Recentlyttended another great production today At the Steppenwolf Theater. It is about an American basketball team that travels to Beijing amid tensions in the 1980s. Past relationships collide with present day revelations. Witty and weighty, this Chicago production explores cultural barriers, political risks, and personal sacrifice. I came away with a lot to think and talk about. Thanks to CHI and GSF
From steppenwolf.org
ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Great Leap tells the story of Manford Lum, a local star of the sidewalk basketball courts of San Francisco’s Chinatown who strongearms his way onto an American college team travelling to Beijing for a “friendship” game. Set amidst the friction of post cultural revolution China, this Chicago premiere explores the cultural collide of identity and politics through the game of basketball. Witty and weighty, Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap keeps tensions high right up to the final buzzer.
FROM PLAYWRIGHT LAUREN YEE
“Growing up, my father dominated the basketball courts of San Francisco’s Chinatown, and in the 1980s, his legendary game won him a spot on a friendship team headed to a newly open China to play a series of exhibition games against the best teams in the People’s Republic. That nugget of his history formed the inspiration for my play The Great Leap nearly 40 years later.”
T. Jordan Christmas II Puppetry Performance & Design 
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