Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery
by Lloyd Suh
directed by Ralph B. Peña
Streaming January 26 at 7:30PM EST
In partnership with McCarter Theatre Center, Bard at the Gate presents Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery by Lloyd Suh, directed by Ralph B. Peña, featuring Jeff Biehl, Karoline, Mia Katigbak, Peter Kim, Eric Sharp, and Jeena Yi.
Digital filming and editing by ViDCo.
Tickets to stream the play any time through the end of the 2021-2022 Bard at the Gate Season will be available for FREE for 24 hours, from January 26 until January 27 at 11pm. After the premiere date, tickets are $15 including all fees. All ticket sales go towards paying the artists involved, along with the production of overlooked new work in subsequent seasons.
POST-SHOW DISCUSSION: There will be a post-show discussion with the playwright Lloyd Suh, director Ralph B. Peña, and members of the creative team on January 27 at 7:30pm.
About the Play
Suh’s new work is set in 1967 Berkeley where grad student Frank Chan and his activist girlfriend Kathy Ching are staging a revolution against the backdrop of the War in Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement. What results is a trip through the history of Asians in America – from the ancestral railways to the legacy of Charlie Chan stereotypes – ending in an orientalist minstrel show, and murder.
Bios
Jeff Biehl (Charlie Chan, Sergeant) - Broadway: MACHINAL at Roundabout Theatre Company. Off- Broadway: LIFE SUCKS with Wheelhouse Theater (Drama Desk Nomination); CATCH AS CATCH CAN for Page 73; THE RAPE OF THE SABINE WOMEN…. at Playwrights Realm; Lloyd Suh’s CHARLES FRANCIS CHAN JR’S EXOTIC ORIENTAL MURDER MYSTERY with the National Asian American Theater Company; Anne Washburn’s 10 OUT OF 12 at Soho Rep.; David Ives’ LIVES OF THE SAINTS and Theresa Rebeck’s POOR BEHAVIOR both at Primary Stages; Lucas Hnath’s ISAAC’S EYE at Ensemble Studio Theatre; Thomas Bradshaw’s FULFILLMENT at The Flea, BURNING with The New Group, and A LECTURE ON THE BLUES at the Whitney Museum. Regional: Anne Washburn’s SHIPWRECK: A HISTORY PLAY ABOUT 2017; Matthew Lopez’s ZOEY’S PERFECT WEDDING at Denver Center Theater; Molly Smith Metzler’s CRY IT OUT at the Humana Festival; Sarah Ruhl’s SCENES FROM COURT LIFE at Yale Rep, Brendan Pelsue’s WELLESLEY GIRL at the Humana Festival; Jen Silverman’s THE MOORS at Yale Repertory Theatre; THREE SISTERS at American Repertory Theater and the Edinburgh International Festival; also, shows with South Coast Repertory, Shakespeare Theater, Long Wharf Theatre and Westport Country Playhouse. Film: Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory’s “A Master Builder”; "Worth"; “Ricki and the Flash”. Television: “The Path”, “Vinyl”, “Mysteries of Laura”, “Forever”, “Southland”, several episodes of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, “Law & Order: SVU”, and “Law & Order”. Training: Juilliard.
Karoline (she / they) is an actor, writer, and filmmaker who goes by a mononym. TV: major recurring on Career Opportunities in Murder & Mayhem (Hulu, with Mandy Patinkin); Dead Ringers (Amazon), WeCrashed (Apple TV+), Lincoln (NBC), Evil (CBS), music video for Softee’s "Oh No." Off-Broadway: The Hard Problem by Tom Stoppard at Lincoln Center, and the world premiere of [Veil Widow Conspiracy], for which The New York Times singled her out as “terrific.” Karoline wrote, produced, and starred in PIPPI, a short film about a mother and daughter grappling with their racial self-hatred through their love of Pippi Longstocking. It is traveling the festival circuit. She is currently in post-production for her directorial debut, How do we leave, and developing a feature and a play. BA Harvard College. karolinexu.com
Mia Katigbak is the co-founder and actor-manager of the award-winning, New York City based NAATCO, with whom she has acted extensively, most recently in the US premiere of Caryl Churchill’s What If If Only, a remote live production, and Henry VI, Shakespeare’s Trilogy in Two Parts. Selected productions include Russian Troll Farm, an on-line, live-edited play co-produced byTheaterWorks (CT), TheatreSquared (AR), and The Civilians (NY); Headlands (LCT3); The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (Transport Group); Recent Alien Abductions (PlayCo); Dear Elizabeth (WP); Ivo van Hove’s Scenes From a Marriage (NYTW); Good Person of Szechwan (Foundry/Public Theater). Other NYC: Soho Rep, New Group, Ma-Yi, Target Margin, Clubbed Thumb, Bushwick Starr, Intar. Regional work: Yale Rep and Long Wharf (CT), the Humana Festival, Actors Theater in Louisville (KY), Two River Theater (NJ), Berkeley Rep (CA), and the Guthrie (MN). International: Manila, Philippines and Abu Dhabi, UAE. Television credits include “How to Get Away With Murder” (ABC), “The Sinner” (USA), “Chicago PD” (NBC), “Mysteries of Laura” (NBC), and “Conviction” (NBC). Her film credits include I Smile Back, Clutter, and Slow Jam King. She is a USA Fellow (2021) and TCG’s 2017 Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellow for Distinguished Achievement.
