A collaboration with

When You Trap a Tiger

MARCH 14 - 30, 2025

Based on the book by Tae Keller 

Script by Katie Hae Leo
Directed by Emma Y. Lai
 
CAST | CREATIVE TEAM

 

RECOMMENDED FOR: Ages 7+
LOCATION: Jaycees Studio Theatre
SHOW RUN TIME: TBA
RESOURCE GUIDE: Coming Soon!

 

What stories do you keep with you?

Would you make a deal with a magical tiger? This uplifting story brings Korean folklore to life as a girl goes on an adventure to unlock the power of stories and save her grandmother. Based on the #1 New York Times best-selling, Newbery Medal-winning novel, When You Trap a Tiger.

ALL TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

 

About Theater Mu

Theater Mu (pronounced MOO) is the premier Asian American theater company in the Midwest and one of the largest in the nation. Founded in 1992, Mu’s continuing goal to celebrate and empower the Asian American community through theater is achieved through mainstage productions, emerging artist support, and educational outreach programs. Theater Mu is a member of the Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists, as well as a member of the Twin Cities Theatres of Color Coalition, proudly standing alongside New Native Theatre, Pangea World Theater, Penumbra Theatre, and Teatro Del Pueblo.

CREATIVE TEAM BIOS

Check back closer to opening night for more info!

Tae Keller

Author
Tae Keller is the Newbery award winning and New York Times bestselling author of When You Trap a Tiger and The Science of Breakable Things. She grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she subsisted on kimchi, purple rice, and stories. Now, she writes about biracial girls trying to find their voices, and lives in Seattle with her husband and a multitude of books. Courtesy of taekeller.com

Katie Hae Leo (she/her)

Playwright
Katie Hae Leo (she/her) is thrilled to adapt Tae Keller’s beautiful novel for two of her artistic homes, Theater Mu and Stages Theatre Company, and to work with this wonderful creative team. As a playwright, her previous works include Four Destinies, adaptations of Baseball Saved Us and A Single Shard, and N/A, which was part of The Origins Project, as well as “The New Kid” audio story for Mu’s You Shall Hear Me series. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Minnesota. Katie is currently based in Savannah, Georgia and works for The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a consumer advocacy watchdog working on food and nutrition policy, public health, and food equity based in Washington, D.C. katiehaeleo.com
 

Emma Y. Lai

Director
EMMA Y. LAI (she/her) is a Taiwanese new works director, writer, and producer. Emma has worked with Mu as its directing fellow on Hells Canyon and was a part of its emerging playwrights’ circle. Favorite directing/assisting credits include the world premieres of devoured: notes on love and enmeshment by Liqing Xu (Southern Theater/Playwrights’ Center), The Garden by Hannah Bakke (Childrens’ Theatre Company T.A.T.), Your Own Personal Exegesis by Julia May Jonas (dir. Annie Tippe/LCT3 at Lincoln Center), An American Tail by Itamar Moses, Michael Mahler, and Alan Schmuckler (dir. Taibi Magar/Childrens’ Theatre Company), and COWBOY BOB by Molly Beach Murphy, Jeanna Phillips, and Annie Tippe (dir. Annie Tippe/Alley Theatre). | emmaylai.com


Our 2024-25 Season

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