January 14–February 29, 2004
The Midwest Premiere
Written by Velina Hasu Houston
Directed by Lynn Ann Bernatowicz
Set in 1950's small town Kansas, Tea tells the story of four women who come together to clean the house of a fifth after her tragic suicide upsets the balance of life in their small Japanese immigrant community. The spirit of the dead woman returns as a ghostly ringmaster to force the women to come to terms with the disquieting tension of their lives and find common ground. Her destiny requires she escape the limbo between life and death, and move on to the next world in peace, carving a future passage for the others.
Performed at Loop Theatre, 8 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL
Cast
Setsuko Banks | Mary Ann de la Cruz
Teruko MacKenzie | Kate Garassino
Atsuko Yamamoto | Roxanne Lee
Himiko Hamilton | Stephanie Santos
Chizuye Juarez | Erika Winters
Understudy | Nina Peng
Understudy | Leah Zhang
Production Team
Producer | Malik Gillani
Producer | Jamil Khoury
Playwright | Velina Hasu Houston
Director | Lynn Ann Bernatowicz
Production Manager and Props Designer | Ted Rafferty
Stage Manager | Susanne Hufnagel
Scenic Designer | Richard Schneider
Costume Designer | Joanne Witzkowski
Lighting Designer | Kurt Ottinger
Sound Designer | David Winer
Props Master | Seamus Dooley
Dialect Coach | Eva Breneman
Dramatrug | Kyle Gorden
Technical Director | Jon Frazier
Assistant Stage Manager | Cluette Jeremy T. Todd
Assistant Lighting Designer | Laura Reeb
Box Office Manager | Laurie Empen
House Manager | Marilee Rutherford