THE DANCE AND THE RAILROAD

The Dance and the Railroad

by David Henry Hwang
directed by Katherine Chou
October 1-November 1, 2026

Utilizing the beauty and athleticism of Chinese Opera, The Dance and the Railroad explores the friendship between two immigrant laborers during the 1867 Chinese railroad workers strike. Set on a California mountaintop, Lone and Ma reminisce about the homes they left behind in China, the lives they hope to build and what it means to chase the American Dream.

The Dance and the Railroad is supported in part by the David Lee Foundation.

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Cast

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

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Creative Team

David Henry Hwang (Playwright) Work includes the plays M. Butterfly, Yellow Face (Tony Award-winning Broadway revival in 2024), Chinglish, The Dance and the Railroad, and FOB, as well as the musicals Soft Power, Flower Drum Song and Disney’s Aida and Tarzan. He has written thirteen opera libretti, including Ainadamar with Osvaldo Golijov and The Monkey King with Huang Tuo. Hwang was a Writer/Consulting Producer for the Golden Globe-winning television series The Affair and co-wrote the Gold Record “Solo” with the late pop legend Prince. He is a Tony Award winner and four-time nominee, a Grammy Award winner and two-time nominee, a three-time OBIE Award winner, and a three-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Hwang received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dramatists Guild in 2025.

Katherine Chou (Director) is a director, writer, and producer. Her work in theatre spans new play development and productions with Artists at Play, South Coast Repertory, Boston Court Pasadena, A Noise Within, EST/LA, and the Denver Center for Performing Arts, among others. As a filmmaker, her work has screened internationally and received recognition from CAPE, STARZ, Women in Film, and Visual Communications’ Armed With a Camera Fellowship. Previously, she worked in post-production on films at Warner Bros., 20th Century Studios, and HBO. A graduate of Sciences Po Paris, she has called many places home across North America, Europe, and Asia.