HOME / 2023-24 SEASON / BLENDED 和 (Harmony): THE KIM LOO SISTERS

FROM MINNEAPOLIS TO BROADWAY, HOLLYWOOD, & BEYOND

Inspired by Leslie Li’s Just Us Girls book and The Kim Loo Sisters documentary, this musical follows the Kim Loo Sisters as they make their way from Minneapolis to the flashing lights of Broadway in the 1930s, the silver screen of Hollywood, overseas at USO shows, and more. This new musical is based on their real experiences and is an homage to their family, love, their Chinese Polish American heritage, and the bond of these talented sisters on and off the stage.

Apply the promo code MU23-24 for up to a 50% discount!

“Huang's clever writing and Greywoode's style-hopping songs center characters who in the past would have been lost in the background,” writes the Star Tribune. “With its revelatory history and stylish telling, Harmony deserves to be seen again and again.”

Scroll down or click the following links for event information; reviews ; press features and behind-the-scenes looks; and the cast and lead creative team. Read through a PDF version of the playbill here.

DATES

May 4 - 26, 2024, at History Theatre

• May 4: pre-show with CAAM Chinese Dance Theatre

• May 5, 12, 19, 26: Afterthoughts post-show talkbacks, with May 5 ft. librettist Jessica Huang, story consultant and Kim Loo Sisters relative Leslie Li, and Mu artistic director/production director Lily Tung Crystal

• May 19: ASL interpretation, audio description

• May 25 & 26: captions

Content Warnings: This show contains depictions of Orientalism, ethnic slurs and dehumanizing language, systemic racism, and discrimination/bigotry. 

Theater Mu and History Theatre truly believe that everyone should hear the story of these incredible sisters. For the final weekend of the production, you can use code KIMLOO for additional cost off tiers 1-3; for tiers 4 and 5, we still recommend using code MU23-24.

In the spirit of Theater Mu’s Pay As You Are program, History Theatre has set up a special code for Mu patrons. Make sure to use the code MU23-24. You will receive 50% off Tier Five, 49% off Tier Four, 21% off Tier Three, 15% off Tier Two, and 9% off Tier One seats—making the lowest tickets start at $15. Click here for a screenshot of where to enter the code/what it looks like when it’s applied.

VENUE INFORMATION

Blended 和 (Harmony): The Kim Loo Sisters will be at the History Theatre at 30 East 10th St., Saint Paul, MN 55101. Besides paid street parking, Ramp 7A is connected to the History Theatre by the skyway. Metro Transit provides several nearby drop off points, including the Green Line light rail’s 10th Street station. For more information, visit History Theatre’s website.

Star Tribune: “[Jessica] Huang's clever writing and [Jacinth] Greywoode's style-hopping songs center characters who in the past would have been lost in the background. … With its revelatory history and stylish telling, Harmony deserves to be seen again and again.”

Cherry & Spoon: “It's a heart-warming story of family and identity, told with a fabulous swing era score, with touches of Chinese and Polish sounds as well.”

Life in Revue: “The voices are great, the performances are fantastic, and the show provides entertainment while also delving into some difficult historical experience that resonate, and are probably still experienced today.”

BroadwayWorld: “Blended 和 (Harmony) is a poignant and culturally significant production that deserves recognition.”

MinnPost: “Huang does a nice job unpacking the intricacies of the different relationships between the sisters.”

and more by the Pioneer Press, MPR, Talkin’ Broadway, the Stages of MN, Play Off the Page, and Tommie Media.

“[The Kim Loo Sisters] were part of American entertainment history but never thought of it that way,” says Leslie Li, story consultant and daughter of Jenée Li (nee Louie). “They never said Broadway, and they never said that they were in George White's Scandals, which ran for 20 years on Broadway.” Read the full story at the Star Tribune.

