Straight White Men / Untitled Feminist Show

Description

"Ms. Lee's fascinating play . . . goes far beyond cheap satire, ultimately becoming a compassionate and stimulating exploration of one man's existential crisis . . . She proves unexpectedly adept at strict naturalism . . . [A] mournful and inquisitive play."-New York Times "She sacrifices nothing; bodies, voices, jokes, food, tragedy, cities are all artistic fodder, as are her various selves and the mirthful, bloody life of her imagination."-New Yorker Provocative playwright Young Jean Lee lends her shrewd perspective to this atypical take on the family drama. A father and his three sons unite and unravel, both aware of and undone by privilege and its pressure. When inherent social expectation conflicts with a desire to remain stagnant, the resulting identity confusion is new territory for the tightknit family. Strikingly observant and curiously drawn, Lee departs from her experimental style to create a naturalistic observation of the most socially unobstructed of our species, the straight white male. Young Jean Lee has been hailed as "one of the best experimental playwrights in America" by Time Out New York. She has written and directed nine shows in New York with Young Jean Lee's Theater Company and toured her work to over twenty cities around the world. Her other plays include We're Gonna Die, Untitled Feminist Show, The Shipment, Lear and Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven. Awards include two Obies, the Festival Prize of the Zuercher Theater Spektakel, a Prize in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Doris Duke Artist Award.

Young Jean Lee is a writer, director and filmmaker who has been called "the most adventurous downtown playwright of her generation" by the New York Times and "one of the best experimental playwrights in America" by Time Out New York. She has written and directed ten shows in New York with Young Jean Lee's Theater Company, and toured her work to over thirty cities around the world. Her plays have been published by Theatre Communications Group (Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven and Other Plays; The Shipment and Lear; and We're Gonna Die) and by Samuel French. Lee is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, two OBIE Awards, a Prize in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a Doris Duke Artist Residency, a Foundation for Contemporary Arts grant, the ZKB Patronage Prize of the Zurcher Theater Spektakel, and the 2019 Windham-Campbell Prize for Drama.

"Tickles your soft aesthetic underbelly, before easing in the knife of reality both emotionally satisfying and unflinching in its critique of white-driven social justice. Even toying with stage conventions, Young Jean Lee is radical" David Cote, Time Out New York "A thought-provoking piece that fires in many directions at once... Lee has us hooked." Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post "Goes far beyond cheap satire, ultimately becoming a compassionate and stimulating exploration of one man's existential crisis... mournful and inquisitive." Charles Isherwood, New York Times "Gripping... A play of ideas, and very timely ideas at that." New York "A healthy dose of dysfunction that never feels put-on... vibrant, a raucous comedy." Entertainment Weekly "Smart, funny and semantically loaded." Molly Grogan, Exeunt Magazine "Tickles your soft aesthetic underbelly, before easing in the knife of reality... both emotionally satisfying and unflinching in its critique of white-driven social justice. Even toying with stage conventions, Young Jean Lee is radical" - David Cote, Time Out New York "A thought-provoking piece that fires in many directions at once... Lee has us hooked." - Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post "Goes far beyond cheap satire, ultimately becoming a compassionate and stimulating exploration of one man's existential crisis... mournful and inquisitive." - Charles Isherwood, New York Times "Gripping... A play of ideas, and very timely ideas at that." - New York "A healthy dose of dysfunction that never feels put-on... vibrant, a raucous comedy." - Entertainment Weekly "Smart, funny and semantically loaded." - Molly Grogan, Exeunt Magazine