Poor Yella Rednecks
by Qui Nguyen
directed by May Adrales
FINAL WEEKS! Only Until Dec 3
OFF-BROADWAY AT
New York City Center Stage I
Now in performances
Qui Nguyen, the wildly inventive playwright (and screenwriter for Marvel and Disney) known for his use of pop culture, pop music and puppetry, reunites with his frequent director, May Adrales, for this funny, sexy and brash new play. A young Vietnamese family attempts to put down roots in Arkansas, a place as different from home as it gets. A mom and dad balance big hopes and low-wage jobs, as old flings threaten to pull them apart. It all makes for a bumpy road to the American dream. From the world of Nguyen’s Vietgone, with its comic book and action movie influences, comes a play that melds a deeply personal story with the playwright’s trademark, killer humor. The New York Times hails the writer’s work as “culturally savvy comedy,” and this production shows you why.
Poor Yella Rednecks is co-commissioned by South Coast Repertory and Manhattan Theatre Club. Support for MTC’s production of Poor Yella Rednecks is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation, Laurents/Hatcher Foundation and Terrence McNally Foundation. Developed in part in Center Theatre Group’s Writers’ Workshop.
Runtime is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes including an intermission.
“CRITIC’S PICK! POOR YELLA REDNECKS SOARS! IT’S A ROLLICKING, CROWD-TICKLING COMEDY THAT SQUASHES PRECONCEPTIONS IN ORDER TO PLACE HEARTS IN A VISE GRIP.”
The New York Times
“UNFLAGGINGLY INVENTIVE, IT’S A MERRY MASHUP OF HIP-HOP, POP CULTURE, CURSING AND KUNG FU, BUOYED BY WINNING PERFORMANCES AND PLENTY OF HEART.”
Time Out
“FUNNY, PROFOUND AND HEARTBREAKING…HAS THE EXUBERANCE AND ABUNDANCE OF A BIG FAMILY-REUNION BASH!”
NY MAGAZINE
“PACKED WITH WIT AND WISDOM IN A BUOYANTLY ORIGINAL PRODUCTION THAT’S ALSO A WHOLE LOT OF FUN.”
New York Stage Review
“WILDLY INVENTIVE, HILARIOUS, AND INSIGHTFUL!”
DC Theater Arts
General Info
Join MTC
30 under 35
group sales
students
Click here for a seating chart. Stage I seats 300. All seats are on Orchestra level—all seating accessible by elevator. Stage I is accessible to people with disabilities and is equipped with both assistive listening and hearing-aid compatible devices. For more information on accessibility, please click here.
Manhattan Theatre Club produces a wide range of theatre both on and off-Broadway. In a history spanning almost 50 years, they have won 28 Tony Awards, 7 Pulitzer Prizes, and developed into one of the country’s most acclaimed theatres.
If you intend to see three or more MTC productions in the coming year, you can join MTC and add this show to your package now. MTC Subscribers save up to 40% off the cost of individual tickets, receive priority seating, early access to tickets, and no-risk flexibility to exchange tickets for a different performance date free of charge, for any reason.
You can also upgrade to MTC’s Patron Program to receive the best seats in the house and a multitude of other benefits, starting at $3,000.
A night out in NYC can break the bank, but as a member of our 30 Under 35 program, you’ll get a full evening of entertainment for only $30! You can buy a pair of $30 tickets for you and a friend to every Manhattan Theatre Club show. Plus, you’ll be invited to exclusive post-show parties where you’ll enjoy wine and hors d’oeuvres while mingling with other 30 Under 35 members. And the best part… it’s free and easy to join!
SIGN UP TODAY AND BE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE
Special rates are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information, please email [email protected].
Student tickets are available at the box office on the day of the show when the box office opens. Tickets are $30 (including all fees), payable by cash or credit card, and are available to students with an ID from a degree or diploma granting institution. Tickets are subject to availability and are limited to two per valid ID. Note that students aged 30 or under may prefer to purchase their tickets through the 30 Under 35 program instead – see above.
