Photos: Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee & Leon Ko’s Heading East, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, Samrat Chakrabarti & Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug!

Photo #49 BD Wong in rehearsal for a staged concert of Heading East, a Richard Rodgers Development Award-winning musical by Robert Lee and Leon Ko on May 22, 2010, at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York. Helmed by Darren Lee, Heading East features a cast lead by Wong, Cindy Cheung, Fay Ann Lee, Manu Narayan, Lydia Gaston, MaryAnn Hu, Ming Chan, Angela Lin, Kelvin Moon Loh, Hazel Anne Raymundo, Jon Norman Schneider and Rodney To. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

From July 20 through August 2, “In Rehearsal”, a display of photographs drawn from the Lia Chang Theater Portfolio in the Library of Congress’ Asian American Pacific Islander Collection, is on view in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room, located in Room 150 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The hours of the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room are 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Photo #83 (1st Row)Rodney To, MaryAnn Hu, Cindy Cheung, Fay Ann Lee, Angela Lin, Hazel Anne Raymundo,(2nd Row) Jon Norman Schneider, Ming Chan, Manu Narayan and Kelvin Moon Loh in rehearsal for a staged concert of Heading East, a Richard Rodgers Development Award-winning musical by Robert Lee and Leon Ko on May 22, 2010, at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

The 36 photographs on display feature Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s “The Lion King Las Vegas”; rehearsals of a staged concert of Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s musical “Heading East” starring BD Wong at the Asia Society in New York; of David Henry Hwang’s play, “ChingLish,” which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago this summer and is bound for Broadway this fall; and of “Bakwas Bumbug!,” a pop opera by Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri, which recently made its off-Broadway debut.

Photo #166 Thom Sesma in makeup on August 23, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Theatre, where he is currently starring as Scar in Disney's The Lion King Las Vegas. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Select materials from the Playwrights’ Archives (AAPI Collection) are also on view, including original scripts by Velina Hasu Houston, Christine Toy Johnson, Jeanne Sakata and Lani Montreal.

Photo #281 Thom Sesma with his dresser Craig West in his dressing room at the Mandalay Bay Theatre, where he is currently starring as Scar in Disney's The Lion King Las Vegas. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Sponsored by the Library of Congress’ Asian Division, the display of Lia Chang Theater Portfolio photographs and select scripts from the Playwrights’ Archives (AAPI Collection) is being held in conjunction with the “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” book event on July 27 at noon in the Mary Pickford Theater, located on the third floor of the Library of Congress James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

David Henry Hwang at the Virginia Theatre in New York during the run of his revisal of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song in March, 2003. Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Editor Rick Shiomi, on behalf of co-editors Josephine Lee and Don Eitel, will discuss their new anthology “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” (Temple University Press, June 2011). A panel discussion will follow with Rick Shiomi and Lia Chang, moderated by Terry Hong.

Playwright David Henry Hwang and director Leigh Silverman discussing script changes during a rehearsal for Chinglish in the Healy Room of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago on June 5, 2011. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

“Asian American Plays for a New Generation” features seven plays. Six of those were developed and produced by Mu Performing Arts, the Midwest’s foremost pan-Asian performing arts organization, founded in Minneapolis in 1992.

(L-R) Stephen Pucci (Peter), Jennifer Lim (Xu Yan), and James Waterston (Daniel) rehearsing a scene for Chinglish in the Healy Room of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago on June 5, 2011. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

“Bahala Na” by Clarence Coo is about the relationship between a grandmother and her grandson who is gay. “Happy Valley,” by Aurorae Khoo, focuses on the plight of the Chinese in Hong Kong when the former British colony comes under Communist Chinese rule. “Asiamnesia,” by Sun Mee Chomet examines the issues facing Asian American women in theater and society. “Sia(b),” by May Lee Yang, is about a young Hmong woman understanding her own identity. “Walleye Kid, The Musical,” by Sundraya Kase, R.A. Shiomi and Kurt Miyashiro is based on the Japanese folktale, “The Peach Boy.” “Ching Chong Chinaman,” by Lauren Yee, is a comedy that explores the stereotype of Asians as “the model minority.” “Indian Cowboy,” by Zaraawar Mistry, focuses on pre- and post-9/11 life in America’s South Asian communities.

Sanjiv Jhaveri and Samrat Chakrabarti, co-creators and co-directors of Bakwas Bumbug at The Wild Project in the East Village after the opening night performance on June 22, 2011. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

The Library of Congress is a central repository for all types of Asian publications that are not broadly available at other locations in the United States. Initiated in 1869 with a gift of 10 works in 934 volumes offered to the United States by the Emperor of China, the Library’s Asian collection of more than 2 million items is the largest and most comprehensive outside of Asia. For more information about the division and its holdings, go to www.loc.gov/rr/asian/.

Bakwas Bumbug cast with co-creator and co-director Sanjiv Jhaveri in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.

The cast of Bakwas Bumbug with co-creator, co-director and composer Samrat Chakrabarti in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on 6/16/11. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

July 20-August 2, 2011
“In Rehearsal”
Library of Congress
Asian Division Reading Room
Thomas Jefferson Building
10 First Street S.E., Room 150
Washington, D.C.
8:30am-4:30pm
On Wednesday, July 27, 2011, Lia Chang will be at the Asian Division Reading Room at 11am and at 1:30pm.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011
“Asian American Plays for a New Generation” Book Talk
Mary Pickford Theater
Library of Congress
James Madison Building
101 Independence Ave. S.E., Third Floor
Washington, D.C.
Noon-1:30pm