Silk Road Rising to Present the World Premiere of Jamil Khoury's Re-Spiced: A Silk Road Cabaret

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) January 10, 2012

Silk Road Rising to present the World Premiere of “Re-Spiced: A Silk Road Cabaret,” song and narrative selection by Jamil Khoury, directed by Steve Scott, musical direction by Ryan Brewster, Choreography by Brenda Didier. Re-Spiced runs April 4 May 6, 2012, in Pierce Hall at The Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St, Chicago. Press opening is Saturday, April 7 at 4:00 pm.

The cast of “Re-Spiced: A Silk Road Cabaret” includes: Jaii Beckley, Danny Bernardo, Joel Kim Booster, Christine Bunuan, Dipika Cherala, Joyee Lin, Evan Tyrone Martin, Cheyenne Pinson, and Amira Sabbagh.

The design team includes: Dan Stratton (Set), Michael Stanfill (Lighting), Jeremy Lloyd (Costumes), Jesse Gaffney (Props), and Neal Ryan Shaw (Dramaturg). The stage manager is Kate Guthrie. Assistant Director is Corey Pond.

ABOUT THE PLAY & THE CREATIVE TEAM

Re-Spiced: A Silk Road Cabaret

“Re-Spiced: A Silk Road Cabaret” is a playful, sexy, occasionally subversive, always entertaining, musical pastiche of Asian and Middle Eastern images in American and British song. From Broadway show tunes to pop, from country to rap, from folk to jazz to rock, Re-Spiced turns the tables on us and them with panache and glee and leaves us wondering just whos who?

Song and Narrative Selection by Jamil Khoury

Jamil Khoury is Founding Artistic Director of Silk Road Rising. Promoting playwrights of Silk Road backgrounds is a passion that dovetails well with Khourys experiences living in the Middle East and his eleven years as a cross-cultural trainer and international relocations consultant. His vocation as a playwright lends valuable currency to fulfilling SRRs mission as a playwright driven theatre. Khourys plays focus on Middle Eastern themes and questions of Diaspora. He is particularly interested in the intersections of culture, national identity, sexuality, and class. Khoury holds a M.A. degree in Religious Studies from The University of Chicago Divinity School and a B.S. degree in International Relations from Georgetown University ‘s School of Foreign Service. He is a Kellogg Executive Scholar (Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University) and has been awarded a Certificate of Professional Achievement in Nonprofit Management. Khoury has developed courses in Middle East Studies for The University of Chicago Graham School of General Studies and has lectured widely on Arab American affairs. In fall of 2009, Khoury conceived of and curated the highly successful “Silk Road Cabaret: Broadway Sings the Silk Road.” Khoury also conceived of, and was a featured playwright in, SRRs production of “The DNA Trail: A Genealogy of Short Plays about Ancestry, Identity, and Utter Confusion” (winter 2010). As a lead artist, his video work includes: “both/and” and the soon to be released “Not Quite White: Arabs, Slavs, and the Contours of Contested Whiteness.” Khourys play “Precious Stones” won Gay Chicago Magazine’s 2003 After Dark Award for Outstanding New Work and has been performed in ten cities across the U.S. His play “Fitna” was performed at University Theatre of The University of Chicago and his play “Azizati” was performed at Caf