Cast
Jon Hoche
Nhan & others
Jon returns to MTC after performing in the Off-Broadway Premiere of Vietgone and has collaborated with playwright Qui Nguyen for over a decade. Other credits include – Broadway: Life of Pi (Richard Parker Puppeteer, Associate Puppetry and Movement Director), King Kong: Alive on Broadway (Voice of King Kong/Puppeteer). Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey 2 puppeteer); Soft Power (The Public Theater – Grammy Nominated); Vietgone (Manhattan Theatre Club); Soul Samurai, The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G (Ma-Yi Theater/Vampire Cowboys Theater); Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth (Playwright’s Realm). National Tour: Warhorse (Puppeteer/Puppet Captain). Regional: Revenge Song (Geffen Playhouse). TV: “Hello Tomorrow!” (Apple TV+) – @JonHoche
Ben Levin
Quang
MTC debut. Ben just wrapped a season-long arc on the CW series “Kung Fu”. Prior to that, he starred in the series “Legacies” for four seasons. Selected TV credits include “Arrested Development”, “Love”, and a recurring role on ABC’s “Time After Time”. He appeared in a supporting role in the critically acclaimed Independent Spirit Award nominated feature Test Pattern. Ben can also be seen in the Freeform/Hulu feature Turkey Drop. Other features include Allegiant, Admission, and Mike Birbiglia’s indie comedy Sleepwalk with Me. He’s thrilled to be reprising the role of Quang in Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone, after starring in the 2018 production at the San Diego Repertory. Ben is New York City born and raised and is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Shout out to TADA Youth Theatre. In addition to acting, Ben makes music under the moniker Grasshapa, available wherever music is found.
Samantha Quan
Huong & others
Samantha Quan’s theatre credits include Poor Yella Rednecks (South Coast Rep); Vietgone (South Coast Rep, MTC); B.F.E. (Just Add Water Festival); Masha No Home (Ensemble Studio Theatre); An Infinite Ache (The Globe Theaters), workshops of To Red Tendons, Peerless, Hannah and the Dread Gazebo, Red Flamboyant, American Hwangap (Ojai Playwrights Conference); Monument: Or Four Sisters (A Sloth Play) (Boston Court New Works Festival). Television credits include “Home Before Dark”, “Elementary”, “NCIS”, “The Mentalist”, “Blue”, “Suburgatory”, “Castle”. Film credits include 4 Wedding Planners, Sake Bomb, Good Grief and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
Jon Norman Schneider
Playwright/Little Man
Jon Norman Schneider most recently appeared onstage in Keith Bunin’s The Coast Starlight at Lincoln Center Theater. Select New York credits include Catch As Catch Can (Playwrights Horizons), The Chinese Lady (The Public), Henry VI Parts 1-3 (NAATCO), Awake and Sing! (NAATCO/The Public), The Oldest Boy (Lincoln Center Theater), Lunch Bunch (Clubbed Thumb), A Map of Virtue (13P), among others. Regionally, he has worked at Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Alley, Alliance, Barrington Stage, Dorset Theatre Festival, The Goodman, Huntington, The Kennedy Center, Long Wharf, Magic, McCarter, Milwaukee Rep, Mosaic, Northern Stage, The Old Globe, and South Coast Rep. His film and TV credits include Bitter Melon, Manila Is Full of Men Named Boy, The Normals, HBO’s Angel Rodriguez, “The Endgame”, “Jessica Jones”, “Veep”, “30 Rock” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”.
Maureen Sebastian
Tong
Maureen Sebastian’s the theatrical credits include, most recently, MTC’s The Best We Could: A Family Tragedy for which she received a Lucille Lortel nomination for Best Featured Performer in a Play; Vietgone (South Coast Repertory) ; Arabian Nights (Berkeley Repertory/Arena Stage); Thunder Above, Deeps Below (Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center/Second Generation); Now Circa Then (Ars Nova); Lonely, I’m Not and Year Zero (Second Stage); and Soul Samurai (Vampire Cowboys/Ma-Yi). Television credits include “Love Life” (HBO), “American Gothic” (CBS), and “Revolution” (NBC). She produced and starred in the web series “Pretty Precious Unicorns” and the short film “Second Province”. She co-created the podcasts “Gulp” and “A Guide to Freedom” with The North Star Fund. She is a member of May-Yi’s Writer’s Lab and The Gotham Film & Media Institute.
