New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and PRISON DANCER LIVE presents Romeo Candido and Carmen De Jesus’ Prison Dancer The Musical, helmed by Jenn Rapp, with music supervision by Alexander Rovang, at Off-Broadway’s Theatre at St. Clement’s, 423 West 46th Street in New York, Friday, July 20-Saturday, July 28, 2012.

The cast features Jose Llana (Bdwy: Wonderland, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song, Martin Guerre) as Christian Bagets, Jeigh Madjus (US Tour 2011 Le Cage Aux Folles) as Lola, Marc delaCruz (1st National Tour: Disney’s High School Musical) as Hookaps, Catherine Ricafort (Bdwy:Mamma Mia) as Cherish, Moses Villarama (Romeo & Juliet, National Theatre Cons.; King Lear, Denver Theatre Co.) as Shakespeare, Cosmo Clemens (Regional: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, McLeod Summer Playhouse, Carbondale, IL; )as Oo Oo, Enrico Rodriguez (Off Bdwy: Fame on 42nd Street, Zanna, Don’t!) as Nana, Albert Guerzon (Bdwy: Ghost the Musical, Mamma Mia!) as Tondo, Andrew Eisenman (Twelfth Night, Leviathan Lab; Mother Courage, Ma-Yi Theatre Company) as Warden, and Nathan Ramos (Fever/Dream, Cleveland Public Theatre) as Swing/Prison Guard.

SHANGHAI CALLING (USA/China), directed and written by Daniel Hsia with renowned producer Janet Yang, is the Opening Presentation film at the 35th annual Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF), presented by Asian CineVision (ACV), on Wednesday, July 25, 2012 at Asia Society and Museum (725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021). Numerous guests from the cast and crew including Daniel Henney and Eliza Coupe will attend the Opening Night Gala hosted at Asia Society. The Centerpiece Presentation, SUPERCAPITALIST (USA/Hong Kong), will be shown on Saturday, July 28, with director Simon Yin and lead actor-writer Derek Ting in attendance. The festivities end on Sunday, August 5 with the Closing Night Presentation of KNOTS (USA), with director Michael Kang and lead actress-writer Kimberly-Rose Wolter in attendance. The Festival runs July 25 through August 5, with screenings at Clearview Cinemas (260 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011) and Asia Society and Museum (725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021).

This year the Asian American International Film Festival features 50 New York premieres-narrative and documentary features, and shorts-of all genres from The Philippines, Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, UK, Canada and across the Asian Diaspora.

Opening Night Presentation:
SHANGHAI CALLING – Dir. Daniel Hsia | Starring Daniel Henney, Eliza Coupe | USA/China

A Cage of Fireflies cast at the babbling brook. L to r: Emily Kuroda, Jeanne Sakata, Dian Kobayashi.

Dian Kobayashi, Emily Kuroda and Jeanne Sakata are at the idyllic Sundance Resort in Utah, rehearsing A Cage of Fireflies, a new play by Honolulu-based playwright Daniel Akiyama, which has been selected as one of the eight projects out of nearly 900 submitted to be developed at the 2012 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, July 9-29, 2012. It was simultaneously a finalist for this summer’s Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference.

The play tells the story of three elderly sisters of the kibei generation – sent as children to be raised in Okinawa, then returned to live and work in Hawai‘i. Two of the sisters confine themselves to their small Honolulu apartment, enacting the rituals of daily life as they cling to a dream of returning to Okinawa. The third, charged with running the family’s orchid nursery, has inherited a title that is not hers. As long-hidden hopes and regrets surface, the sisters discover what is both selfish and selfless in their love for each other.

The 35th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF), presented by Asian CineVision (ACV), runs July 25 - August 5, 2012 with screenings at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas, Asia Society and Museum, and The Museum of Chinese in America in New York.

“On the event of our 35th year we honor our roots–showcasing the best and most recent achievements by Asian American film and video makers while looking to future by nurturing emerging talents and embracing transformative technologies” says ACV Executive Director John C. Woo. More than half of the Festival selection is made in the US or is a co-production. Many are first time directors, including actress turned director Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, telling the story of an underprivileged teenage girl surviving the treacherous world of peer pressure, drug dealers and dysfunctional families in L.A. There are also a number of returning filmmakers, including H.P. Mendoza’s horror film I am a Ghost, about a girl trapped in a repetitive routine in Victorian times. And Rich Wong’s raunchy new film Yes, We’re Open, a sharp-witted comedy about a modern couple testing their boundaries of love, sex and honesty. “We are extremely happy to see the number of Asian American filmmakers making quality work in a truly independent fashion which AAIFF continues to champion,” adds Martha Tien, AAIFF Program Director.

On Thursday, July 26, 2012, the New York Foundation for the Arts is presenting an evening with Tony Award-winning playwright of M. Butterfly David Henry Hwang at the East 86th St. Barnes & Noble at 7pm, to celebrate the TCG publication of his most recent Broadway comedy Chinglish, which played at the Longacre Theatre last season.Chinglish is about an American businessman who heads to Asia to score a lucrative contract for his family’s firm – but the deal isn’t the only thing getting lost in translation as he collides with a Communist minister, a bumbling consultant, and a suspiciously sexy bureaucrat.

Chinglish was named “Best American Play of 2011” by TIME magazine, and as one of the Top 10 Broadway shows of the year by Bloomberg Radio, NY1 and WNYC. The West Coast premiere of Chinglish at Berkeley Rep starring Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge, begins performances August 24, 2012. West Coast Premiere of David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish at Berkeley Rep stars Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge, August 24-October 7, 2012 . In April, filmmaker Justin Lin acquired the film rights to the critically acclaimed play, which is slated to begin shooting in 2013. Filmmaker Justin Lin Acquires Film Rights to David Henry Hwang’s Critically Acclaimed Broadway Comedy Chinglish