HOME / 2021-2022 / CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND

PART HISTORICAL PLAY. PART ROCK CONCERT.

In this co-production with the Jungle Theater, a Khmer Rouge survivor returns to Cambodia for the first time in 30 years as his daughter prepares to prosecute one of Cambodia’s most infamous war criminals. Backed by a live band playing contemporary Dengue Fever hits and classic Cambodian oldies, this thrilling story toggles back and forth in time as father and daughter face the music of the past.

Learn more about who’s involved with our playbill, viewable online as a web page.

Theater goers are also invited to Selapak: A Celebration of Khmer Artistry on Jul 11. The free event will take place at the Jungle and feature the Wattanak Dance Troupe, poet Peuo Tuy, and Mu acting fellow Deryck Hak. Learn more and RSVP!

GENERAL INFORMATION

DATES

Jun 11 - Jul 31, 2022, previews Jun 8 - 10

Cambodian Rock Band runs approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission. It is recommended for ages 16 and older due to depictions of and references to war, violence, torture, strong language, and other adult content.

TICKETS

Theater Mu strives to voice the stories of the Asian American community, and in order to bring performances to those communities whose stories we tell, we are committed to making them as accessible as possible. PAY AS YOU ARE pricing asks those who routinely pay $45 for theater tickets to choose to pay that amount; it is the actual fair market value of the ticket. If an audience member needs to pay less, they can choose to do so—as little as $5 per ticket.

Seating is assigned.

VENUE

Cambodian Rock Band will take place at the Jungle Theater, located at 2951 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55408.

For directions or parking information, visit the Jungle Theater’s website.

COVID-19 POLICY

Proof of full, up to date COVID-19 vaccination (digital or physical) or a lab-confirmed negative COVID-19 antigen or PCR result received within 72 hours of Cambodian Rock Band is required to enter the venue. Masks are to be worn at all times: Theater Mu and the Jungle prefer that patrons wear KN95 or N95 masks. While there will be intermission concessions, they must be consumed in the lobby.

EXPLORE MORE

Magers & Quinn teamed up with the Jungle and Theater Mu to create a special book collection, just for Cambodian Rock Band. Find out which books are on the list!

Dengue Fever isn’t just part of the soundtrack: The band helped inspire the play itself.

Get the inside scoop on Cambodian Rock Band’s music, characters, and themes, straight from the cast themselves.

Learn more about our cast’s personal music projects in this blog post written by the Jungle Theater.

Take home the Cyclos with our band T-shirts! The graphic is based on a photo of our cast by Rich Ryan. Learn more about the design and shop now.

REVIEWS

Pioneer Press - “The performances are so strong that a play potentially difficult to watch becomes a compelling drama that demands to be seen… and heard.”

Star Tribune - “Five of the six actors play instruments, nimbly alternating between affecting drama and haunting rock 'n' roll in this summer must-see. … [Danielle] Troiano is hypnotic, singing oldies in Khmer and new songs in English with a delivery that shortens the distance between past and present.”

Talkin’ Broadway - “It is like a stick of dynamite, its long fuse sizzling from the beginning, leading up to an explosive end. To be cast in Cambodian Rock Band means being able to portray emotionally wrenching characters and, in alternating scenes, play and sing rock and roll with unbridled energy.”

Cherry & Spoon - “It's playing through the end of July, so you have plenty of time and no excuse not to see this ingenious new, innovative, and important work of music-theater. … Scenes are interspersed with musical performances that are integral to the storytelling, showing us without words the rich cultural history of the Khmer people.”

The Stages of MN - “This is a show in which the musical performances transcend language, with the feel of a rock concert perfectly blended with an intimate story through which we begin to understand the large-scale tragedy of Cambodia in this dark period of its history.”

PRESS FEATURES

Minnesota Monthly - Dramaturgy fellow Cody Kour and cultural and language consultant Mongkol Teng talk about the importance of Cambodian Rock Band, with Mongkol saying, “Beyond the skulls you see on TV, tthere was great music and great things that happened before the war [in Cambodia] that we should show the world. I’m happy that is present in the show.”