Peter Kim is an accomplished actor and award-winning producer in New York City. He is currently filming Billy Eichner’s comedy, BROS, produced by Judd Apatow and can currently be seen in Netflix’s The Forty-Year-Old Version,. Other notable film credits include: The God Committee opposite Kelsey Grammer; Saturday Church which won the Audience Award at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival; Margin Call; Sex and the City; and Hackers opposite Angelina Jolie. Other notable television credits include Chicago Med, Ugly Betty, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. On Stage, he most recently starred in Wild Goose Dreams at The Public Theater and has appeared on Broadway in Thoroughly Modern Millie. He has originated roles in numerous world and New York premieres of plays Off-Broadway and regionally, in addition to co-creating the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway comedy, SIDES: The Fear is Real. Peter is the recipient of TCG’s 2020 Rising Leaders of Color grant, a Founding Member of the OBIE-winning grassroots organization, AAPAC and serves as Creative Producer of the NAATCO, which has received OBIE Awards as well as Drama League and Drama Desk Award nominations. He holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama and a BFA from New York University. www.peterkimpeterkim.com
Eric Sharp (he/him) is an actor, writer, and director based in Minneapolis. He has performed nationally and internationally at the Guthrie Theater, Ten Thousand Things, The Jungle Theater, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Live Action Set, Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, and the Minnesota, Toronto, and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. He played Mowgli in The Jungle Book at Children's Theatre Co., and the young Dalai Lama on multiple tours of TigerLion Arts' The Buddha Prince. His one act play Strange Lands premiered at Theater 45°. A member of the Artistic Advisory Committee at Theater Mu, Eric wrote and starred in the world premiere of Middle Brother, appeared in Today is My Birthday, Hot Asian Doctor Husband, Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, Two Mile Hollow, Yellow Fever, Twelfth Night, FOB: The MN Chinese Restaurant Tour, Into the Woods, Ching Chong Chinaman, and The Immigrant Journey Project, among many others. Eric recently directed the educational video series The Remix with Theater Mu and co-produced the audio series You Shall Hear Me: Stories from Beyond. Look for him onstage this winter in the Guthrie’s A Christmas Carol and next summer in the Theater Mu/Jungle Theater co-production of Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band. www.WorkSharp.org
Jeena Yi was recently seen on season 2 of Modern Love (Amazon) and Only Murders in the Building (Hulu). She was fortunate enough to return to live theater this past summer at Theaterworks Hartford in the US premiere of Amy Berryman’s play, Walden. MFA Columbia University. To learn more visit www.JeenaYi.com
Riw Rakkulchon (Scenic & Costume Designer) is a Thai-Chinese Set, Costume & Production Designer, Animator, and Chef from Bangkok, Thailand based in NYC. Selected Credits: Yale Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, 59E59, Edinburgh Fringe, Primary Stages, The Public Theater. He also works with designers Wilson Chin, Riccardo Hernandez, Jason Ardizzone-West, Donyale Werle, Santo Loquasto, Clint Ramos and Walt Spangler. BFA: Ithaca College, MFA: Yale School of Drama, and a Donald & Zorca Oenslager Fellowship Award in Design Recipient, Board member of WithAll. @riwrdesign, riwrdesign.com