Po Boy Tango

I was contacted today by an Asian American theater group here in Los Angeles called the East West Players. They are putting on a new production called Po Boy Tango that premieres November 11th, 2009 at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts (120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles, CA 90012).

Why, you ask, is this interesting to a foodie? Peter Kuo, Marketing Manager for the East West Players says, “There will be food used on stage during all the cooking scenes and different ’smells’ wafted into the audience throughout the production.” Sounds intriguing to me. Food plays such and important role in the story that they decided to incorporate food and cooking directly into the show itself.

From the press release:
PO BOY TANGO is a heart warming play where the issues of racism and death are addressed through the power of food. Shark Fin Soup. Drunken Crab. Black Feather Chicken. Po Mama’s Chinese cuisine evokes the joy of cooking and her son, Richie Po has the palette to prove it. When Po Mama dies and passes her secrets on to him, he reunites with Gloria B, a “Soul Food” chef in the making. Together, they use Po Mama’s TV cooking tapes to discover a deeper understanding of food, culture and the recipe for friendship.

The playwright, Kenneth Lin, has made the first act available.

And videos from previous productions can also be viewed online.