Supporting Emerging Thai Artists in the Concert Reading of “Dear Mr. C”

วันที่นำเข้าข้อมูล 9 Dec 2025

วันที่ปรับปรุงข้อมูล 23 Dec 2025

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On 5 December 2025, Ms. Somjai Taphaopong, Consul-General of Thailand in New York, together with Mr. Khantong Nuanual, Deputy Consul-General, attended the concert reading of Dear Mr. C held at Open Jar Studios in Times Square, New York. The performance was attended by approximately 100 audience members. Ms. Sujitra Paliwong, President of the New York Thai Cultural Center, along with board members, also joined the event to support the young Thai artists performing in the show.

Before the performance began, the cast, production team, and audience observed a moment of silence to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother.

Dear Mr. C features music and additional lyrics by Tidtaya Sinutoke, with lyrics by Lily Ali-Oshatz and Naomi Matlow. The concert reading was produced and directed by Keng S. Meateanuwat, with music direction by Karen Dryer.

This indie-pop musical draws from the composer’s personal memoirs and incorporates elements of Thai musical influences. It tells the story of a Thai writer whose life is forever changed after receiving one phone call that turns her world upside down.

The cast includes Sy Chounchaisit, Pacha Chantri, Chan Wannapat, Kuppi Jessop, and percussionist Angela Dixon. The piece is performed in both Thai and English.

The production marks the debut presentation of Siamese Collective, founded by Thai composer-writer Tidtaya Sinutoke and director Keng S. Meateanuwat, with the aim of amplifying Thai stories, celebrating Thai identity within the American theater landscape, and sharing nuanced perspectives on Thai and Thai-American experiences.

This performance received support from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Creative Engagement Grant and was produced in collaboration with the Thai Theatre Foundation.

Dear Mr. C has previously been supported and presented at the Polyphone Festival, hosted by the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2022), and later showcased in a staged reading by The Crossroads Project at Illinois State University (2022). The musical has also been developed through an artist residency at the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat (2022) and has received support from NYFA’s City Artist Corps Grant (2021) and the Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative Award (2022). Most recently, it was featured in the Village Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals (2025).

The Thai artists participating in this production represent a new generation of performers driven by passion, creativity, and dedication as they pursue their artistic dreams in New York City—one of the world’s leading centers for performing arts and Broadway theater.

The Royal Thai Consulate-General in New York places great importance on supporting Thai youth and emerging Thai artists. Their talent and determination not only highlight the global potential of the new generation but also serve as a meaningful bridge in strengthening people-to-people relations between Thailand and the United States.

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