Two Signature Theatre productions—Dave Malloy's Octet and Lauren Yee's Cambodian Rock Band—will have further lives.
Malloy's Octet, the first production in the Tony nominee's Signature Residency, premiered at the Off-Broadway company during the 2018–2019 season under the direction of Annie Tippe. The a cappella musical will now make its West Coast premiere during Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s spring 2021 season in a co-production between the two companies.
Additionally, Broadway & Beyond Theatricals will present the North American tour of the Signature production of Cambodian Rock Band during the 2021–2022 season. The tour of the Yee play-with-music, featuring songs by Dengue Fever and directed by Chay Yew, will be seen at Berkeley Rep and other venues to be announced. Cambodian Rock Band launched Steinberg Award-winning playwright Yee’s Residency 5.
Playwright Malloy said in a statement, “I'm so thrilled to be returning to Berkeley with Octet, and have this show continue to evolve under the care of two of my favorite theatres. It's a wonderful extension of my Signature residency, bringing this work to another coast, in a theatre that will hopefully by then be filled with smiling, healthy, socially close theatregoers.”
Playwright Yee added, "When I first wrote Cambodian Rock Band, I never could have anticipated the deep investment and love audiences have shown for this moving, universal father/daughter story. Thanks to that incredible momentum from those across the country, we have been given the opportunity to share this work with an even broader audience, especially in the Bay Area, where I was born and raised.”
Featuring an original libretto inspired by internet comment boards, scientific debates, religious texts, and Sufi poetry, Octet explores addiction and nihilism within the context of 21st century technology. Cambodian Rock Band tells the story of a Khmer Rouge survivor returning to Cambodia for the first time in 30 years, as his daughter prepares to prosecute one of Cambodia's most infamous war criminals.
Francis Jue and Courtney Reed in Cambodian Rock Band
