See It Before It's Gone, The Lodestone, And Grace Kim & The Spiders From Mars

Monday, November 09, 2009



While I've posted up on the Lodestone and their last show - and opening night is sold out btw - why not show 'em a little more love?

Exactly.

LOS ANGELES, CA – Lodestone Theatre Ensemble concludes its tenth and final season with the world premiere of GRACE KIM & THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, a new comedy written specifically to serve as Lodestone’s last show before the critically-acclaimed Asian American theater company permanently closes its doors at the end of 2009. The production will run November 14-December 20, 2009 at the GTC Burbank (1111-B West Olive Ave., Burbank, CA 91506, located inside George Izay Park). The show is written by Lodestone Co-Artistic Director Philip W. Chung . The director is Jeff Liu who directed TEXAS, Lodestone’s very first production in 1999.

“For our final show, I wanted to write something that would be accessible and funny,” says Chung. “But I also wanted the play to reflect our history. Whether you’ve been coming to our plays from the start or this is your first time, I hope you walk away with a sense of what Lodestone meant to my colleagues and me.”

Inspired by classic screwball comedies, GRACE KIM & THE SPIDERS FROM MARS tells the story of Grace, a young Korean American woman, who has withdrawn from the world after the death of her mother ten years ago. But Grace’s life is thrown upside down when she meets her sister’s fiancé and falls in love with him.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years,” says Liu. “It’s been quite a journey and Philip has brought it all together beautifully in this comedy about a smart, quirky heroine with a very active imagination searching for a new path in life, a reminder that every ending is really just a new beginning.”

GRACE KIM & THE SPIDERS FROM MARS stars Feodor Chin, Elizabeth Ho, Jully Lee, Elaine Kao, Rachel Morihiro, Hanson Tse and Kelvin Han Yee.

Philip W. Chung is the co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Lodestone Theatre Ensemble. His productions for Lodestone include the critically-acclaimed THE GOLDEN HOUR, ONE NATION UNDER GOD and LAUGHTER JOY & LONELINESS & SEX & SEX & SEX & SEX. He is currently writing the screenplays for the adaptations of the best-selling novels THE LAST CHINESE CHEF and THE SAMURAI’S GARDEN as well as an original script for director Justin Lin (BETTER LUCK TOMORROW).

Performances are Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8 pm (no show on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26), Sundays at 2 pm, November 14-December 20, with low-priced previews on November 12 and 13 at 8 pm. Tickets have been lowered to the same price as our first show in 1999: $12 for general admission and $10 each for reserved groups of ten or more. Tickets for the November 14 Opening Night Gala including a post-show reception are $25. All Sunday matinees (except December 20) will be pay-what-you-can admission with a $1 minimum.

For more information, call the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble hotline at (323) 993-7245 or visit http://www.lodestonetheatre.org/, www.facebook.com/lodestonetheatre

Lodestone’s community partners for this production include Asians For Miracle Marrow Matches, East West Players, The K.W. Lee Center For Leadership and Visual Communications.

Founded in 1999 by Philip W. Chung, Alexandra Chun, Chil Kong and Tim Lounibos, Lodestone is committed to providing a forum for Asian Pacific American artists in all aspects of the theater arts.

Lodestone Theatre Ensemble is a Company-in-Residence at GTC Burbank. For more information on GTC Burbank check out http://www.gtc.org/