There was good news in email last week Thursday. Turns out Mark Bucher's production of Michael Golamco's Cowboy Vs. Samurai is, in fact, going to make it to the stage. The script, which requires a number of asian-american actors, was a bit difficult to cast, so the opening of the how kept getting pushed back.
Now the show has afirm opening date of May 23rd and a full cast of four. The show premiered with the National Asian American Theatre Company in New York back in '05. It tells the story of travis--a Korean American english teacher living in rural Wyoming who falls for Veronica--a smart and beautiful asian-american woman. Travis' problem is simple: she only dates white guys. Travis has to choose between the Asian American and the American within . . . the cowboy or the samurai. Kind of a fun premise that gets into the heart of contemporary American cultural identity.
Mark Bucher and Jaime Jastrab co-direct the show.
The show stars West Coast actor David Lee as Travis. Lee's mini-bio speaks of a career spent between New York and LA/San Francisco. This is his Milwaukee debut.
The affably tall Rick Fresca plays the caucasian guy--a gym teacher. Fresca has been making some interesting appearances in various shows in the recent past. He's done some memorable work with UWM and Carte Blanche.
Clarence 'Sammy' Aumend plays another man falling for Veronica. Aumend is familiar with the intimate space of the Boulevard having appeared with a considerably larger cast in the Boulevard's recent production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
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Veronica Sotelo rounds out the cast as as . . . uh . . . Veronica. Sotelo was born in Mexico and grew-up in Beloit. And here she's playing an Asian woman. To me, this just sounds very, very cool. As witnessed in an online feature piece about her, the former UWM student has a passion for the kind of multiculturalism that Golamco is addressing here.
Boulevard Theatre's production of Cowboy Versus Samurai runs May 23rd - June 24th. For ticket reservations, call 414-744-5757.