“I want the world to know [the Kim Loo Sisters] existed, first of all, and that they were out there performing alongside Ann Miller and Frank Sinatra and other performers whose names we remember. They existed. They were amazing. And actually, Asian Americans have always been amazing and have been there performing,” librettist Jessica Huang tells MPR News. “We've been here, we are here, and we're incredible.” Read or listen to the full interview at MPR.

More press:

• Q&A with Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and librettist Jessica Huang

• Live studio interview with Fox 9 Good Day and actors Ethan Yaheen-Moy Chan, Suzie Juul, & Ann Michels

• Live radio interview with the Narrative on KRSM and Mu artistic director/production director Lily Tung Crystal and choreographer Rush Benson

Dive into the world of the Kim Loo Sisters with the digital versions of the historical lobby posters at History Theatre. Read more.

Learn about the research and inspiration behind the scenic design through a Q&A with Mina Kinukawa. Read more.

IN CO-PRODUCTION

Blended 和 (Harmony): The Kim Loo Sisters was co-commissioned and is co-produced by History Theatre and Theater Mu.

Understudies: Fjaere Harder, Michi Lee, Sydney Lin, Abby Magalee*, Carl Swanson, Nelson Williams

MEET THE LIBRETTIST

JESSICA HUANG (she/her) is a playwright and librettist whose plays include: The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin (Barry and Bernice Stavis Award), Mother of Exiles (Rosa Parks Playwriting Award, Paul Stephen Lim Playwriting Award), and Transmissions in Advance of the Second Great Dying (EMOS Ecodrama prize). Her audioplay Song of the Northwoods is available on Audible. She is developing an original television show with WBTV. She has commissions with Manhattan Theatre Club, Timeline Theater, TheaterWorks, History Theatre, and Theater Mu. She is a three-time Playwrights' Center fellow, and has been a member of Ars Nova Play Group, Civilians R&D Group and Page 73's Interstate 73. She is a graduate of the playwrights program at Juilliard.

MEET THE COMPOSER

JACINTH GREYWOODE (he/him) is a New York-based composer and music director whose family hails from Sierra Leone. His works, which range from classical chamber pieces to Broadway-style theater music, have been performed throughout the Americas and in Europe and Africa by such groups and companies as the Civilians, American Opera Projects, the Village Theatre and the Public, Calidore String Quartet, and others. Recent credits: How to Break at Village Theatre; Iron John: An American Ghost Story with Rebecca Hart (2020 Richard Rodgers Award finalist, 2019 O'Neill National Musical Theatre Conference [NMTC] semifinalist), and Black Girl in Paris with AriDy Nox (2023 O'Neill NMTC finalist). Education: BA in music with a certificate in collaborative piano performance (Princeton University), MFA from the musical theatre writing program (NYU's Tisch School of the Arts), and PhD in composition (Stony Brook University).

MEET THE DIRECTOR

LILY TUNG CRYSTAL (she/her) is a director, actor, and the artistic director of Theater Mu. Lily’s recent productions include Mu’s world premiere of Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay The Kung Fu Zombies Saga: Shaman Warrior & Cannibals, Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band at Mu/Jungle, Mu’s live film-theater production of Susan Soon He Stanton’s Today Is My Birthday, and The Humans at Park Square (Twin Cities Theatre Bloggers’ Best Play 2022). She has also helmed David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish and Flower Drum Song and Leah Nanako Winkler’s Two Mile Hollow, all for which she was named a Theatre Bay Area Award finalist for Outstanding Direction. As an actor/singer, Lily has performed at theaters across the country, including Cal Shakes, Jungle Theater, Magic Theatre, Mixed Blood, New World Stages, Portland Center Stage, and Syracuse Stage.

lead creative & production

URSULA K. BOWDEN, REBECCA MALMSTROM, JENNY MOELLER, JACEY STEWART
Properties Design Team

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association
• Member of Twin Cities Musicians Union Local 30-73, American Federation of Musicians
# Member of United Scenic Artists Local #829

Season Sponsors

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