About the Play
Manford is 5’5”, Chinese American, and desperate to make it onto the USF basketball team. If he can run the court as well as he runs his mouth, he might have a shot. Against his better judgment, Saul Slezac, the man who brought basketball to China, brings Manford to Beijing for a friendship game in the summer of 1989.
The Great Leap is presented by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
Critics and Audiences Agree: The Great Leap is a Slam Dunk.
“The Hangar makes the shot, brilliantly…”
About our Co-Producer – The Hangar Theatre creates and presents performances of exceptional quality in New York State’s Finger Lakes region while teaching and mentoring the next generation of theatre artists. They enrich their community, at both the local and national level, with work and classes that inspire, entertain, and enlighten. The Hangar produced its first fully realized performances in summer 1975 in a newly renovated theatre space converted from a WPA-era airplane hangar– once an essential training ground for WWII pilots–on the banks of beautiful Cayuga Lake. The project was community driven from the start, led by Ithaca-area theatre-lovers aspiring to create a vibrant central arts campus for the region and tourists alike. Now a year-round venue engaged in its 47th season, the Hangar Theatre Company offers professional theatrical productions during an expansive and diverse summer season (June-August) and hosts local and national musical acts, community arts groups and events, and education programs off-season (September to May).
Lauren Yee (Playwright) was the second most produced playwright in America for the 2019/20 theatrical season (as per American Theatre Magazine). Her plays include CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND (South Coast Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, City Theatre, Merrimack Rep) and THE GREAT LEAP (Denver Center, Seattle Repertory, Atlantic Theatre, Guthrie Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, Arts Club, InterAct Theatre, Steppenwolf). Honors: Doris Duke Artists Award, Steinberg Playwright Award, Whiting Award, Steinberg/ATCA Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters literature award, Horton Foote Prize, Kesselring Prize, Primus Prize, Hodder Fellowship, #1 and #2 plays on 2017 Kilroys List. New Dramatists, Ma-Yi Writers’ Lab, Playwrights Realm alum. TV: Pachinko (Apple), Soundtrack (Netflix). BA: Yale. MFA: UCSD. www.laurenyee.com
Manford Ray Yamamoto
Connie Eileen Doan
Wen Chang Norman Garcy Yap*
Saul Jim Shankman*
[*member Actors' Equity Association]
[**member United Scenic Artists]
[***Stage Directors and Choreographers Society]
Director Natsu Onoda Power***
Scenic Designer Anita Stewart**
Costume Designer Nicole Wee**
Lighting Designer Alberto Segarra**
Sound Designer Kathy Ruvuna
Projection Designer Dylan Uremovich
Stage Manager Myles C. Hatch*