By Marie Cheng, Theatre Esprit Asia
Tria Xiong (left) and Sheila Ivy Traister (right)
Theatre Esprit Asia – TEA will present its third play: 99 Histories, written by leading Korean American playwright Julia Cho and directed by much-sought-after director Terry Dodd. It’s a poignant drama of Eunice, a violin prodigy who returns home, pregnant and unwed, to her very Korean immigrant mother.
What unfolds is a tale of love, legacy and the bond between mothers and daughters. TEA’s co-artistic founder/director Tria Xiong stars as Eunice. Lauded for her work by the Denver Post in Vintage Theatre’s Joy Luck Club, Xiong says, “I love this character as she struggles with mental anguish, memories of loss and a violent past. It’ll be intense – she’s on stage almost the entire play. And I did play the violin, but I wasn’t a prodigy. Thank goodness I don’t have to play live!”
Sheila Ivy Traister, noted for her award winning portrayal in Paragon’s The Sound of a Voice and other starring roles, plays Sah-
Jin, Eunice’s fierce mother “who loves deeply and wants great things for her daughter.”
Traister also says, “The beauty of being part of TEA is watching audiences realize that despite cultural differences we are more alike
than dissimilar.”
Dale Li plays Dr. Paul, whom Sah-Jin tries to fix-up with Eunice. Turns out during high school Paul was enormously admiring of Eunice and moved by her virtuosic playing. This past year, Li performed to stellar praise in TEA’s Dust Storm.
Rounding out the cast is Matthew Block, Curious’ After the Revolution, who plays two characters fifty years apart, but similar in their search for love. Kim Yan of Joy Luck Club and 14 year old SunHee Seo also make their debut with TEA. Says SunHee, “I love working with TEA, being part of something bigger than myself, collaborating with this wonderfully creative and innovative cast.”
Theatre Esprit Asia’s
99 Histories by Julia Cho
October 24 – November 16, 2013
Fri & Sat 8pm, Sun 7pm
Vintage Theatre
1468 Dayton St. | Aurora, CO 80010
Tickets: $25 door, $23 advance, $20 students/seniors 60+ and groups of 6 or more
Call 303-856-7830 for tickets or visit www.theatre-esprit-asia.org.
Thank you to TEA’s fiscal sponsor: The Denver Chorale
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