DURANGO
May 16 - 31
“Cho gently contemplates how hard it can be to move forward in life, even when you can see the right road stretching out before you.”
— New York Times
A family unravels during a cross-country road trip in this funny and poignant portrait of domestic embattlement from American playwright Julia Cho.
To the outside world, the Lee boys look perfect: Isaac is on track to be a doctor, and his younger brother, Jimmy, is a champion swimmer. But when their widowed father, Boo-Seng, decides to take them on a road trip to Durango, Colorado, the carefully constructed facades of all three begin to crack. As they near their destination, tempers flare, old wounds reopen and secrets are revealed.
Durango is the story of a man who sacrificed everything – a home, a country – for the American Dream, and whose sons must now grapple with the consequences of that choice.
Cho’s script takes a critical look at themes of tradition and legacy as it relates to our sense of family value. It asks us what we want for ourselves, our families, and each other, and questions how we arrived at those expectations.
This is the first co-production between Theatre Smash and fu-GEN Theatre and the first time either company has brought their work to Buddies’ stage – though audiences will remember Ashlie Corcoran, who directed our 2013 hit The Gay Heritage Project.
image of David Yee by Tanja-Tiziana.
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre proudly welcomes the Canadian Premiere of a fu-GEN Theatre Company and Theatre Smash co-production
DURANGO
by JULIA CHO
directed by ASHLIE CORCORAN
starring ARDON BESS, HIRO KANAGAWA, PHILIP NOZUKA, ADRIAN SHEPHERD & DAVID YEE
set & costume design JUNG HYE KIM
lighting design MICHELLE RAMSAY
sound design JOHN GZOWSKI
video design ALEX PUNZALAN JR.
stage manager NATASHA BEAN-SMITH
Theatre Smash is renowned for their exceptional dedication to producing the Canadian premieres of international contemporary work. Most recently, Theatre Smash remounted their Dora award winning production of The Ugly One as a co-production with Tarragon Theatre to audience and critical acclaim.
fu-GEN Theatre Company is Canada’s preeminent Asian Canadian theatre company, dedicated to the development of Asian Canadian artists through the production of new and established work. In the past decade, fu-GEN has garnered 17 Dora nominations, held the first conference on Asian Canadian theatre and introduced Toronto audiences to the new, contemporary voices of Asian North America.