A free dramatic reading by professional actors of the award-winning historical novel Wooden Fish Songs, by Ruthanne Lum McCunn, will be presented Saturday, Oct. 18, at 8 p.m. in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall.
Wooden Fish Songs (Plume, 1996), the winner of the Women's Heritage Museum's 1997 Jeanne Farr McDonnell Award for Best Fiction, depicts the true-life struggles of Lue Gim Gong, a Chinese immigrant who changed the face of the Florida citrus industry, but died a pauper. The story is told by three women who loved him but held very different perspectives on him: his Chinese mother who believed her son betrayed his people; his white New England mentor who viewed Lue as a fine Christian she had nurtured; and Sheba, a cook who was Lue's friend and the daughter of black American slaves.
McCunn, a former Cornell instructor, is the author of seven books on the experiences of Chinese immigrants in America, including Thousand Pieces of Gold which was made into a film. The reading is directed by San Franciscan Donald McCunn, who has more than 35 years experience in the theater and has directed, acted or worked on more than 80 productions. The cast includes Wai Ching Ho, who has appeared off-Broadway, on television and in four feature films including Soapdish and Cadillac Man; Mary Rausch who also has appeared in off-Broadway productions as well as in dozens of TV commercials; and Sandra Hamlin, who has been in numerous performances at the National Black Theatre, in two HBO movies and other films.
Thirteen residential communities at Cornell are sponsoring the event, one of the first efforts by the communities to jointly sponsor a campus event. In addition, the concert reading is sponsored by the Rose K. Goldsen Fund, Africana Studies and Research Center, Asian American Studies Program, Women's Studies Program and the College of Human Ecology.
Following the performance, there will be a reception and book signing.