Stuck Elevator

American Conservatory Theater | Apr 4–28, 2013
International Festival of Arts & Ideas | Jun 20–29, 2013
Nashville Opera | Jan 20–22, 2023
Hawai’i Opera | Oct 16, 18, 20, 2024
Knoxville Opera | May 14, 16, 17, 18, 2025
Opera Grand Rapids | Feb 20–21, 2026
San José State University | Apr 10, 12, 2026

Stuck Elevator tells the story of a Chinese food deliveryman struggling for freedom from debt, human smugglers, loud-mouthed coworkers, and the temptations of General Tso. Based on the true story of an undocumented immigrant who survived 81 hours in a Bronx elevator, this comic-rap-scrap-metal-opera shows increasingly fantastical attempts to escape being trapped in America.

Audio (for educational use only)

2AM Saturday (7 hours after getting stuck)
Guang falls asleep and dreams about picking oranges with his wife Ming, before other characters from his life appear.

12:30AM Sunday (29 hours after getting stuck)
Guang remembers a delivery from 10 months earlier; dehydration fatigue means memory and dream begin to blur.

Sheet Music Videos (for educational use only)

Guang wakes after spending his first night in the elevator. He tries to cheer himself up reminding himself “It Could Be Worse.”

Performers:
Julius Ahn, Guang
Raymond J. Lee, Nephew
Shenghua (Simon) Hu, violin
Frederick Alden Terry, cello
Lee Caron, percussion
Byron Au Yong, piano

Guang awakes from the nightmare of “Stickup” and discovers he has peed himself. He thinks about his wife Ming and 10-year-old son Wang Yue, who he left back in China.

Performers:
Julius Ahn, Guang
Lee Caron, percussion
Byron Au Yong, piano

Trailer Videos

Hawaiʻi Public Radio Interviews

Classical Pacific
The Conversation
Morning Café

Interview Videos

Composer Byron Au Yong and Artistic Director and CEO of Nashville Opera John Hoomes discuss Hawaii Opera Theatre’s production Stuck Elevator. Together, they bring this socially relevant story to life through an innovative blend of music and theater [KHON2 News].

Join the Stuck Elevator cast Allan Palacios Chan, Paul Chwe Minchul An, Luis Alejandro Orozco, Helen Zhibing Huang, and André Chiang discuss the importance of contemporary composers and breaking boundaries of opera to attract new audiences [Knoxville Opera].

Conductor Judith Yan and Stage Director Keturah Stickann discuss the significance of the music and story for Stuck Elevator. [Knoxville Opera].

Highlights from Stuck Elevator with more about the opera from Composer Byron Au Yong, Librettist Aaron Jafferis, and audience members [Hawai’i Opera Theater].

Behind-The-Scenes Video

Loni Stark visits American Conservatory Theater during rehearsals for Stuck Elevator and talks with director Chay Yew and actor Joel Perez about immigration in the United States and how one survives being stuck for 81 hours in an elevator [Stark Insider].

Nashville Opera Magazine (click images to enlarge)

Nashville Opera Magazine About Stuck Elevator, 2023

Nashville Opera Magazine Meet the Composer and Cast, 2023

Nashville Opera Magazine Back Cover, 2023

Audio

Awards

Nashville Scene Best Opera
Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Outstanding Original Musical
Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Outstanding Principal Actor in a Musical
Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award
National Endowment for the Arts Art Works Award

Creative Team
Byron Au Yong, composer
Aaron Jafferis, librettist

Details
Duration: 81 minutes
Cast: 5-6 actors, 4 musicians

Stuck Elevator provides a personal entry point to thinking about and discussing topics that include immigration, labor, China, family obligation, and fortune cookies for an undocumented immigrant and indentured slave in 21st century America.

Characters
Guang 洸 (tenor)
Míng 茗/Ensemble (soprano)
Wáng Yuè 王岳/Nephew/Ensemble (bari-tenor)
Marco/Ensemble (tenor)
Zhong Yì 忠佚/Boss’Wife/Ensemble (bass-baritone)

Instrumentation
violin, cello, piano, percussion, and soundtrack

Press Quotes
“Audacious, compelling and hugely imaginative.” —Leo Stutzin, Huffington Post

“... claustrophobic and expansive, intimate and existential, personal and political all at once.” —Frank Rizzo, Variety

“... one of the more ambitious, listenable modern scores in contemporary musical theater.” —Andrew Beck, Hartford Arts Examiner

Resources
Words on Plays
A.C.T.'s in-depth performance guide includes interviews with the creative team and specific details about immigration related to Stuck Elevator (PDF).

