Manhattan Theatre Club's New York premiere of Qui Nguyen's Poor Yella Rednecks officially opens Off-Broadway at New York City Center - Stage I November 1 after beginning previews October 10. Performances continue through November 26.
The work is the follow-up to Nguyen's Vietgone, which played an Off-Broadway run via Manhattan Theatre Club in 2016. May Adrales is directing after staging Vietgone, with much of MTC's Vietgone cast returning, including Jon Hoche, Ben Levin, Samantha Quan, and Paco Tolson. They're joined by Jon Norman Schneider (The Coast Starlight) and Maureen Sebastian (The Best We Could: A Family Tragedy).
Told from the mother’s perspective, Poor Yella Rednecks is the story of a young family’s attempt to put down roots in Arkansas, a place as different from Vietnam as it gets. The work was co-commissioned by South Coast Repertory and MTC. The California company gave the work its premiere in 2019, and MTC was scheduled to present it in 2020. The latter run was canceled due to the pandemic shutdown.
The production features scenic design by Tim Mackabee, costume design by Valérie Thérèse Bart, lighting design by Lap Chi Chu, original music and sound design by Shane Rettig, projection design by Jaren Mezzocchi, puppet design by David Valentine, and arrangements by Kenny Seymour. Alyssa K. Howard is production stage manager.
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