The company of An American Soldier rehearses for New York City premiere (photo by HanJie Chow)
AN AMERICAN SOLDIER
Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC)
251 Fulton St.
May 12-19, $54-$183
pacnyc.org
PAC NYC continues its wide-ranging inaugural season with the New York premiere of An American Soldier, an opera that tells the true story of what happened to Asian American army private Danny Chen in 2011 during the war in Afghanistan. The harrowing store of hate and harassment features a libretto by Tony and Grammy winner David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly, Soft Power), with music by Huang Ruo (M. Butterfly, Book of Mountains and Seas); the two-hour work, which debuted as a one-act in 2014 and was expanded in 2018, is directed by Obie winner Chay Yew (Cambodian Rock Band, Sweatshop Overlord), with choreography by Ann Yee (Sunday in the Park with George, Caroline, or Change).
Tenor Brian Vu stars as the Chinatown-born Pvt. Chen, with mezzo-soprano Nina Yoshida Nelsen as his mother, soprano Hannah Cho as his high school friend Josephine Young, and baritone Alex DeSocio as Sgt. Aaron Marcum, his main tormentor. The cast also includes Christian Simmons, Ben Brady, Joshua Sanders, James C. Harris, Shelén Hughes, and Cierra Byrd in multiple roles. The thirty-five-piece orchestra will be conducted by Carolyn Kuan.
A coproduction with Boston Lyric Opera and American Composers Orchestra, An American Soldier features sets by Daniel Ostling, costumes by Linda Cho, lighting by Jeanette Yew, sound by David Bullard, and projections by Nicholas Hussong. There will be only five performances May 12-19, and tickets are going fast. The May 16 show will be followed by a panel discussion with Hwang, Kuan, and Ruo, moderated by Ken Smith, and the May 18 presentation will be followed by a talk with Chen family spokesperson Banny Chen, civil rights lawyer Elizabeth OuYang, Hwang, and Ruo, moderated by CeFaan Kim.
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]