IRT shares highly anticipated return of The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin
Hauntingly theatrical tale shares story of immigration, identity, and illumination
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Indianapolis, Ind.—After being forced to close during rehearsal due to the pandemic, Jessica Huang’s The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin will make its Indiana premiere at the Indiana Repertory Theatre this month. Based on a true story, this intricate and illuminating look at immigration and a family caught between two cultures makes its Indiana premiere April 20 – May 15, 2022 on the IRT Upperstage and will be available for streaming May 2 – 15. In an exciting and rare occurrence, the entire original cast, director, and many members of the design team has returned to continue their work on this production, which is part of this season’s INclusion Series celebrating diverse storytelling.

After forging a new identity to move to the United States in order to send money home to his starving village in China, Harry Chin finds himself trapped between two families and two worlds. The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin travels between past and present, reality and dreams, as it explores the consequences of making a group of people illegal and the importance of identity, family, and culture.

“Intent on uncovering remarkable plays that tell little-known American stories, we found Jessica Huang’s haunting play, which details the life of an illegal immigrant during the Chinese Exclusion Act,” said IRT’s Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director Janet Allen. “Huang’s story delivers the heartbreak of separated families, long-kept secrets, the fear of discovery, the difficulty of language and culture barriers, and the desperate desire for a better life in America.”

The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin was originally commissioned by the History Theatre in Minnesota, and Jessica Huang uncovered the real Harry Chin’s heartbreaking and amazing immigration story while researching the Chinese Exclusion Act at the Minnesota Historical Society. Inspired by her discovery of this family’s history, Huang connected with Chin’s daughter Sheila Morris, who is represented in the play, and was able to access photos and first-hand accounts of the family’s experience to help develop the story, resulting in a magical and moving theatrical experience.

“Huang has vividly illuminated with great care a period of our American history often intentionally under examined,” said IRT’s Associate Artistic Director Benjamin Hanna. “It is a timely piece that asks us to think deeply about our current immigration policies and how our ancestors gained access to the land we live on.”

While the story is rooted in a moment of US history, it focuses on the relationship between fathers and daughters, the living and ancestors, truth and secrets, culture and country. To engage in more conversations around these topics with the community, the IRT will host and share post-show discussions and community conversations throughout the run.
Tickets are available now for this surreal journey through past and present!

DETAILS

WHERE: Indiana Repertory Theatre, 140 W. Washington Street, IRT Upperstage

RUN DATES:  April 20 – May 15, various times. Streaming May 2 – 15. The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. Tickets and performance schedule available at IRTlive.com.

TICKETS: In-Person tickets start at $25. Virtual tickets are $30.  Click to buy.

CAST & CREATIVE TEAM:
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ANNE BATES | Laura
ALLISON BUCK | Sheila
SAM ENCARNACION | Boss & Interrogator
STEPHENIE SOOHYUN PARK | Yuet & Susan
DAVID SHIH | Harry
LINDEN TAILOR | Poet & Immigration Officer
 
JESSICA HUANG | Playwright
JAKI BRADLEY | Director
WILSON CHIN | Scenic Designer
YAO CHEN | Costume Designer
CHA SEE | Lighting Designer
BROKEN CHORD | Sound Design & Composition
REUBEN LUCAS | Projections Designer
RICHARD J ROBERTS | Dramaturg
ERIN ROBSON-SMITH | Stage Manager

For more information contact Kerry Barmann, Marketing Communications Manager at kbarmann@irtlive.com or 317.916.4824.

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ABOUT THE IRT
Founded in 1971, the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) is the largest professional not-for-profit theatre in the state and one of the leading regional theatres in the country. The mission of the Indiana Repertory Theatre is to produce top-quality, professional theatre and related activities, providing experiences that will engage, surprise, challenge, and entertain people throughout their lifetimes, helping us build a vital and vibrant community.
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA): The IRT strives to celebrate and serve the diverse people and cultures that make up our whole community. The IRT is committed to providing access for all; to creating and maintaining an antiracist theatre that is inclusive, safe, and respectful.

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​Indiana Repertory Theatre announces 50th Anniversary with 2022 – 2023 Season
IRT celebrates five decades of transformational and entertaining live theatre

Indianapolis, Ind.—The Indiana Repertory Theatre has announced its 2022 – 2023 season, which will be the Theatre’s 50th Anniversary Season. From the beginning years at the Athenaeum to its current home in the Indiana Theatre, the IRT has welcomed audiences for experiences that engage, challenge, and surprise in an effort to help build a vibrant and informed community through the transformational power of live theatre. This next season, scheduled from September 14, 2022 to May 20, 2023, will be full of special ways to celebrate, reflect back, and look forward to the next 50 years.

“We are thrilled to be able to craft and share this upcoming season of celebration and reflection,” said Janet Allen, IRT’s Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director. “We’ll celebrate IRT’s 50th Anniversary with shows that highlight human wit and wisdom with artists we’ve enjoyed in the past, and artists who will change our future. And throughout, we’ll celebrate the kinetic joy of live theatre.”

This special season consists of the beloved romance of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, an adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus, Shakespeare’s Will, and the holiday tradition of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Our INclusion Series will feature the critically-acclaimed play The Chinese Lady by Lloyd Suh and Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West, a story of pioneering women overcoming tremendous odds to protect their freedom. The season will close when the games begin with the ultimate whodunit, Clue.

