The Great Leap
Basketball, family, and Tiananmen Square intersect in this witty and fast-paced comedic drama.
When an American basketball team travels to Beijing for a “friendship game” in 1989, this comedic drama goes deeper than the strain between countries. Through the game of basketball, laughter ensues as cultures meet head on and tensions rise right up to the final buzzer as a pivotal moment in history collides with the action in the arena. Driven by rapid-fire dialogue, THE GREAT LEAP explores the cultural and political risks of raising your voice and standing your ground.
About the Playwright
Lauren Yee is a playwright, screenwriter, and TV writer born and raised in San Francisco. She currently lives in New York City.
Her CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND, with music by Dengue Fever and others, premiered at South Coast Rep, with subsequent productions at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Victory Gardens, City Theatre, Merrimack Rep, and Signature Theatre. Her play THE GREAT LEAP has been produced at Denver Center, Seattle Rep, Atlantic Theatre, Guthrie Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, Arts Club, InterAct Theatre, Steppenwolf, Pasadena Playhouse/East West Players, and Cygnet Theatre.
Lauren Yee’s play KING OF THE YEES premiered at The Goodman Theatre and Center Theatre Group, followed by productions at ACT Theatre, Canada’s National Arts Centre, and Baltimore Center Stage. Other plays include CHING CHONG CHINAMAN (Pan Asian Rep, Mu Performing Arts), THE HATMAKER’S WIFE (Playwrights Realm, Moxie, PlayPenn), HOOKMAN (Encore, Company One), IN A WORD (Young Vic, SF Playhouse, Cleveland Public, Strawdog), SAMSARA (Victory Gardens), THE SONG OF SUMMER (Trinity Rep, Mixed Blood), and THE TIGER AMONG US (Mu).
She is the winner of the Doris Duke Artist Award, the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Horton Foote Prize, the Kesselring Prize, the ATCA/Steinberg Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters literature award, and the Francesca Primus Prize. She has been a finalist for the Edward M. Kennedy Prize and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Her plays were the #1 and #2 plays on the 2017 Kilroys List.
Lauren is a Residency 5 playwright at Signature Theatre, New Dramatists member (class of 2025), Ma-Yi Writers’ Lab member, former Princeton University Hodder fellow, and Playwrights Realm alumni playwright. TV: PACHINKO (Apple), SOUNDTRACK (Netflix). Current commissions include Geffen Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Second Stage, South Coast Rep. BA: Yale. MFA: UCSD.
Learn more: www.laurenyee.com
Cast
*Members of Actors’ Equity of Association
Creative
JEFFREY LO | DIRECTOR
CHRISTOPHER FITZER | SCENIC & PROJECTIONS DESIGN
BROOKE JENNINGS | COSTUME DESIGN
MICHAEL PALUMBO+ | LIGHT DESIGN
CHRISTOPHER SAUCEDA | SOUND DESIGN
DANTE CARBALLO | PROJECTIONS CONSULTANT
ROBERT PICKERING | SCENIC PAINT
KIMILY CONKLE | DIALECT COACH
ALLISON F. RICH* | STAGE MANAGER
JENN KIRCHNER | PRODUCTION ASSISTANT & BOARD OPERATOR
JENN TRAMPENAU | PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
+Members of United Scenic Artists