Ma-Yi Theater Company and the Public Theater Announce Cast for Sumo 相撲

Ma-Yi Theater Company and the Public Theater announced complete casting for the New York premiere of Sumo 相撲, a new play written by Ma-Yi Theater Company Tow Foundation Resident Playwright Lisa Sanaye Dring and directed by Obie Award winner and Ma-Yi producing artistic director Ralph B. Peña. Sumo had its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse in the fall of 2023. Sumo runs February 20-March 23, with an official opening on March 5, in the Anspacher Theater.

Sumo is the third collaborative production between Ma-Yi Theater Company and The Public Theater. The drama takes place in an elite sumo training facility in Tokyo, where six men practice, eat, love, play, and ultimately fight.

The complete cast features Kris Bona (Spamilton) as Kannushi 2, Red Concepción (Chicago) as Fumio, Michael Hisamoto as So, Ahmad Kamal as Ren, Earl T. Kim as Shinta, David Shih (Awake and Sing!) as Mitsuo, Scott Keiji Takeda as Akio, Paco Tolson (Vietgone) as Kannushi 1, and Viet Vo (Romeo and Bernadette) as Kannushi 3.

Understudies are Akira Fukui as for So/Kannushi 1, Hank Lin for Mitsuo/Ren/Shinta/Kannushi 2, and Haowen Luo 罗浩闻 for Akio/Fumio/Kannushi 3.

The production will feature scenic design by Wilson Chin, costume design by Mariko Ohigashi, lighting design by Paul Whitaker, sound design and music composition by Fabian Obispo, hair and wig design by Alberto “Albee” Alvarado, projection design by Hana S. Kim, prop design by Thomas Jenkeleit, and taiko drum composition by Shih-Wei Carrasco Wu. James Yaegashi will be the sumo consultant and co-fight director, Chelsea Pace will be the co-fight and intimacy director, and Amrita Ramanan will be the dramaturg.