Paco Tolson
Bobby & others
Paco is thrilled to return to Manhattan Theatre Club where he received a Lortel nomination for his work in Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone. Paco and Qui have enjoyed an artistic collaboration of over 18 years, and Poor Yella Rednecks will mark their ninth full production together. Select Off-Broadway Credits: Fiasco Theater’s productions of Knight of the Burning Pestle (Red Bull), Twelfth Night and Pericles (Classic Stage Company); The Unwritten Song (EST); Slavey (Clubbed Thumb); The Children of Vonderly (MaYi Theater); Soul Samurai (Ma-Yi/Vampire Cowboys). Regional: to the yellow house (La Jolla Playhouse); Fiasco’s Measure for Measure (Actors Theatre of Louisville); The Winter’s Tale and Vietgone (OSF); Peter and the Starcatcher, Vietgone, and Poor Yella Rednecks (South Coast Rep). Audio: (There’s) No Time for Comedy (Playwrights Horizons), The Memory Motel (Two River Theater), Witness (Paramount/Gideon Media), Play On Shakespeare’s Henry V, The Tempest, and Measure for Measure (Next Chapter Podcasts). Film and TV credits include “Billions”, “Law & Order: Organized Crime”, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, “Prodigal Son”, “Search Party”, “The Good Fight”, “Madam Secretary”, “Happy!”, “The Code”, and 7 DAY GIG.
Jon Hoche
Nhan & others
Ben Levin
Quang
Samantha Quan
Huong & others
Jon Norman Schneider
Playwright/Little Man
Maureen Sebastian
Tong
Paco Tolson
Bobby & others
Jose Gamo
u/s Playwright/Littleman, Bobby & others
Jose Gamo is a Filipino artist born and raised in Indonesia. Theater includes: Romeo and Juliet with Two River Theater/NAATCO; The Great Leap at Arc Stages; Cymbeline, Much Ado About Nothing at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival; Forbidden Colors at LaMama. Screen: “Instinct” on CBS. Training: Fordham University, London Dramatic Academy. All his thanks to Elli, his beloved. www.jose-gamo.com
Rebecca Hirota
u/s Tong, Huong & others
Rebecca Hirota most recently appeared onstage in Vietgone at the Guthrie Theater and is honored to return to this family. Select theater credits include MTC, Classic Stage Company, Here Arts, NYMF, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Denver Center, TheatreSquared, City Theater, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. TV credits include “New Amsterdam”, “Elementary”, “Gossip Girl”, “Unforgettable” and “Law & Order”.
Hyunmin Rhee
u/s Quang, Nhan & others
Hyunmin Rhee’s recent theatrical credits: Quang in Vietgone (Guthrie), and Poor Yella Rednecks (American Conservatory Theater), Kim’s Convenience (Westport Country Playhouse), Tiger Style! (TheatreSquared), Oklahoma!, Snow in Midsummer, and The Merrywives of Windsor (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Television credits: “The Helpsters” (Apple TV+), “FBI” (CBS). Upcoming film: The Dutchman. Much thanks to the wifey, our beautiful daughter, and Qui for continuously making Hyunmin a working actor.
Jose Gamo
u/s Playwright/Littleman, Bobby & others
Rebecca Hirota
u/s Tong, Huong & others
Hyunmin Rhee
u/s Quang, Nhan & others
Creative
Qui Nguyen
Playwright
Qui Nguyen is a playwright, screenwriter, and co-founder of the pioneering geek theatre company, Vampire Cowboys. His plays include Vietgone, Poor Yella Rednecks, Bike Wreck, and the critically acclaimed Vampire Cowboys shows Revenge Song, She Kills Monsters, Soul Samurai, The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G, Alice in Slasherland, Fight Girl Battle World, Men of Steel, and Living Dead in Denmark. For TV/Film, he’s written for Marvel Studios, Netflix, AMC, SYFY, and PBS. He most recently wrote Disney’s Raya and The Last Dragon (nominated for a 2022 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature), and he co-directed and wrote Disney’s Strange World in 2022.
