LesbeAsian: Ks Stevens & "Big Excellent 20th Reunion"

Click here to listen to LesbeAsian's interview with Ks Stevens!

BIG EXCELLENT 20TH REUNION:

A musical comedy for the entire LGBTQA community

SYNOPSIS

ALLY is a single mother and lesbian, who passed away from cancer a few days before her high school’s BIG EXCELLENT 20TH REUNION. Before ALLY died, she asked her daughter, ERICA KLEIN, an 18 year old woman of color, to go in her place, and deliver her last message to her dearest friends. Because ALLY sent each of them a free plane ticket they all show up to attend the reunion. It is quickly revealed all were closeted during...

high school. KEVIN YIH is a gay therapist who was homeless, and now works with at-risk youth and is living with HIV. MITCH JOHNSON is a gay man who was kicked out of the military, and became a leatherman and Hollywood stuntman. DEBRA GONZALES is a Latina bisexual who traded in her profession in the mortgage industry for a new law degree. SAMANTHA BLAINE (Elizabeth Whitney) is a cat-loving lesbian romance writer. And DANIELLE PARKER (Bianca Leigh) is transsexual Professor of Queer Theory and the former quarterback of the football team. Due to personalities and dynamics, it’s no easy task for ERICA to deliver ALLY’s message, as this play reveals the differences and internalized prejudices within the queer community. There are anthems for everyone within this play and it is a deeply intimate story for those who have ever loved family and friends who are queer, from interracial and/or adopted families, or have been touched by cancer and HIV.

Contact: K.Stevens.Plays @ gmail.com; www.ksstevens.com

CREW
Ks Stevens - Lyrics, Libretto and Composition
Brad Gardner - Musical Direction and Arrangements 
Natalie Malotke - Choreographer
Regie Cabico - Director
Jamar Green - Director’s Assistant
Freddy Hall - Musician
Marques Walls - Musician
Sir Real - Lighting Designer and Operator
Mitch Lunsford - Illustrator

CAST

Bianca Leigh as Danielle Parker

Elizabeth Whitney as Samantha Blaine
Clarence P Ilanan as Kevin Yih
Vincent DiGeronimo as Mitch Johnson
Raven Troup as Erica Klein

BIG EXCELLENT 20TH REUNION is made in PARTNERSHIP with:

MCCNY Homeless Youth Services: Sylvia's Place, H.A.L.O (Helping and Loving Orphans), The Catalyst Foundation, Project Renewal, LGBT Community Center NYC Cultural Programs, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, WOW Cafe Theatre, BKLYN Dry Goods, Cap 21 Studios, Queers For Economic Justice, Fourth Arts Block, Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and HB Studio.

The PREMIERE is JUNE 6TH, 2012 with a RED CARPET at 6:30 P.M., show is at 8 P.M. by Invitation Only. 

There are 19 Performances in June for a three week run. The Final Performance is on June 23rd, 2012,

the night before NYC PRIDE SUNDAY 2012.


The play is located at THEATRE 80 (80 Saint Marks Place, between 1st and 2nd Avenues) in Manhattan. Tickets go on sale MAY 1ST, 2012 on THEATERMANIA.COM.

Tickets are $55 and $30 for seniors over 62 and students. Performances will be held on the following dates and times:

BIG EXCELLENT 20TH REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

Ks STEVENSPhoto Credits: Sophia Wallace 

Ks Stevens (Creator, Lyricist, Librettist and Composer, Producer) is an Asian American woman and self- producing Playwright. Her previous plays include Butch Mamas!, Yellow Lens and The Scene, and her short film is Katie & Kaden. She was named one of GO Magazine’s: 100 Women We Love and was a Miss Lez pageant winner. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America, Women’s Initiative 50/50 in 2020, The Asian American Film Lab, and WOW Cafe Theatre.

Natalie Malotke (Choreographer) is an independent producer, director, choreographer and teaching artist living in NYC. Recent work includes performances for Nickelodeon, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Lincoln Center, Broadway Dance Center and numerous regional theaters.

Regie Cabico (Director) received a 2006 New York Innovative Theater Best Performance Art Production Award for his work in the New York Neo-Futurist's production of Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind. His plays and stories have been produced at The Kennedy Center Play Lab, The Humana Theater Festival, The Hip Hop Theater Festival, The Magic Theater, Theater Offensive, Dixon Place. His has appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and NPR's Snap Judgement.

Bianca Leigh (Danielle Parker) is a legitimate actress dubbed “a break-out star” by TimeOut magazine, Miss Leigh is one of downtown theatre’s leading lights. Bianca recently finished a successful return engagement of her solo musical BUSTED at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. Her eclectic roles include “Time/Wind” in Taylor Mac’s The Lily’s Revenge, “Livia” in Theatre Askew’s “I, Claudius, Live,” “Olivia” in Twelfth Night (performed entirely in American Sign Language), “Sylvia Rivera,” “Tammy Fay Baker” and “Loreena Bobbit.” Miss Leigh is best known for her role as “Mary Ellen” in the groundbreaking film TransAmerica.

Elizabeth Whitney (Samantha Blaine) has toured original performance work internationally and received awards for her one person shows from Curve Magazine, Fresh Fruit Festival, and the Columbus Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival. Her New York theatre credits include Let Them Eat Cake (Dixon Place, nominated for GLAAD Media Award), The Secretaries (NYC Fringe 2010 Best Ensemble), and And Sophie Comes Too (TOSOS Theatre Co.).

Brad Gardner (Musical Direction and Arrangements) has worked regionally as a music director and accompanist at Arena Stage in D.C. and at North Carolina Theatre. Mr. Gardner currently is a pianist for Silence! The Musical, as well as a broadway vocal coach.

Freddy Hall (Musician) is a Broadway musician whose previous credits include Spring Awakening and Lysistrata Jones.

Marques Walls (Musician) is a Broadway musician whose previous credits include Spring Awakening, Lysistrata Jones and RENT (National Tour).

Sir Real (Lighting Designer and Operator) - aka Amy C. Russell - designer, producer and drag/gender-mash/ burlesque performer for over 16 years, most recently as a member of WOW Cafe Theatre.

Jamar Green (Director’s Assistant) was the Producer and Director for the web series “Back to School with Mr. Green” at Hobart & William Smith Colleges. Mr. Green was the Captain and Choreographer for the Hip-No Tiqs, Dance/Step Team and the Co-Captain for the Cursetown Cougars, Dance Team (featured on MTV’s American’s Best Dance Crew).

Onyx Jackson-Preston (Stage Manager) has Stage Managed for “West Side Story” and “The Music Man” at the Bronx High School of Science in New York City. She is also a Camp Counselor and Teaching Assistant for the Abyssinian Baptist Church’s summer camp’s Theater Department.

Mitch Lunsford (Illustrator) is the Creative Director and Artistic Director for ML Work. He has worked on numerous advertising campaigns and designs for over 25 years.

BKLYN DRY GOODS (Costumes) is led by Jahn Hall and Kurt Uhlendorf and is a vintage clothing company specializing in creating unique collaborations merging aesthetic and an appreciation for goods crafted rugged enough to be cherished and passed down from generation to generation.