Event Program
AN EVENING WITH GEORGE TAKEI
AN EVENING WITH GEORGE TAKEI
TUE, APR 16
DISCUSSION
George Takei and BD Wong
A CONVERSATION WITH THE AUDIENCE
Do you have a question you've been dying to ask George?
Submit it here, and he just might answer live, onstage at Symphony Space!
There will not be a book signing at this event.
The Artists
George Takei
George Takei is a civil rights activist, social media superstar, Grammy-nominated recording artist, New York Times bestselling author, and pioneering actor whose career has spanned six decades. He has appeared in more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television roles, most famously as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek, and he has used his success as a platform to fight for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and marriage equality. His advocacy is personal: during World War II, Takei spent his childhood unjustly imprisoned in United States incarceration camps along with 125,000 other Japanese Americans. He now serves as chair emeritus and a member of the Japanese American National Museum’s Board of Trustees. Takei served on the board of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission under President Bill Clinton, and, in 2004, was conferred with the Gold Rays with Rosette of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan for his contribution to US–Japan relations.
George Takei is a civil rights activist, social media superstar, Grammy-nominated recording artist, New York Times bestselling author, and pioneering actor whose career has spanned six decades. He has appeared in more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television roles, most famously as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek, and he has used his success as a platform to fight for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and marriage equality. His advocacy is personal: during World War II, Takei spent his childhood unjustly imprisoned in United States incarceration camps along with 125,000 other Japanese Americans. He now serves as chair emeritus and a member of the Japanese American National Museum’s Board of Trustees. Takei served on the board of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission under President Bill Clinton, and, in 2004, was conferred with the Gold Rays with Rosette of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan for his contribution to US–Japan relations.
BD Wong
BD Wong has won all five New York theater awards, including the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Theater World Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and Tony Award, for his Broadway debut in M. Butterfly, an achievement not yet duplicated by another actor for the same role. He has since appeared in numerous Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theater productions. Wong has appeared in more than 20 feature films, most notably, Heart of Stone, Bird Box, three Jurassic World films, Focus, Mulan 1 & 2, Seven Years in Tibet, Father of the Bride 1 & 2, and Jurassic Park, among others. On television, he has appeared in The Girls on the Bus, Awkwafina is Nora From Queens, Mr. Robot, for which he received both Emmy and Critics’ Choice Award nominations, American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Gotham, Madam Secretary, CSI: New Orleans, 11 seasons of Law & Order: SVU, Oz, All-American Girl, and more. He has been recognized by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Asian American Journalists Association, Asian AIDS Project, GLAAD, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, The Anti-Violence Project, Lambda Legal, Museum of Chinese in America, and Marriage Equality New York for his presence and participation in the community. He sits on the Board of Trustees of The Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors’ Fund), American Conservatory Theatre, and Rosie’s Theater Kids. Wong was born and raised in San Francisco and currently resides in New York City. @wongbd
BD Wong has won all five New York theater awards, including the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Theater World Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and Tony Award, for his Broadway debut in M. Butterfly, an achievement not yet duplicated by another actor for the same role. He has since appeared in numerous Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theater productions. Wong has appeared in more than 20 feature films, most notably, Heart of Stone, Bird Box, three Jurassic World films, Focus, Mulan 1 & 2, Seven Years in Tibet, Father of the Bride 1 & 2, and Jurassic Park, among others. On television, he has appeared in The Girls on the Bus, Awkwafina is Nora From Queens, Mr. Robot, for which he received both Emmy and Critics’ Choice Award nominations, American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Gotham, Madam Secretary, CSI: New Orleans, 11 seasons of Law & Order: SVU, Oz, All-American Girl, and more. He has been recognized by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Asian American Journalists Association, Asian AIDS Project, GLAAD, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, The Anti-Violence Project, Lambda Legal, Museum of Chinese in America, and Marriage Equality New York for his presence and participation in the community. He sits on the Board of Trustees of The Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors’ Fund), American Conservatory Theatre, and Rosie’s Theater Kids. Wong was born and raised in San Francisco and currently resides in New York City. @wongbd
MORE INFORMATION
This program is made possible thanks to the generous support of Susan Bay Nimoy, Estate of Douglas M. Matheson, Seedlings Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, MacMillan Family Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Charina Endowment Fund, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, PECO Foundation, Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina, Mustang Foundation, Michael Tuch Foundation, Jody and John Arnhold and the Arnhold Foundation, The Grodzins Fund, and The Isambard Kingdom Brunel Society of North America.
This program is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
Symphony Space thanks our generous supporters, including our Board of Directors, Producers Circle, and members, who make our programs possible with their annual support.
Kathy Landau Executive Director
Peg Wreen Managing Director
Isaiah Sheffer*
Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director (1978-1988)
Artistic Director (1988-2010)
Founding Artistic Director (2010-2012)
Allan Miller
Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director (1978-1988)
Jennifer Brennan Director of Literary Programs
Drew Richardson Lead Producer of Literary Programs
Vivienne Woodward Producer of Literary Programs
Mary Shimkin Director of Broadcast & Literary Initiatives
Matthew Love Consultant for Literary Programs
Magdalene Wrobleski Literary Assistant
Sophia Raimondi Literary Intern
Lulu Chatterjee Literary Intern
*in memoriam
