World Premiere of Disney & Fujikawa by Lloyd Suh as part of the EST One-Act Marathon, directed by Linsay Firman. May 28th to June 26th, 2017.
A meeting of two very different cartoonists, Gyo Fujikawa and Walt Disney, in 1942. An uncomfortable conversation on power, personal responsibility, and the art of animation at a time of great uncertainty and national crisis.
“Jeff Biehl and Tiffany Villarin are both excellent in ‘Disney & Fujikawa,’ Lloyd Suh’s tale of a wartime meeting between Walt Disney and the Japanese-American illustrator Gyo Fujikawa.” – Anita Gates, NY Times
“The fourth one-act, Disney & Fujikawa by Lloyd Suh, directed by Linsay Firman, was another exemplary demonstration of the form;… The play existed as a torrent of words, contemporary existential anxiety unleashed. Suh”™s writing is smart, sharp, and political, resonating both with the world of 1942 depicted in the play and our 2017 reality. Jeff Biehl and Tiffany Villarin gave excellent performances, portraying many layers of these characters “” one mythologized, one mostly unknown “” in the span of one conversation… Suh”™s writing gifted both characters with passionate monologues, in the fraught historical setting of World War II and Japanese internment camps. Disney & Fujikawa was an extremely evocative fragment of a much larger story, laced with humor and wit.” – Amelia Parenteau, Culturebot
“…a very strong performance by Jeff Biehl as Walt Disney.” - Massimo Iacoboni, Front Row Center
Cast
Jeff Biehl, Tiffany Villarin
Creative Team
Lloyd Suh (writer), Linsay Firman (Director), Jason Ardizzone-West (Set), Â Audrey Nauman (Costume), John Salutz (Lights), Almeda Beynon (Sound), Claire Rufiange (Props), Eileen Lalley (Production Stage Manager).