May Adrales
Director
May Adrales is a director, artistic leader, teacher and mother; she has directed over 25 world premieres. Her work has been seen most recently at Second Stage (Rajiv Joseph’s Letters of Suresh), Manhattan Theatre Club (Anchuli Felicia King’s Golden Shield, Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone), Signature Theater, Lincoln Center, The Public Theater, WP, New York Theater Workshop, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Rep, Milwaukee Rep and South Coast Rep. She was awarded the prestigious Ammerman Award at Arena Stage and Theater Communications Group’s Alan Schneider award for freelance directors. She is a Drama League Directing Fellow, Van Lier Directing Fellow, WP Lab Director, SoHo Rep Writers/Directors Lab and New York Theater Workshop directing fellow, TCG New Generations Grantee, SDC Denham Fellowship and PaulGreen Directing Award. She served as an Associate Artistic Director at Milwaukee Rep; Artistic Associate at The Playwrights Center; Artistic Associate at The Public Theater; and Director of Artistic Programs and Artistic Director at The Lark. She serves on the board of Theater Communications Group. May has directed and taught at Juilliard, Harvard/ART, ACT, Fordham, NYU and Bard College. She is currenting the Director of the Theatre Program and Assistant Professor at Fordham University. May has served on faculty at the Yale School of Drama and Brown/Trinity MFA program. MFA, Yale School of Drama. (www.mayadrales.net)
Tim Mackabee
Scenic Design
MTC: Vietgone, Important Hats…. Broadway: The Elephant Man, Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth. Off-Broadway: Heathers; Rock and Roll Man; Darling Grenadine, The Last Match (Roundabout); Guards at the Taj, Describe the Night (Atlantic); Luce (LCT). Music video: Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Surrender My Heart.. TV: “Smash.” Education: NCSA,
Yale School of Drama. @timmackabeedesign.
Valérie Thérèse Bart
Costume Design
Fav credits: Into the Woods (Guthrie); It’s Christmas, Carol! (OSF, world premiere); A Thousand Acres (Des Moines Metro Opera (world premiere); For You, Paige (TikTok musical, world premiere); Wives (Playwrights Horizons,
world premiere); Little Women (Primary Stages, NY premiere); Poor Yella Rednecks (South Coast Rep, world premiere); Vietgone (Alley Theatre, Denver Center); The Great Leap (Denver Center/Seattle Rep, world premiere);
Rigoletto (Minnesota Opera). valeriebart.com.
Lap Chi Chu
Lighting Design
Recent designs include Morning Sun at MTC and Camelot at Lincoln Center. Recognitions include a Tony Award nomination (Camelot), the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lighting Design and an Obie for Sustained
Excellence in Lighting Design. Head of lighting design at UCLA. lapchichu.com
Shane Rettig
Original Music
A composer, sound designer and music producer for theatre, dance, podcast and film. Recent projects: Revenge Song (OSF and Geffen), “In the Cards” (Next Chapter Podcasts), Days Go By (Monica Bill Barnes Dance) and Mothers (Playwrights Realm). Other favorites include Vietgone (MTC); Rafta, Rafta… (The New Group); She Kills Monsters (Flea); and every Vampire Cowboys production. Liberace Scholarship, Frederick Loewe Grant, Jonathan Larsen
Grant, Drama Desk and Lortel nominations.
Jared Mezzocchi
Projection Design
Design: Manhattan Theatre Club (Vietgone),Woolly Mammoth, HERE Arts, Portland Centerstage, Arena. Creator: Kennedy Center (How to Catch a Star), Geffen (Someone Else’s House), Vineyard, En Garde Arts, Roundhouse. Awards: Obie twice, Lucille Lortel, Henry Hewes, Princess Grace. Other: Paula Vogel’s Bard at the Gate, Andy’s
Summer Playhouse (artistic director).
David Valentine
Puppet Design
Daytime Emmy Award-winning fabricator of puppets for TV, film, theatre and theme parks. Builder for Monkey Boys Productions and Jim Henson Company. Credits: Muppets Most Wanted (Disney), “Sesame Street” (HBO),
“Julie’s Greenroom” (Netflix), “Helpsters” (Apple TV+), “Fraggle Rock” (Apple TV+). Original company member of Vampire Cowboys. Follow David on Instagram @dvpuppets.