Asian Americans in Opera: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Nancy Yunhwa Rao includes Stuck Elevator in this overview in the Oxford Research Encyclopedias.

Staging a Moving Map
Karen Shimakawa’s essay about Stuck Elevator published in Neoliberalism and Global Theatres: Performance Permutations.

AALDEF
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund focuses on critical issues affecting Asian Americans, including immigrant rights.

A/P/A Institute at NYU
The Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University provides interdisciplinary resources for community leaders, cultural producers and scholars such as an artist-in-residence program.

Define American
A media and culture campaign that holds conversations about immigration and citizenship in America.

Performance Archive

The Geary, San Francisco, CA
Performance Program
April 4 – 28, 2013
Directed by Chay Yew, conducted by Dolores Dolores Duran-Cefalu, Julius Ahn (Guang), Raymond J. Lee (Wang Yue/Ensemble), Marie-France Arcilla (Ming/Ensemble), Joel Perez (Marco/Ensemble), Joseph Anthony Foronda (Zhong Yi/Ensemble), Daniel Ostling (set design), Myung Hee Cho (costume design), Alexander V. Nichols (lighting design), Kate Freer (projection design), Mikhail Fiksel (sound design); co-produced by ArKtype.
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI
October 16, 18, 20, 2024
Directed by John Hoomes, conducted by Dean Williamson, performed by Taka Komagata (Guang), Joseph Lim (Wang Yue/Ensemble), Helen Zhibing Huang (Ming/Ensemble), Luis Orozco (Marco/Ensemble), Paul Chwe MinChul An (Zhong Yi/Ensemble).
Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, CT
June 20 – 29, 2013
Directed by Chay Yew, conducted by Frederick Alden Terry, performed by Julius Ahn (Guang), Raymond J. Lee (Wang Yue/Ensemble), Marie-France Arcilla (Ming/Ensemble), Joel Perez (Marco/Ensemble), Francis Jue (Zhong Yi/Ensemble), Shenghua Hu (violin), Frederick Alden Terry (cello), Byron Au Yong (piano), Lee Caron (percussion); produced by ArKtype.
Old City Performing Arts Center, Knoxville TN
May 14, 16, 17, 18, 2025
Directed by Keturah Stickann, conducted by Judith Yan, performed by Allan Palacios Chan (Guang), André Chiang (Wang Yue/Ensemble), Helen Zhibing Huang (Ming/Ensemble), Luis Orozco (Marco/Ensemble), Paul Chwe MinChul An (Zhong Yi/Ensemble).
Noah Liff Opera Center, Nashville, TN
January 20 – 22, 2023
Directed by John Hoomes, conducted by Dean Williamson, performed by Julius Ahn (Guang), Joseph Lim (Wang Yue/Ensemble), Ivy Zhou (Ming/Ensemble), Luis Orozco (Marco/Ensemble), Paul Chwe MinChul An (Zhong Yi/Ensemble).
Betty Van Andel Opera Center, Grand Rapids MI
February 20–21, 2026
Directed by Mo Zhou, conducted by Molly Xiu Turner, performed by Mark Yinghui He (Guang), Dongwei Shen (Wang Yue/Ensemble), Helen Zhibing Huang (Ming/Ensemble), Christian García-Roque (Marco/Ensemble), Jiahao Fu (Zhong Yi/Ensemble).
Hammer Theatre, San José CA
April 10 & 12, 2026
Directed by Luis Orozco, conducted by TBA, performed by TBA (Guang), TBA (Wang Yue/Ensemble), TBA (Ming/Ensemble), TBA (Marco/Ensemble), TBA (Zhong Yi/Ensemble).

Support
Stuck Elevator is a project of Creative Capital.

Developed, in part, by the Sundance Institute Theatre Program with additional support from the Sundance Institute’s Time Warner Foundation Fellowship.

Developed, in part, with assistance from the A/P/A Institute Artist-in-Residence Program at NYU and Yale Institute for Music Theatre.

Touring made possible with funding by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Support for developmental workshop productions from 4Culture, Artist Trust, API/2, City of Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Hand2Mouth’s Risk/Reward New Performance Festival, Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, Museum of Chinese in America, New York Theater Workshop, On the Boards’ NW New Works Festival, Theatre Off Jackson, Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience.