Original Theatrical Works
Durra Leung’s Lullabies for Motherf*ckers Vol.1
Book, Music & Lyrics by Durra Leung
Durra Leung’s Lullabies for Motherf*ckers Vol.1 is an 80-minute original meta musical centering on Durra, a chronically single, gay, musical theatre writer from China, desperately writing himself into an American romantic comedy. By staging his origin story (a rom-com!) with three newly hired performers in his unrealistically spacious NYC apartment (very rom-com!!), Durra tries his darndest to make at least one audience member fall in love with him and eventually give him a happily ever after (DEFINITELY A ROM-COM!!!). However, the cracks in his story start to show and the performers start to rebel, to a point where Durra is on the verge of shutting it all down. Will Durra’s crooked rom-com have a happy ending? More importantly, will Durra get a happy ending?
One act, ~80 minutes, a cast of 6
Semifinalist - 2023 ANT Fest at Ars Nova
Photo credit: Kayleen Bertrand
May 2024, Five Angels Theater, New York, NY (excerpt presentation)
New York Theatre Barn’s award-winning New Works Series
Cast: Bebe Browning, Brandon S. Chu, Ellis Gage, with Devin Ilaw as Durra
Photo credit: Serko Artinian
January 2023, Green Space, Queens, NY (libretto reading)
Queens Arts Fund New Work Grant Recipient
Director: Jason Aguirre
Cast: Bebe Browning, Brandon S. Chu, Dillon Feldman, Troy Iwata, Durra Leung, with Kelvin Moon Loh as Durra
Photo credit: Joshua Brown
June 2022, Peter Jay Sharp Theater @ Playwrights Horizons, New York, NY (“Mr. J” excerpt)
Second Generation Productions & Ma-Yi Theater Company
Director: Miranda Cornell
Music Director: Sammy Grob
Cast: Juella Baltonado, Tuânminh A Đỗ, Xiaoxiao Sun, with Johnny Le as Durra
Photo credit: WEI & XI STUDIO
October 2021, The Tank, New York, NY (staged concert)
New York City Artist Corps Grant Recipient
Director: Jason Aguirre
Music Director: Adam J Rineer
Cast: Ellis Gage, Joy Lynn Pringle, Esteban Suero, with Durra Leung as Durra
The People vs American Cheese
Music by Durra Leung
Libretto by Clare Fuyuko Bierman
Audre, Walt, Durra, and Clare wake up surrounded by rubble, their gay cruise under attack. The culprit? The greatest danger of all— heteronormativity (in the form of American Cheese). As our unlikely heroes battle cheese slices, they must also battle one another for cultural relevance and icon status. Chaos reigns in this gay fantasia on gayer themes.
One act, ~30 minutes, a cast of 4
May 2023, Shubert Theatre at NYU, New York, NY (premiere)
The American Opera Project & NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts
Director: Sam Helfrich
Music Director: Jeremy Chan
Cast: Patrice P. Eaton, Jordan Rutter-Covatto, Nathaniel Sullivan, Gileann Tan
Photo credit: Steven Pisano
Photo credit: Steven Pisano
Photo credit: Steven Pisano
Photo credit: Steven Pisano
How Do You Know Caleb?
Book, Music & Lyrics by Durra Leung
Commissioned by Prospect Theater Company
Three the number represents the rebellion of a conventional, often heteronormative, relationship. In How Do You Know Caleb? three Caleb's ex-boyfriends(?) have something to say [read: sing] at Caleb's wedding.
One act, ~10 minutes, a cast of 3
November 2021, Symphony Space, New York, NY
Director: Dev Bondarin
Music Director: John Bronston
Cast: Austin Ku, Jovan E’Sean, Brian Charles Rooney
Friends for a Night: A New Musical
Lyrics & Book by Taz Stahlnecker
Music by Durra Leung
Friends for a Night: A New Musical captures the beauty of those unplanned, brief encounters between strangers. Set in Santa Cruz, CA, it follows one extraordinary evening when 5 "lonely losers" unlock their memories and go on their respective healing journeys before the sun comes up.
One act, ~107 minutes, 3F3M
Semifinalist - 2021 National Music Theater Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center
May 2020, NYU Musical Theatre Writing Thesis Reading, New York, NY
The Rise and Fall of Otis
Lyrics & Book by Sam Rosenblatt
Music by Durra Leung
Based on the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill, The Rise and Fall of Otis takes the audience on a rom-com adventure in a stalled elevator. Featuring a six-person cast, “Otis” explores the cliché of love at first sight, office relationships, and how people handle stressful situations.
One act, 11 minutes, 3F3M
August 2020, The Latest Draft Podcast (online)
Cast: Stephen Bennett, Amanda Briskin-Wallace, Sean Eads, Jessie Field, Noah Mutterperl, and Sam Rosenblatt
Spring 2021, Tisch Fringe Festival, New York, NY
Playwriting
Not That Difficult
by Durra Leung
Set in an empty, new apartment, Not That Difficult is a short romantic drama about two gay ex-lovers pondering over their life decisions after agreeing to form a green card marriage. As they unpack the moving boxes and talk about their future, both Matthew and Benny are inevitably forced to face their past as well.
One act, 14 minutes, 2M
August 2020, At The Table - A Play Reading Series (online)
Cast: Austin Ku, Todd Buonopane
November 2020, Imaginarium Theatre Company (online)
Cast: Krutarth MP, Neil Stevenson
Director: Scout Standford
Standalone Songs
Film Scoring
Your Smile
Director: Haochen Yang
Boyang, a retro high school teenager in Beijing, is experiencing the rebellious phase of his youth. He refuses to change himself by having a cellphone to fit in the community. He is alienated by other people and he is unwilling to open up his mind. One day, he captures an unforgettable smile on a young girl’s face through his 35mm film camera. He decides to approach that smile. After the struggling of changing himself, Boyang finally shows his long-lost smile on his face.
Can I?
Written by Danielle Koenig
Edited by Callia Tong
Produced by Beryl Liu
with the support from Samuel Helfrich and NYU Production Lab
After Becca returns from a study abroad experience, she and Meg must reconcile a relationship forgotten and changed in the six months she’s been gone.
Composition for Dance
Photo credit: Ella Bromblin
in Sight
Choreographers: Margaret Wiss & Rafael Cañals
Lighting Design: Emmanuel Delgado
Costume Design: Sarah Thea
Set Design: Rhea D’souza
May 2019, Jack Crystal Theater, New York, NY