Tiger Style!, a hilarious comedy by Mike Lew that explores identity, family, and the true meaning of success, starts performances February 23 at TheatreSquared. The show received rave reviews from critics including The Washington Post, which called Lew’s script "fast, smart, and sassy".
Tiger Style begins February 23 and runs through March 31 in TheatreSquared’s West Theatre (477 W. Spring St., Fayetteville). Tickets range in price from $20-$54 and can be purchased by calling (479) 777-7477 or by visiting theatre2.org.
Siblings Albert and Jennifer Chen once reached the pinnacle of academic achievement and even performed at Carnegie Hall. Now in their 30s, though, they’re on the verge of being branded as epic failures. Should they take responsibility for their lives—or just blame their parents? Determined to find the root of their problems, the Chens launch an "Asian Freedom Tour" that takes them back to their childhood home in California—and then all the way to China.
This laugh-out-loud comedy also packs an emotional wallop as Albert and Jennifer’s journey leads them to a better understanding of who they are and what, if anything, that means.
"Tiger Style! is comic dynamite," said Artistic Director Robert Ford, "but it’s also a moving, earnest conversation about the immigrant experience, measuring up to our parents’ expectations, and the realities that so many Americans navigate in so many different ways."
"Their forebears came here, and now Jennifer and Albert are from here," notes The Washington Post. "It’s a banquet to hear Lew’s characters dissect, for better and for worse, how much all that means."
Chongren Fan, a New York-based bilingual stage director from Shanghai, China, will direct. Fan is the Artistic Director of Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America and Resident Artist/Producing Associate at Pan Asian Repertory Theatre.
Stephanie Shum as Jennifer and Hyunmin Rhee as Albert in TheatreSquared's Tiger Style! Photo: Wesley Hitt
The cast includes Hyunmin Rhee, who recently appeared off-Broadway as Prince Hongshi and ensemble in the Pan Asian Repertory’s production of Emperor’s Nightingale, as Albert; Stephanie Shum, Co-Artistic Director of the Chicago theatre company The New Coordinates, as Jennifer; and actors Brandon Ruiter, Brian Kim McCormick, and Eileen Rivera in multiple roles.
To see current COVID precautions and entry requirements, visit theatre2.org/house-rules.
"T2 continues to maintain our commitment to create the best—and safest—possible environment to enjoy and share a remarkable live theatre experience," said Martin Miller, Executive Director. "We deeply appreciate our community’s continuing support for our work during this time."
Tiger Style! continues TheatreSquared's successful return to live theater in the 2021-2022 season, a season that included the smash-hit world premiere of Designing Women. The return to in-person performance came after a year of streaming work that was featured among the "Top Theatre of 2020" by The New York Times and led to T2’s recognition as an "outstanding drama company" by The Wall Street Journal.
Tickets
Performances of Tiger Style are scheduled from February 23 to March 31, with 7:30pm performances Tuesday through Saturday and 2pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday. The play is in the West Theatre at TheatreSquared, 477 W. Spring Street in downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas. Tickets range from $20-$54. All fees are included, with no additional charges at checkout.
Subscription packages for TheatreSquared include full seven-play packages starting at $119, with four-to-six-play flex packages starting at $89. Benefits for season ticket holders include savings of up to 20% on every show, free unlimited exchanges, discounted reserved parking, and same-day discounts in The Commons Bar/Café and other T2 Restaurant & Hotel Partners.
Through T2’s Lights Up! For Access program, supported by the Walmart Foundation, SNAP benefit recipients can purchase $1 tickets, while students and patrons under the age of 30 can purchase $10 tickets. Fully subsidized, free tickets are also available for clients of a number of local community service organizations. For more information, visit theatre2.org/lights-up.
Subscription packages and single tickets can be reserved by calling TheatreSquared at (479) 777-7477 or by visiting theatre2.org/subscribe.
About TheatreSquared
TheatreSquared’s signature offering of bold new plays in an intimate setting has driven its growth to become the state’s largest theatre, offering more than 350 performances annually in two intimate spaces and online. The playwright-led company is one of mid-America’s leading laboratories for new work, having launched more than 60 new plays. Notable collaborators have included Bryna Turner, Anne García-Romero, Pulitzer Prize finalist Lisa D’Amour, Qui Nguyen, Mona Mansour, Tony Award nominee Lee Blessing, Amy Evans, and many others. TheatreSquared’s remarkable expansion—with a twentyfold increase in audience in just the past decade—parallels the emergence of its home region in the northwest corner of Arkansas as a booming population center and destination for American art. Offering far-reaching access and education programs and an open-all-day gathering space, The Commons Bar/Café, TheatreSquared remains rooted in its founding vision, that "theatre—done well and with passion—can transform lives and communities."
Major funding for the TheatreSquared Season 16 is provided by The Walton Family Foundation, Inc.; the Walmart Foundation; the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage; the Tyson Family Foundation, the John & Robyn Horn Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, the Windgate Foundation; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Marketing support for TheatreSquared Season 16 is provided by Experience Fayetteville, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville Flyer, 3W Magazine, CitiScapes, KUAF, MailCo USA and Univision.