A few other noteworthy elements about the season: IRT is producing the Indiana premiere of The Chinese Lady, a homecoming for Indianapolis’ own Lloyd Suh; Indy actor Rob Johansen will reprise his role as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol; David Alan Anderson will lead in Oedipus; and Sense and Sensibility returns with actor Priscilla Lindsay after originally being slated for the 2019 – 2020 Season before the pandemic closure.

“We are looking forward to continuing to welcome our audiences back in September, especially after the past two years of navigating a shut down and ongoing changes,” said Managing Director Suzanne Sweeney. “We have big things planned for next year and know there’s going to be a lot of excitement building as we celebrate the last 50 years, as well as our future ahead."

For more than half of the 50 years the IRT has been creating meaningful theatre experiences, OneAmerica Financial Partners has played a key role as IRT’s Season Sponsor. This support shows their long-time commitment and belief in IRT’s work. It is a partnership that both organizations believe in and will continue not only in the 2022 – 2023 Season, but beyond.

“We are delighted to join the IRT in celebrating the announcement of the 50th Season lineup. OneAmerica is committed to championing the imagination, innovation and inspiration that you see each season on the IRT’s stages,” said Jen Pittman, vice president of community affairs at OneAmerica. “We look forward to joining the community for another year of engaging and entertaining professional theatre.”

Seated ticket packages are available now, and Build Your Own packages and single tickets will go on sale this summer. To learn more about season packages and to purchase, visit irtlive.com.

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2022 – 2023 SEASON AT THE INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE

Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility
adapted by Jessica Swale
September 14 – October 9, 2022
OneAmerica Mainstage

beloved romance
Three sisters and their widowed mother lose their family home and must create new lives for themselves in a tiny seaside cottage. Along the way, they face kindness and cruelty, duty and deception, as they try to navigate the complex social rules for proper young ladies. What will lead to lasting happiness and true love: practical good sense or following the sensibility of your heart? Sit back and indulge in the wit and wisdom, the beauty and charm of Jane Austen.
 

The Chinese Lady
by Lloyd Suh
October 11 – November 6, 2022
Upperstage

piercing & poetic portrait
In 1834, 14-year-old Afong Moy was the first Chinese woman to come to America. She spent her life traveling across the country as a living exhibition for a paying public, who were mesmerized by her exotic ways and unnerved by her bound feet. Inspired by a true story, this critically acclaimed play unearths hidden history as a displaced woman and a young nation struggle with how to define themselves.

*Part of IRT’s INclusion Series: Celebrating Diverse Storytelling
 

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
adapted by Tom Haas
November 19 – December 24, 2022
OneAmerica Mainstage

Indy’s holiday tradition
Banish your bah humbugs, and celebrate the season at the IRT! Scrooge’s visits to the past, the present, and the future bring us hope in the dark of winter, when we need it most. A Christmas Carol celebrates the power of kindness, family, and love in this treasured tale filled with laughter, tears, and redemption.
 
 
Flyin’ West
by Pearl Cleage
January 11 – February 5, 2023
OneAmerica Mainstage

the strength of sisterhood
Four brave female African American homesteaders and pioneers settle together in the all-Black town of Nicodemus, Kansas. Fighting a harsh and unforgiving wilderness, they work hard to till the soil and build better lives for themselves. Their courage is tested when an unexpected and deadly threat invades their home in this surprising story set in the Old West.

*Part of IRT’s INclusion Series: Celebrating Diverse Storytelling
 

Oedipus
by Sophocles
adapted by David Daniel
February 22 – March 18, 2023
OneAmerica Mainstage

timeless tragedy
As a plague ravages Thebes, the citizens turn to their leadership. Oedipus is an extraordinary hero: courageous, flawed, determined to do what he must to protect his community—even if it means his own undoing. From the mists of Greece comes this compelling story of fate, human nature, and the devastating peril of secrets.
 

Shakespeare’s Will
by Vern Thiessen
March 15 – April 16, 2023
Upperstage

a forgotten woman
Her husband is the most famous man in literary history. She has been cloaked in silence and invisibility. Now Anne Hathaway tells her side of the story, full of love and loss, secrets and sacrifices. Inspired by what little we know about Anne, this witty and imaginative play creates a surprisingly modern portrait of a proudly imperfect wife and mother: a liberated woman living on her own defiant terms.
 

Clue
based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn
written by Sandy Rustin
additional material by Hunter Foster & Eric Price
April 19 – May 20, 2023
OneAmerica Mainstage

let the games begin!
Invited to dinner by a mysterious host, Mrs. Peacock, Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, and the rest of the usual suspects roll the dice at a gloomy mansion where blackmail and murder are on the menu. As the players become victims, the plot thickens and the noose tightens. With thrills and chills, twists and turns, and lots of laughs, it’s going to be a night they’ll never forget…and neither will you!
 
For more information contact Kerry Barmann, Marketing Communications Manager at kbarmann@irtlive.com or 317.916.4824.


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ABOUT THE IRT
Founded in 1971, the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) is the largest professional not-for-profit theatre in the state and one of the leading regional theatres in the country. The mission of the Indiana Repertory Theatre is to produce top-quality, professional theatre and related activities, providing experiences that will engage, surprise, challenge, and entertain people throughout their lifetimes, helping us build a vital and vibrant community.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA): The IRT strives to celebrate and serve the diverse people and cultures that make up our whole community. The IRT is committed to providing access for all; to creating and maintaining an antiracist theatre that is inclusive, safe, and respectful.