Cho's plays include 99 Histories and The Architecture of Loss.
The design team features Takeshi Kata (scenic), Jayde Chabot (costumes), Paul Whitaker (lighting) and Andre Pluess (sound) — who also provides original music. Production stage manager is Linda Marvel. For tickets to BFE at Long Wharf Theatre, 222 Sargent Drive in New Haven, CT are available by calling (203) 787-4282 or toll-free (800) 782-8497. For more information, visit the website at www.longwharf.org.
