Rosanne Ma & More Set for Damon Chua’s Film Chinois Off-Broadway

Rosanne Ma (The Joy Luck Club) has been tapped for Damon Chua’s atmospheric noir mystery Film Chinois. Directed by Kaipo Schwab, the off-Broadway production will begin previews on January 17, 2015 and run through February 8. Opening night is set for January 22 at the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row.

The play will also feature Jean Brassard, James Henry Doan, Katie Lee Hill and Benjamin Jones.

Film Chinois takes us back to 1947 Peking, an uneasy time between WWII and the imminent Communist takeover two years later. The play follows Chinadoll (Ma), a Maoist femme fatale, Randolph (Jones), a fresh-faced American operative on a secret mission, and a mysterious man (Doan).  Further complicating things are the Ambassador (Brassard) and his current flame, Simone (Hill), a songstress with something up her sleeve. As Randolph plunges deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness, he finds his life imperiled, as he begins to unravel the mystery of a piece of old home-made film.

The production will feature sets by Sheryl Liu, lights by Marie Yokoyama, costumes by Carol Pelletier and sound by Ian Wherle.