Photos: Opening Night of Mu Performing Arts’ Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies

Playwright Katie Hae Leo on the set of her new play, Four Destinies, at Mixed Blood Theatre on October 15, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

It is the opening night of performance of Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies, helmed by Suzy Messerole and presented by Mu Performing Arts, the second largest Asian American Theater Company in the U.S, and the lobby of Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis is abuzz with excitement.

Mu Performing Arts Artistic Director Rick Shiomi and Reme Grefalda, curator of the Asian Pacific Islander Collection at the Library of Congress. Photo by Lia Chang

Reme Grefalda, curator of the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection located in the Asian Division of the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. and I flew in to photograph the cast in rehearsal for my Library of Congress collection, the Lia Chang Theater Photography Portfolio/AAPI Collection in the Asian Division at the Library of Congress, and to celebrate opening night.

Four Destinies director Suzy Messerole and playwright Katie Hae Leo Photo by Lia Chang

With Four Destinies, local playwright Katie Hae Leo has fashioned a satirical exploration of adoption through the eyes of Destiny Jones, a single character represented from four different ethnic backgrounds, as she/he grows up in a Minnesota family. Leo, a playwright, poet, essayist and performer, and who is also a Korean adoptee, presents herself as a character determined to embody the overarching adoptee experience, both in youth and adulthood.

(L-R First Row) Katie Bradley, La Dawn James, Nora Montanez, Sara Ochs; (L-R Second Row) Shanan Custer, playwright Katie Hae Leo, Don Eitel, Neil Schneider, director Suzy Messerole, Maria Kelly and Nicholas Freeman on the set of Four Destinies at Mixed Blood Theatre after the opening night performance on October 15, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

The cast features Katie Bradley, La Dawn James, Nora Montanez, Sara Ochs, Neil Schneider, Shanan Custer, Don Eitel, Maria Kelly and Nicholas Freeman. The full house was in a raucous mood and showed their appreciation for the cast at curtain call with a standing ovation. Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies has only ten more performances through October 30, catch it while you can. Click herefor tickets.

Four Destinies
by Katie Hae Leo
directed by Suzy Messerole
October 15 – 30, 2011
Mixed Blood Theatre
1501 S. 4th St
Minneapolis, MN
The Mu Performing Arts 2011-2012 season is sponsored by General Mills.
Mu Performing Arts Website

(L-R First Row) Don Eitel, Neil Schneider, Suzy Messerole, Katie Hae Leo, Katie Bradley (L-R Second Row) Maria Kelly, Nicholas Freeman, Nora Montanez, Sara Ochs, La Dawn James, Shanan Custer. Photo by Lia Chang

Other Articles on Mu Performing Arts, “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” & “In Rehearsal”
Lia Chang Photos: Backstage at Mu Performing Arts’ Four Destinies by Katie Hae Leo,10/15-10/30
Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright & Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
Photos: On the town with Rick Shiomi, Co-Editor of “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, in D.C. & NY
Temple Press: Rick Shiomi recounts his tour for “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”
Mu Blog: Rick Shiomi’s Book Tour Logbook
knightarts.org: Reading on the road inside the book tour
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Features Photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, and Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug! on View Through August 2
Photos: Rick Shiomi Checks out Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of Library of Congress; Attends “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” Book Signing in NY on 7/29 “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, A New Anthology of Asian American Plays Is Subject of Book Talk
broadwayworld.com: Chinglish in Rehearsal
asiancemagazine.com: New Anthology of Asian American Plays Book Talk
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and herefor the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Photographer Lia Chang, Reme Grefalda, Curator of AAPI Collection, Library of Congress, Playwright Katie Hae Leo, Director Suzy Messerole

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.