ASHLAND, Ore. — An award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival play is going national. ‘Cambodian Rock Band’ just wrapped its last performance at OSF but it’s only the beginning as the crew has plans to perform off-broadway and beyond.
The play is a mixture of comedy, history, and an epic rock concert. The story depicts the life of a young woman trying to take down a Khmer Rouge war criminal thirty years after her father fled Cambodia. Six actor/musicians make up the cast and perform a mix of contemporary Dengue Fever hits and classic Cambodian oldies. The play will soon head to La Jolla, Portland, Minneapolis, and off-broadway in New York.
“It was incredibly important to all of us to initiate outreach so that the Khmer community was able to come to the show with their families with elders, survivors, and their families because that’s what the show is about and that’s who it’s for,” Brooke Ishibashi, said lead singer with the Cambodian Rock Band.
The crew is packing for their next stop San Diego. Ishibashi said there’s a good chance the show will continue beyond the tour and hopes it’ll eventually reach broadway.
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