‘MOre’ Zimin in ’13 Fruitcakes.’ (Photo: Ki Seok Cho)
The Tony Award-winning theatre, La Mama, will present 13 Fruitcakes, the world premiere music drama from South Korea written and directed by Byungkoo Ahn. The production will play the Ellen Stewart Theater (66 E. 4th Street), June 13-16 as part of the Stonewall 50 Festival.
13 Fruitcakes depicts the fictional story of Orlando, who inspires and encourages people to start fighting against social injustice and oppression by telling them stories about great gay ancestors, highlighting 13 noteworthy LGBTQ+ figures and their impact throughout history: from Eleanor Roosevelt to Hans Christian Andersen to Alan Turing to Leonardo da Vinci. The music drama is performed by a cast of Korean actors – including ‘More’ Zimin, the most prominent drag performer in Korea.
Comprised of musical vignettes, 13 Fruitcakes features original songs composed by Gihieh Lee, lyrics by Lorca, Wilde, Whitman and other queer poets and electronic music by Los Angeles Laptop Collective.
“I am very excited to come back to La MaMa next month with this new production. When I did research on the Stonewall Riots, people say somehow the air that day was different from before, even though it was a routine police raid, and on this occasion, they did not submit to the police. I wanted to create what the ‘different air’ that day might have been. I am very attached to this project more than any I have worked on before,” states creator Byangkoo Ahn.
13 Fruitcakes
La Mama
Ellen Stewart Theater
66 East 4th Street, NYC
June 13-16