Star Tribune - “Regardless of how you enter the play, music transcends all borders,” playwright Lauren Yee told the Star Tribune. “We can all remember certain songs or albums that we listened to at very specific times in your life, transporting us back to those emotions. So music is a time machine that helps transport us back.” Later in the article, director Lily Tung Crystal adds, “This is a story of resilience. My parents grew up with so much suffering and loss, there's a pride in weathering this and making a better life for our children.”

The Current - “Many immigrants and first-generation immigrants can find themselves in the story that plays out in Cambodian Rock Band,” reports the Current. Check out the full preview, which looks at Lily Tung Crystal’s and Danielle Troiano’s personal experiences, the historical aspect of the play, and more.

MinnPost - “The lotus flower is representative of beauty coming from mud. It literally can’t grow without being in the mud first. And then when it finally pushes up past that surface, it’s the beautiful flower,” dramaturg fellow Cody Kour tells MinnPost. “The genocide is tragedy mixed with the beauty. They’re together. You can’t really separate it. You have to go through the mud and the darkness to emerge into something beautiful.”

Dispatch MSP - “The same things attract me to [Lauren Yee’s] writing now [are the same] that I noticed performing her earlier work,” Eric Sharp says. “Her irreverence, her concentration on the frayed but lasting bonds between generations of Asian American parents and children, and the sheer scope of her theatrical sensibilities. And it must be said—she is a master of dialogue. Her plays are just so much fun to perform.”

Broadway World - “This is the first time I've played a Southeast Asian character as a Southeast Asian actor. That alone makes this experience extremely special for me. I see an alarming amount of myself in Neary & her relentless & messy journey to connect to her culture & to her father, & I see an equally alarming amount of myself in Sothea & her passion for a vibrant life,” Danielle Troiano says.

Mpls.St.Paul - “The artistic directors Lily Tung Crystal and Christina Baldwin are both masters of bringing together people for a theatrical experience so much greater than the sum of its parts,” Eric Sharp tells the magazine. “Both Mu and the Jungle are known for high-quality, intentional work that combines deep heart with sublime stagecraft. What’s not to love?!”

Cast

MEET THE DIRECTOR

LILY TUNG CRYSTAL (she/her) has directed Twin Cities productions of Jiehae Park’s peerless at Mu, MN Opera’s Art is a Verb (Harrison Rivers, librettist), and Mu’s live film-theater production of Susan Soon He Stanton’s Today Is My Birthday. Other shows include David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish and Flower Drum Song at Palo Alto Players, and the world premiere of Leah Nanako Winkler’s Two Mile Hollow at Ferocious Lotus. For all three shows, 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, Crowded Fire, Magic Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, New World Stages, Playwrights’ Center, Portland Center Stage, SF Playhouse, and Syracuse Stage. She is a YBCA 100 honoree, named by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as a "creative pioneer making the provocations that will shape the future of culture." | lilytungcrystal.com

MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT

LAUREN YEE (she/her) 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 Theater, Guthrie Theater, American Conservatory Theater, 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, No. 1 and No. 2 plays on 2017 Kilroys List. New Dramatists, Ma-Yi Writers’ Lab, Playwrights Realm alum. TV: Pachinko (Apple+ TV), Soundtrack (Netflix). BA: Yale. MFA: UCSD. | laurenyee.com

Creative Team

* MEMBER OF ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION, THE UNION OF PROFESSIONAL ACTORS AND STAGE MANAGERS IN THE UNITED STATES
^ Financial support for the associate director of this production is provided by the Knight Foundation through a collaboration with the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts’ GreenRoom initiative.

PHOTOS

Photos by Rich Ryan

A CO-PRODUCTION

Cambodian Rock Band is co-produced by the Jungle Theater and Theater Mu.

Special Thanks

SEASON 2021/22 SPONSORS