‘Why Dream in Inglewood?’ was playwright Henry Ong adaption of Cao Xueqin’s novel, Dream of the Red Chamber. Presented in Inglewood’s Edward Vincent Jr. Park, Ong ‘s four-act play invoked the romance novel plot of multi-generational families and supernatural beings in a series of free, open-seating events.

Ong’s diverse 14 stage actors portrayed 70 roles from the novel’s 30 main characters and 400 minor ones. A marathon six-hour performance on Saturday May 27, 2017 with live music capped 10 open rehearsal. performed public art exploring destiny, duty and humanity. Published in 1791, Dream is one of China’s great classical novels, similar to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Henry Ong was a playwright, director, teacher, producer and author with works produced in London, Singapore and Canada, San Diego’s prestigious Old Globe Theatre and across the United States. A 16-time recipient of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Artist-in-Residence grant, Mr. Ong worked on many oral history projects in underserved communities to present lives rarely portrayed in mainstream media. His projects included Chinese American Stories, Thai American Stories, Pinoy Stories, and Sikh American Stories. Until his passing in 2018, Henry Ong was active in The Dramatists Guild of America.

Date: 2017
Collection: City of Inglewood Time-Based Projects
Medium: Experimental, site-related theater
Material: Performance
Size: Four act play, each act 90 minutes

Location:
Edward Vincent Jr Park
714 Warren Lane
Inglewood, California 90302