Journey to the West is one of China’s four classic novels and its most popular due to the antics of its main character, Monkey King.  So what is Monkey doing in America?  In Pennsylvania?  Simply taking part in yet another Chinese production?  No—in Visual Expressions’ Monkey King he is going to do his thing in America—in the Endless Mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania, to be exact, in a production now in progress that will revolutionize/Americanize the use of contemporary shadow puppetry.  We are focused mainly on one particular episode in the journey, the adventure of the “golden bells,” in which Monkey King restores a small kingdom to peace and prosperity that has been bedeviled for years by a great demon.  We want to show not just the supernatural feats of this great mischief-making, sometimes arrogant hero, but also how he “grows up” and gains maturity and wisdom – and, along the way, to demonstrate the almost slapstick elements of comedy involved in the relationships between the three principal characters of the play: the holy Monk and his two disciples, the boastful Monkey and the blustery Pig.

The production of Monkey King is commissioned by the Bradford County Regional Arts Council and received a New Directions grant from the Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour. It was written by Robert A. Anderson who has been China four times where he has seen dramatizations of Monkey King’s adventures.  The play remains faithful to the colorful and zany spirit of the original, but its biting satire is now directed at American targets—politicians, health insurance, drug companies, sex.  The 3D masks and scenery are inspired by Chinese painting and sculpture designed by Chinese puppet artist Hua Hua Zhang.  The original music ranges from Chinese to American rap—by Chinese composer Liang Liang and American improvising multi-instrumentalist Mary Knysh. The lighting and sound is designed by John Miller.  Monkey King is premier at the Sayre Theatre, Sayre, PA, on August 17, 2010.