Don’t Cry, Dancing Girls, an original Taiwanese musical performed in Chinese, will have its first New York City workshop with invitation-only presentations January 23–25 at Theatre Row.

Penned by Taiwanese playwright Jie Zhan and composer Ho-Hsiang Kan, the new musical is inspired by a family’s return to their rural roots after the death of their father. The production weaves together Daoist and Buddhist death rituals, Taiwanese folk traditions, and a folk-rock score.

Hui-Cheng Tseng will direct a cast led by Taiwan actors Ching-Chia Chang, Fang-Yu Chang, Chengyu Lu, Neng-An Kung, Wen-Hao Yeh, Wei Wang, Szu-Yu Tseng, Ya-Chieh Hu, Min-Chieh Li, Hui-Sen Huang, Wan-Yi Chou, and Yi-Hao Huang, joined by New York-based actor Albert Hsueh (Pacific Overtures at Signature, The King and I at Drury Lane) as the Narrator.

“Through age-old traditions, the piece beautifully weaves emotion, humor, and complex family relationships into a poignant reflection of traditional and modern life in Taiwan,” says director Tseng in a statement. “The result is an uplifting transformation of a family.”

“I find this piece deeply moving in unexpected ways,” adds Center Ring Theatrical's Ken Dingledine, who is co-producing the New York presentation. “The piece’s exploration of a family’s guilt, traditional gender identities, and the struggle against fate is beautifully crafted. I’m thrilled to be developing this powerful piece for a New York audience. This presentation is the first in what we hope will be many in an artistic pipeline that we are building between Asia and the English-speaking world.”

Don't Cry, Dancing Girls played a sold-out tour across multiple cities in Taiwan under the leadership of VMTheatre Company CEO Tsung-Jen Hou, Artistic Director Hui-Cheng Tseng, and Producer Yi-Heng Lin. It is produced in New York by VMTheatre Company, KOKO Entertainment, Dingledine, and executive producer Barbara Darwall.

Industry professionals interested in attending should email [email protected].