Kenny Seymour
Arrangements
Broadway/ Off-Broadway: Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical (music supervisor/orchestrator/ arranger), Ain’t Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations (music supervisor/director and arranger), Amazing Grace (orchestrator), Memphis (music director/conductor), The Harder They Come (music supervisor/ orchestrator/arranger), Carnegie Hall’s: A Time Like This – Music For Change (music supervisor/director/orchestrator/arranger). kennyseymour.com
William Carlos Angulo
Choreography
Cynthia Meng
Music Direction
Kelly Gillespie
Casting
Select MTC: Cost of Living; Summer, 1976; Skeleton Crew; Ink. Select Broadway/Off- Broadway: 2:22—A Ghost Story (upcoming), Grey House, The Comeuppance, Ohio State Murders, Macbeth, The Minutes, Letters From Max, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Waverly Gallery, Boys in the Band. Select theatres: Signature NYC, Atlantic, Ars Nova, The Old Globe, CTG. TV: “New Amsterdam” (NBC, series casting), “The Boys in the Band” (Netflix, original
casting).
Jon Hoche
Puppet Director
Jon returns to MTC after performing in the Off-Broadway Premiere of Vietgone and has collaborated with playwright Qui Nguyen for over a decade. Other credits include – Broadway: Life of Pi (Richard Parker Puppeteer, Associate Puppetry and Movement Director), King Kong: Alive on Broadway (Voice of King Kong/Puppeteer). Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey 2 puppeteer); Soft Power (The Public Theater – Grammy Nominated); Vietgone (Manhattan Theatre Club); Soul Samurai, The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G (Ma-Yi Theater/Vampire Cowboys Theater); Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth (Playwright’s Realm). National Tour: Warhorse (Puppeteer/Puppet Captain). Regional: Revenge Song (Geffen Playhouse). TV: “Hello Tomorrow!” (Apple TV+) – @JonHoche
Alyssa K. Howard
Production Stage Manager
Recent: Paradise Ballroom (NYSAF), Lady M (Heartbeat Opera), Public Obscenities (Soho Rep), The Far Country
(Atlantic Theater), Once Upon a (Korean) Time (Ma-Yi), Golden Shield (MTC), Wolf Play (Soho Rep), Nollywood Dreams (MCC), for colored girls… (The Public Theater), Henry VI (NAATCO). Other: Prototype Festival, Beth Morrison Projects, BAM, Page73, National Sawdust, Playwrights Horizons, Vineyard Theatre, Mabou Mines,
Northern Stage, Berkshire Theatre Group, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Yale Rep, McCarter Theatre, Orlando Shakes. MFA: Yale School of Drama. BA: Williams College. IG @shiningatthetop.
Jonathan Castanien
Stage Manager
Broadway: Life of Pi, Tina—The Tina Turner Musical. Tour: The Lion King. Off- Broadway: Confederates (Signature); american (tele)visions (New York Theatre Workshop); WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST The Last of the Love Letters, Nomad Motel (Atlantic Theater Company); Snow in Midsummer (Classic Stage Company); Medea (BAM);
Soft Power (The Public); The Cake (MTC). Co-founder of The Sống Collective, an initiative amplifying voices from the Vietnamese diaspora. jonathancastanien.com.
Qui Nguyen
Playwright
May Adrales
Director
Tim Mackabee
Scenic Design
Valérie Thérèse Bart
Costume Design
Lap Chi Chu
Lighting Design
Shane Rettig
Original Music
Jared Mezzocchi
Projection Design
David Valentine
Puppet Design
Kenny Seymour
Arrangements
William Carlos Angulo
Choreography
Cynthia Meng
Music Direction
Kelly Gillespie
Casting
Jon Hoche
Puppet Director
Alyssa K. Howard
Production Stage Manager
Jonathan Castanien
Stage Manager
Photos
Ben Levin, Jon Norman Schneider in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Ben Levin, Maureen Sebastian in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Paco Tolson, Jon Hoche, Samantha Quan, Ben Levin, Jon Norman Schneider in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Maureen Sebastian, Paco Tolson in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Jon Norman Schneider, Ben Levin in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Maureen Sebastian, Ben Levin in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Samantha Quan, Maureen Sebastian in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Samantha Quan, Jon Hoche, Maureen Sebastian, Ben Levin, Jon Norman Schneider in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Maureen Sebastian, Ben Levin in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Jon Norman Schneider, Maureen Sebastian in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Ben Levin, Maureen Sebastian in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Maureen Sebastian, Paco Tolson in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
Paco Tolson in
Poor Yella Rednecks (2023-2024)
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
