Press Release: Mu artistic director Lily Tung Crystal to lead East West Players
Lily Tung Crystal will transition in August to head the nation’s largest Asian American theater company.
(May 15, 2024) Theater Mu announced today that artistic director Lily Tung Crystal will step down from her full-time role at the end of Mu’s 2023/24 season to lead Los Angeles-based East West Players, the longest-running and largest Asian American theater company in the United States. During her tenure, Mu was named a regional cultural treasure by the Ford and McKnight foundations, doubled the size of its staff, and doubled its budget from $650,000 to $1.3 million.
“This is a bittersweet moment because of my deep love for Theater Mu and the Minnesotan theater and Asian American communities. My heart is both happy and breaking,” Tung Crystal says. “I’m grateful to Mu and the Twin Cities for giving me such a significant artistic and spiritual home. My life’s work has centered on the intersection between art and social justice; increasing representation of Asian American and other marginalized artists on stage, TV, and film; and telling more Asian American stories. Mu has allowed me to do that work in a deep and joyful way with a truly incredible group of staff, board, artists, and supporters. I’ve never known a theater so well-loved by its community, and I will miss it terribly.”
She adds, “Yet I look forward to the immense possibilities at East West Players and returning to Los Angeles, where I was born and raised. I hope to continue this work and bring more artistry and equity to theater nationally, in collaboration with artists and organizations across the country, including Theater Mu. I’m humbled and honored to be given the opportunity to lead the nation’s largest Asian American theater company and longest-running theater of color.”
An inclusive artistic vision
Tung Crystal arrived at Mu after co-founding and leading Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company in the Bay Area, and she made a national impact during the COVID-19 pandemic because of her vision for Mu.
Instead of shuttering Theater Mu’s doors like many theaters, she opened them wider, producing at least three virtual events and gathering spaces each week from late March through May 2020. She also directed Susan Soon He Stanton’s Today Is My Birthday, which was produced in February 2021 with support from East West Players, and received national attention for its innovative live-stream coordination.
Other Mu productions she directed were Jihae Park’s peerless (2019), Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band (2022, co-produced with the Jungle Theater), and the world premiere of Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay’s The Kung Fu Zombies Saga: Shaman Warrior & Cannibals (2023). She most recently directed the world premiere of Blended 和 (Harmony): The Kim Loo Sisters, created by Jessica Huang and Jacinth Greywoode, co-produced with History Theatre, and running now through May 26, 2024.
Overall, Tung Crystal’s artistic programming at Mu emphasized newer works relevant to the vast diaspora of Asian Americans. For instance, during the 2022/23 season, she uniquely programmed an all Southeast Asian season consisting only of world premieres with local playwrights and storytellers. She also championed women, non-binary artists, and theater makers from other marginalized communities.
Managing director Anh Thu T. Pham says, “Lily has made an incredible contribution to Asian American theater and Mu. Her keen artistic eye and values of centering community was something that was evident from her first production here. Her belief in widening our circles ensured that Mu’s mainstage work centered and amplified an intersectional Asian American voice while not losing the artistic excellence that Mu has always been known for. I will miss having her as a colleague, thought-partner, and friend. We look forward to better partnering with East West Players in continuing to move Asian American theater on the national scene. Lily will have a big impact on the theater scene in Los Angeles, and we wish her the absolute best!”
While at Mu, Tung Crystal also acted at Minneapolis theaters and directed an award-winning production of Stephen Karam’s The Humans, featuring a transracial Asian American adoptee family. For her directing work in San Francisco, she was thrice-named a Theatre Bay Area Award finalist for outstanding direction.
Supporting artists at all stages
As Mu’s fourth and first woman artistic director, Tung Crystal prioritized mentorship for and intentional long-term investments in Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) theater artists, particularly those in the local community. Mu’s mainstage productions have become more ambitious each season, but Tung Crystal has made space for emerging artists by revitalizing the Mu Training Institute and establishing Mu’s fellowship program. Other artistic expansions include formalizing the literary committee and supporting Mu’s first three playwright cohorts, two of which were designed by Mu’s Mellon Foundation playwright-in-residence, Duangphouxay Vongsay, and one by literary manager Jane Peña and artistic associate Annie Jin Wang.
“Our goal at Mu is to empower Asian American leaders, center equity, and promote talent, and that statement applies to our own staff and leadership too,” says Theater Mu board chair Ruthie Johnson. “As part of our first female co-director team with managing director Anh Thu T. Pham, Lily has taken Theater Mu to the next level in talent nurturing, production quality, and relevant storytelling, setting up a strong foundation for our next artistic director to build from. We will miss her, but we are also excited to continue to support her and for our partnership with East West Players to grow.”
Tung Crystal will program Theater Mu’s 2024/25 season before her departure. This spring, Mu will name an interim artistic director and then start a nationwide search for her permanent successor. Tung Crystal will stay on as a consultant to help with the transition and onboarding process.
At East West Players, Tung Crystal will become the organization’s fifth artistic director, joining managing director Eugene J. Hutchins.
For interviews, assets, or other media requests, contact Lianna McLernon at lianna@theatermu.org or by calling (612) 709-3324.