Harvey Brownstone Interviews Baayork Lee, Legendary Broadway Star, Choreographer & Director

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth Interview with Baayork Lee, Legendary Broadway Star, Choreographer & Director

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s guest, Baayork Lee, is a highly acclaimed actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and author, who’s been dazzling audiences since she made her Broadway debut at the age of 5 as Princess Ying Yawolak in the original production of “The King and I”, starring Yul Brynner.   

She’s gone on to perform in a dozen Broadway shows including “Flower Drum Song”, “Golden Boy”, “A Joyful Noise”, “Promises, Promises”, “See Saw” - and of course, she created the iconic role of “Connie” in “A Chorus Line”. She was also Michael Bennett’s assistant choreographer for the show, and in 1990 she co-authored a book about the inception and evolution of the show entitled, “On the Line:  The Creation of A Chorus Line” .  

She’s also directed many national and international companies of classic shows like “The King and I”, “Bombay Dreams”, “Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella”, “Barnum”, “Porgy and Bess”, “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Gypsy “, and many others.  Her choreography credits include “Mack and Mabel”, “Camelot”, “Damn Yankees”, “South Pacific”, “The Merry Widow” and so many more.  She was in the movie “Jesus Christ Superstar”, and 2 years ago she directed the wonderful television special, “Wicked In Concert”, starring Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel.  She’s received 2 Helen Hayes Award nominations for Outstanding Choreography, for “Animal Crackers” and “South Pacific”.   

And she co-founded the groundbreaking non-profit organization, the National Asian Artists Project, which showcases the work of Asian-American theatre artists through performance, outreach, and educational programming.  Under our guest’s inspired leadership, this visionary group of artists, educators, administrators, community leaders, and professionals, is dedicated to building bridges between the work of artists of Asian descent, and the many communities who benefit from the work, from under-served primary school students to seasoned arts patrons.  Through the many shows they’ve produced, this organization has demonstrated that iconic theatrical productions can speak to all audiences, and ethnicity is no longer a barrier.  

Our guest has received a whole slew of prestigious awards and accolades, including the 2003 Asian Woman Warrior Award for Lifetime Achievement from Columbia College, the Isabelle Stevens Tony Award,  the Paul Robeson Award from Actors Equity, the Asian Pacific American Heritage Association Achievement In Arts Award, the Arena Stage American Artist Award, and an Award from the Actors Fund for Outstanding Contribution to the World of Dance – and I’m only mentioning a FEW of the awards this extraordinary artist has won.  

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To see more about Baayork Lee, go to:

https://www.facebook.com/baayork.lee/

https://twitter.com/baayorklee

https://www.naaproject.org

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