PAN ASIAN REPERTORY THEATRE
Presents the World Premiere

MY MAN KONO

By Philip W. Chung
Directed by Jeff Liu

FEBRUARY 6 – MARCH 9 , 2025
A.R.T./NEW YORK
MEZZANINE THEATRE
502 WEST 53RD STREET | MAP

In the heyday of silent films, Japanese émigré TORAICHI KONO, in pursuit of the American Dream, becomes a loyal confidante of film star Charlie Chaplin, but at the dawn of WWII is swept up in anti-Japanese hysteria and accused of espionage. Don’t miss this gripping drama!

HOW TO GET TO
A.R.T./NEW YORK MEZZANINE THEATRE
502 WEST 53RD STREET

By Subway: The closest subway stops are the ACE at 50th Street and Eighth Ave., or ABCD1 at 59th St./Columbus Circle. The theatres are just beyond 10th Avenue, so plan for walking time.

By Bus: M20 Lincoln Center to 49th Street

By Bike: There is a Citi Bike station located directly across the street from the theatre entrance; look at the Citi Bike Station map to learn more.

Parking: There is ample parking available in the neighborhood, including Icon Parking right next door on 53rd Street.

About the Artists

Philip W. Chung

PHILIP W. CHUNG (Playwright) is a writer and producer based in Los Angeles. He was the co-founder/co-Artistic Director for Lodestone Theatre Ensemble where he wrote/produced/directed almost 100 mainstage productions, workshops, readings, and other theatrical events. His Lodestone world premiere plays include The Golden Hour and Grace Kim & The Spiders From Mars. He was the creative director at YOMYOMF, founded by the Fast & Furious franchise director Justin Lin to tell stories from Asian American and other underrepresented voices. At YOMYOMF, Chung oversaw the hybrid production of David Henry Hwang's Pulitzer Prize-finalist play, Yellow Face, which was adapted by My Man Kono director Jeff Liu (and is available to watch on YouTube). My Man Kono placed second in East West Players’ Pacific Century Playwriting Competition and had previous readings/workshops at East West Players, The Autry Museum of the American West (as part of the L.A. History project), and the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood.

Previously, Chung has developed/produced projects for Comcast/NBCUniversal, Legendary Pictures, eOne, IFC Channel, Gunpowder & Sky, Google/YouTube, HBO Max/WB, Disney, and others. He was the consulting producer on the 2023 KCET/Artbound documentary, East West Players: A Home on Stage (available on YouTube and the PBS app), and recently sold or optioned his screenplays to Netflix and Buzzfeed Studios. He is consulting producer on an upcoming Margaret Cho-narrated documentary about the Asian American hapa cult icon Tura Satana (star of Russ Meyers' Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) and associate producer of the indie film Late Bloomers, which premiered at SXSW and stars Jumanji's Karen Gillan. His play Unbroken Blossoms, about the two Chinese American consultants who worked on D.W. Griffith’s 1919 film Broken Blossoms, had its world premiere in 2024 at East West Players. He was also commissioned by the Adventure Theatre MTC in Washington DC to write the book and lyrics for POOP! The Musical in collaboration with composer Woody Pak (Making Tracks).

Jeff Liu

JEFF LIU (Director) is a writer and director for theater, film and web, also an Artistic Producer for the Ojai Playwrights Conference. His productions include the LA premiere of Chinglish by David Henry Hwang (LA Times Critics Choice), as well as the world premieres of Unbroken Blossoms and The Golden Hour by Philip W. Chung, Warrior Sisters of Wu by Damon Chua (2 Drama Desk nominations), Memorial by Livian Yeh (NYT Critics Pick), Paletas de Coco by Franky D. Gonzalez (Ars Nova ANTFest), The Brothers Paranormal by Prince Gomolvilas, Two Mile Hollow by Leah Nanako Winkler, The Chinese Massacre (Annotated) by Tom Jacobson, Terminus Americana (Ovation Award nominee for Best World Premiere) by Matt Pelfrey, and Texas and Solve for X by Judy Soo Hoo. He also adapted the Pulitzer nominated Yellow Face by DHH for the YOMYOMF Network on YouTube, where it is still available to watch for free.