Baayork Lee | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lee in 2014 | |
| Born | (1946-12-05)December 5, 1946 (age 78) New York City |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, theatre director, author |
| Years active | 1951–present |
| Awards | 2003 Lifetime Achievement Asian Woman Warrior Award, 2014 Paul Robeson Citation Award |
Baayork Lee (born December 5, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and author.
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Lee was born in New York City'sChinatown, to an Indian mother and Chinese father. She started dancing at an early age, and she made herBroadway debut at the age of five as Princess Ying Yawolak in the original production ofThe King and I in 1951. In a 2004 interview, she stated thatYul Brynner, the original king, was like a second father to her. After she outgrew her role inThe King and I, she continued to study in ballet, modern, and afro-Cuban dance. She appeared inGeorge Balanchine's original production ofThe Nutcracker, where she met ballerinaMaria Tallchief, whom she idolized.[1]
While attending theHigh School for Performing Arts, she met fellow studentMichael Bennett. Around the same time, she appeared inFlower Drum Song. Although Lee aspired to become a professional ballerina, she was rejected from companies because of her height; she is 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 m) tall.[1] Though she was offered a scholarship toJuilliard, Lee instead pursued her career in theatre. Her Broadway appearances includedMr. President,Golden Boy, andHere's Love.
Her next three shows were all choreographed by Bennett:A Joyful Noise,Henry, Sweet Henry, andPromises, Promises. In the last, she performed the dance number "Turkey Lurkey Time" (withDonna McKechnie andMargo Sappington). Lee was the dance captain forPromises, Promises and recreated the choreography for subsequent touring productions, starting her future path as a choreographer. In 1973, she travelled to Israel to filmNorman Jewison's version ofJesus Christ Superstar.
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In 1973, she appeared in Bennett'sSeesaw, assisted with choreography, and was featured oppositeTommy Tune.
In 1975, Lee was invited by Bennett to participate in the workshops from whichA Chorus Line was developed. The character of Connie Wong was, in large part, based upon her life.[1] Along with the cast, she won the 1976Theatre World Award for Ensemble Performance for the show. Fifteen years later, along with cast memberThommie Walsh and Robert Viagas, she documented the evolution ofA Chorus Line in the bookOn the Line: The Creation of A Chorus Line, published in 1990.
In the decades following the original Broadway production, she has directed or choreographed many productions of the musical, including the most recent Broadway revival in 2006. The 2008 feature documentaryEvery Little Step chronicles the casting process of the 2006 revival.
Lee became one of Bennett's closest collaborators, and she helped to develop the choreography in many of his subsequent shows.
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Starting in the 1970s, Lee began to focus on choreographing, first with a production ofWhere's Charley? in New Jersey.
Since then, she has directed national and international tours ofThe King & I,Carmen Jones,Bombay Dreams,Rodgers and Hammerstein'sCinderella,Porgy and Bess,Jesus Christ Superstar, andBarnum. She was the associate choreographer forTommy Tune for a time. She has choreographed several productions for theWashington National Opera at theKennedy Center. She also choreographed the troubled production ofMarilyn: An American Fable.
Other projects include becoming a talent scout forTokyo Disneyland, opening a musical theater school inSeoul, South Korea, and producing various shows. In 2018, she choreographedNew York City Center's Gala production ofA Chorus Line.[2]
She directed and choreographedSouth Pacific for City Springs Theatre Company inSandy Springs, Georgia in 2019.[3]
Columbia College Chicago honored Lee during their 2003 Women Warrior Festival presented by the College's Center for Asian Arts and Media. Lee gave a keynote address and was a 2003 Woman Warrior Honoree.[4] TheActors’ Equity Foundation gave her thePaul Robeson Citation Award in 2014.[5]
In 2017, Lee received theIsabelle Stevenson Tony Award, which honors members of the theater industry for their significant contributions to charitable causes. She was honored for her longstanding commitment to future generations of artists through her work with theNational Asian Artists Project (NAAP) and theatre education programs around the world. Lee is a co-founder of NAAP, a non-profit that showcases the work of Asian-American theatre artists through performance, outreach, and educational programming.[6][7][8]
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