PALO ALTO — TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, winner of this year’s Tony Award for Best Regional Theater, presents “The Language Archive” by Julia Cho, directed by Jeffrey Lo, from July 10 to Aug. 4 at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd. in Palo Alto.
A quirky, comic drama about communication — its potential and its limits — this romantic parable for our times features a linguist at a loss for words, especially the vocabulary of the heart. Balanced delightfully between affection and adversity, it is the whimsical, life-affirming chronicle of a brilliant scientist who fights to preserve the dying languages of far-flung cultures, only to neglect the promise and passion of his own. Winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for Women Playwrights.
The cast:
Emily Kuroda (Alta and others) has performed at TheatreWorks (“Calligraphy”), Pan Asian Rep (“The Brothers Paranormal”), American Repertory Theater (“Endlings”), Page 73 (“Today Is My Birthday”), Actors Theatre of Louisville (“we, the invisibles”), Huntington Theatre Co. (“Tiger Style!,” “The Woman Warrior”), Artists at Play (“Two Mile Hollow”), South Coast Rep (“Fast Company,” “Ballad of Yachiyo,” and “Our Town”), Alliance Theatre (“Tiger Style!”), East West Players, and many others. Recent TV appearances: “The Good Doctor,” “The Resident,” “Drop Dead Diva,” “Gilmore Girls” (as Mrs. Kim). Recent films: “Take the 10,” “Party Boat”, “Red,” and “The Sensei.”
Francis Jue (Resten and others) has appeared at TheatreWorks in “Pacific Overtures,” “Peter Pan,” “Cabaret,” “M. Butterfly,” “Kiss of the Spiderwoman,” “Amadeus,” “As Bees in Honey Drown,” “Red,” “Floyd Collins,” “Into the Woods,” “Yellow Face,” and “Tokyo Fish Story.” Broadway: “M. Butterfly,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Pacific Overtures.” Other favorite theatre credits include “Soft Power” (Center Theatre Group/Curran) and “King of the Yees” (SF Playhouse). Recent film/TV: “Joyful Noise,” “Madam Secretary,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “The Good Wife,” “Divorce.”
Jomar Tagatac (George) most recently appeared as Mr. Botard in American Conservatory Theater’s “Rhinoceros” as well as “A Christmas Carol,” “Vietgone,” “Monstress,” and “Hamlet.” Other Bay Area credits include SF Playhouse’s “King of the Yees,” “You Mean to Do Me Harm”; Capital Stage’s “Vietgone”; Cal Shakes’ “The War of the Roses,” “Everybody,” “As You Like It,” and “Life Is a Dream”; Magic Theatre’s “Dogeaters,” “Jesus in India,” “Every 5 Minutes,” and “The Happy Ones.”
Adrienne Kaori Walters (Emma) was last seen at TheatreWorks as Molly Aster in “Peter and the Starcatcher,” as well as various seasons of the New Works Festival. Past credits: “Blasted” (Shotgun Players), “Our Practical Heaven” (Aurora Theatre), “Spring Awakening” (Center REP), and “Beneath the Tall Tree” (TheatreFIRST) where she made her playwriting debut alongside Jeffrey Lo.
Elena Wright (Mary) was last seen at TheatreWorks in “Frost/Nixon” and “Silent Sky.” Other credits include: “Pericles,” “Shakespeare’s Will,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Three Musketeers,” “Othello,” “Twelfth Night,” “As You Like It,” “The Comedy of Errors,” “The Liar,” The Spanish Tragedy,” “Richard III” (Marin Shakespeare Co.); “Red Velvet” (SF Playhouse); “Betrayal,” “A Doll’s House,” “In the Next Room,” “The Scene” (Capital Stage); “The Verona Project” (California Shakespeare Theatre); “Venus in Fur” (Pacific Rep); “The Yellow Wallpaper” (Centralworks); “The Salt Plays: Parts I and II” (Shotgun Players); and “The Winter’s Tale” (Seattle Shakespeare Co.).
Showtimes:
July 10-14 — Wednesday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m.
July 16-28 — Tuesday-Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m.
July 31-Aug. 4 — Wednesday, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.
Previews: Wednesday-Friday, July 10 to 12. Opening night: Saturday, July 13.
Post-show discussions: Wednesday, July 17, 24 and 31.
Open captioning for the hearing-impaired: Sunday, July 28, at 2 and 7 p.m.; Wednesday, July 31, at 2 p.m.
Visual Voice for the visually-impaired: Friday, Aug. 2, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 3, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Aug. 4, at 2 p.m.
For more information, call (650) 463-1960, email boxoffice@theatreworks.org or visit https://theatreworks.org.
Cast member Francis Jue discussed the play on ABC7: