An original cast recording for the Off-Broadway production of Cambodian Rock Band will be released in May. Lauren Yee's play, with music by the band Dengue Fever, played the Signature Theatre earlier this year (the twice-extended run was cut short by 10 days due to the shutdown of theatres following the coronavirus outbreak).
The Cambodian Rock Band cast album is from Yellow Sound Label and will drop May 8. The album is produced by Michael Croiter and Matthias Winter, and will be available on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, and wherever music is sold. You can pre-order it here.
Directed by Chay Yew, Cambodian Rock Band ran at the Signature Theatre (where Yee is a resident playwright) February 4–March 12 (the run had been extended through March 22).
The play follows a Khmer Rouge survivor (Joe Ngo) who returns to Cambodia for the first time in 30 years, as his daughter (Courtney Reed) prepares to prosecute one of Cambodia's most infamous war criminals. Rounding out the cast Off-Broadway were Francis Jue as Duch, Abraham Kim as Rom, Jane Lui as Pou, and Moses Villarama as Ted/Leng.
“We are thrilled to be able to share something joyful at this moment. The messages in Signature resident playwright’s award-winning Cambodian Rock Band around resilience and perseverance is so resonate today," says Signature Artistic Director Paige Evans. "Lauren’s unique play will now live on not only through the script, but also through these exciting songs—which had audiences literally dancing by the end of the show.”
The creative team for the Signature production was comprised of scenic designer Takeshi Kata, costume designer Linda Cho, lighting designer David Weiner, sound designer Mikhail Fiksel, projection designer Luke Norby, and music supervisor Matt MacNelly. Fight direction was by Unkle Dave’s Fight-House with casting by Caparelliotis Casting. Charles M. Turner III was the show's production stage manager.
Cambodian Rock Band has had productions at La Jolla, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Victory Gardens in Chicago, and South Coast Rep. The Signature production launched Steinberg Award–winning playwright Yee’s Residency 5 at the Off-Broadway theatre.
Francis Jue and Courtney Reed in Cambodian Rock Band
