The Legend of The Waitress & The Robber
Presented by Dixon Place
Produced by Concrete Temple Theatre, Playfactory Mabangzen and Yellowbomb in partnership with the Korean Cultural Center New York
May 25 - May 29, 2022
WED to SAT at 7:30 PM
SUN at 5 PM
Dixon Place
(161A Chrystie Street, New York, NY 10002)
Tickets: General Admission $25
- Special discount code: ROBBERS ($18)
- Students/Seniors $20
“Imagine if you will, there’s a world much like ours.
Maybe in the future.
Maybe even now.
A world where every human lives separate and alone.
The only interaction allowed – is on a phone.”
These lyrics are from the opening song in The Legend of The Waitress & The Robber, written two years before Covid washed up on our shores. Its playful, irreverent look at the isolation inherent in our complicated contemporary culture is made even more urgent now, after two years of pandemic separation.
Set in a dystopian society, The Legend of The Waitress & The Robber is a comic-book-style mash-up inspired by Friedrich Schiller’s play The Robbers and the Korean novel The Story of Hong Gildong, both Robin Hood-style stories of individuals betrayed by their families. With nods to Weill and Brecht, the characters sing and dance as they fight for what they believe, challenging the timeworn concepts of family and perceptions of ownership and justice.
The Waitress, fed up with watching her elderly customers be mistreated by their children, kidnaps these seniors so she can give them the care they deserve. Meanwhile, the Second Son, accused by his brother of being a thief, becomes a robber who “liberates” people from the clutches of their cellular devices.
The exciting cross-cultural collaboration is performed in English and Korean, with subtitles for both. The cast features NYC-based actors Carlo Adinolfi; Hye Young Chyun; Lisa Kitchens; Eunji Lim; and Anthony Simone. They are joined by actors from Korea: Ju Yeon Choi; Nam Pyo Kim; Kyongsik Won; and Yura Noh. The design team includes Carlo Adinolfi (sets); Laura Anderson Barbata (costumes). The musical directors are Sean Forte and Hee Eun Kim.
The NYC premiere follows a three-week residency at PS21- Chatham, culminating in two preview performances of The Legend of The Waitress & The Robber on May 21 & 22 at the upstate venue. But the journey to the NYC stage for The Legend of The Waitress & The Robber took much longer.
In 2017, writer/director Renee Philippi received an Asian Cultural Council grant to study contemporary Korean theater practices. In the spring of 2018, she and producing partner and scenic designer Carlo Adinolfi spent six weeks in Seoul with members of Playfactory Mabangzen. It was there that a collaboration was born. MBZ traveled to NYC for a two-week developmental workshop in 2018. Philippi and Adinolfi again traveled to Seoul in early 2019 before bringing the entire NYC company there in October 2019 for a four-week residency and in-process showing. The Legend of The Waitress & The Robber was to have its premiere in New York City in April 2020, but was curtailed by the pandemic. Now, over two years later, it finally arrives.
▲ CAST & CREATIVE
WRITTEN BY
Renee Philippi
DIRECTED BY
Renee Philippi & Eric Nightengale
LYRICS AND ORIGINAL SCORE
Lewis Flinn
MUSICAL DIRECTION
Jacob Kerzner & Hee Eun Kim
SET DESIGN
Carlo Adlinolfi
COSTUMES
Laura Anderson Barbata
KOREAN ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR:
Jung-wan Seo
PSM: Quentin Madia
ACTORS:
Carlo Adinolfi
Rolls Andre
Ju Yeon Choi
Hye Young Chyun
Nam Pyo Kim
Lisa Kitchens
Kyongsik Won
Eunji Lim
James A Pierce III
Yura Noh
◆ TALKBACK: A Collaboration in Two Languages
The Legend of The Waitress & The Robber is a collaboration between NYC based Concrete Temple Theatre and Seoul based Playfactory Mabangzen as well as the Seoul based production company, Yellowbomb Seoul in a unique cross-cultural collaboration.
This special conversation leads the Seoul & NYC creators, performers, and producers in a lively discussion of process and artistic translation and collaboration during the pandemic. This TALKBACK was released on April 5, 2021.
◆ Dixon Place
An artistic incubator since 1986, Dixon Place is a Bessie and Obie Award-winning non-profit institution committed to supporting the creative process by presenting original works of theatre, dance, music, puppetry, circus arts, literature and visual art at all stages of development. Presenting over 1,000 creators a year, this local haven inspires and encourages diverse artists of all stripes and callings to take risks, generate new ideas, and consummate new practices.
The artist’s experience is given top priority through our professional atmosphere and remuneration, and their process is enhanced by our adventurous audiences. With a renewed commitment to racial equity and justice, Dixon Place is a local haven for creativity as well as an international model for the open exploration of the process of creation. http://dixonplace.org/
◆ Concrete Temple Theatre
Concrete Temple Theatre is a multi-disciplinary company, committed to the creation of compelling new theatrical works, incorporating drama, dance, puppetry, music, and the visual arts. Since 2004, Concrete Temple Theater has created devised visual theater that challenges the traditional relationship between design and text. Through touring original works and presenting workshops in NYC, nationally and internationally, they strive to bring myth and ritual back to the center of dialogue, by presenting works and workshops that address real issues within communities (grief, family relationships, environmental stewardship). They have presented their work for NYC audiences at venues like Ohio Theatre, HERE, and Barrow Street Theatre and have been artist-in-residence in NYC at The Flea Theater, Dixon Place, Mabou Mines, St. Ann’s Warehouse and chashama. Concrete Temple has toured work nationally at venues like The Yard, Bard Summerscape, Detroit Institute of Arts, Pontine Theatre, Dairy Center for the Arts, Amphibian Stage Productions and internationally: London, Sri Lanka, India, Bulgaria, Turkey, Italy, Scotland, S. Korea and Costa Rica. www.ConcreteTempleTheatre.com
◆ Playfactory Mabangzen
In 2005, Playfactory Mabangzen (MBZ) was founded by Playwright and Director Koh Sun-Woong. A seeker of magical realism, Koh is interested in writing about the strange realities and characters of the world. Playfactory Mabangzen’s aim is to find that which lies at the core of the piece, the essentiality, and recreate it. Currently, Playfactory Mabangzen actively works locally in South Korea and abroad. MBZ believes that “the value of pursuing a combination of illusions and fantasies in a realistic world” is the way in which plays can secure meaning in this age. Awards include: 2018: Gyeonggi Arts Performing Festa Best Collection 4, The Tale of Rabbit, 2017: Geochang Summer Festival of Theatre, Best Play, Best Actor (Lim Jin-gu), Human Cannonball Show, 2016: Gimcheon International Theater Festival for Family, Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor (Lim Jin-gu), Human Cannonball Show and SAC Awards, Best Play, Best Director, Hong Do, 2015: E-daily Culture Awards, Best Play, Hong Do and Gyeonggi Arts Performing Festa Best Collection 3, Hong Do, 2012: The Korea Shakespeare Awards, Best Play, Killbeth.
◆ Yellowbomb
Yellowbomb is a multi-cultural company providing a new experience where culture meets another culture, expanding its cultural business domestically and internationally. Based on Korean traditional music and musical theatre, the company has successfully organized, arranged, and planned many global events and performances. The company seeks to expand its business as a global event organizer.