Haruna Lee

Haruna Lee, formerly Kristine Haruna Lee, is a Taiwanese Japanese American theatre maker and writer.

The subject of this biography uses, and should be referred to with, the pronouns they/them. Please do not change these pronouns without a consensus on the talk page. For more information, see Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biography § Gender identity.

Haruna Lee
Born	Hong Kong
Notable awards	Obie Award
Website
www.harunalee.com/home

Early life and education

Lee was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Japan.^[1] They moved from Japan to the United States when they were eight. They did an undergraduate degree at NYU.^[2]

Career

Inspired by a myth about Sedna, Lee wrote War Lesbian. The musical, composed by Katie Hathaway, who Lee met at New Dramatists,^[3] premiered at Dixon Place in 2014, co-presented by Lee's company, harunalee.^[4][5] Lee appeared in the show playing Ellen DeGeneres.^[6] In 2016, Lee performed Communing with You with their mother, Aoi Lee. The 30-minute Butoh piece was performed at Brooklyn Arts Exchange.^[7] Lee played Jackie in The Offending Gesture at the Connelly Theater in 2016.^[8] They played Meryl Streep as Francesca from The Bridges of Madison County in STREEPSHOW! in 2017.^[9]

Lee's play, Suicide Forest, premiered in 2019 with Ma-Yi Theater Company and directed by Aya Ogawa.^[10] Lee played the schoolgirl, Azusa, in this production.^[11][12] Lee's mother, Aoi, also appeared in the show, which Ma-Yi remounted in 2020.^[13]

In 2023, Lee was invited to join the New Dramatists' resident playwright company until 2030.^[14]

Personal life

Lee is half Japanese and half Taiwanese.^[15]

Plays

• Suicide Forest
• plural (love), with Jen Goma and Morgan Green^[16]
• Communing with You
• Memory Retrograde^[16]
• to the left of the pantry and under the sugar shack^[17]
• War Lesbian
• Drunkfish Oceanrant
• Plum de Force^[18]
• Troika

Filmography

Television

Year	Television show	Credited as	Notes	Ref.
		Writer
2020	The Flight Attendant	Yes
2022	Pachinko	Yes	Season 2

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2020	Obie Awards	Playwrighting	Suicide Forest	Won	[19]
2021	Steinberg Playwright Awards	n/a	n/a	Won	[20]

References

1. Szymkowicz, Adam (2017-04-23). "Adam Szymkowicz: I Interview Playwrights Part 925: Kristine Haruna Lee". Adam Szymkowicz. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
2. Polak, Brian James (2021-12-21). "The Subtext: Toward Liberation With Haruna Lee". AMERICAN THEATRE. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
3. Almasy, Jessica (2014-12-19). "Kristine Haruna Lee's WAR LESBIAN: the type of theatre that'll get lodged in yr throat". Culturebot. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
4. "Review: War Lesbian". StageBuddy.com. 2014-12-16. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
5. Shaw, Helen (2014-12-11). "War Lesbian". Time Out New York. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
6. Kerry, Rachel (2014-12-15). "A Journey Down A Crazy Queer Rabbit Hole: Rachel Kerry on War Lesbian Presented by Harunalee and Dixon Place". New York Theatre Review. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
7. Cuba, Julianne (2016-11-15). "Body language: Mother-daughter dance closes language barrier • Brooklyn Paper". www.brooklynpaper.com. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
8. Genzlinger, Neil (2016-01-11). "Review: 'The Offending Gesture' Takes On Foreign Policy's Barking Madness". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
9. Solis, Jose (2017-06-08). "Daniel Dabdoub on Creating all the Meryl Looks in 'STREEPSHOW!'". StageBuddy.com. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
10. Clement, Olivia (2019-03-27). "Kristine Haruna Lee's Suicide Forest Begins at the Bushwick Starr". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
11. Rine, Natalie (2020-03-09). "Off-Broadway Review: Ma-Yi Theater Company presents The Bushwick Starr Production of "Suicide Forest"". OnStage Blog. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
12. Shaw, Helen (2019-12-18). "The Best Theater of 2019". Vulture. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
13. Shaw, Helen (2020-03-06). "That's Really Mom Up There: Suicide Forest and SKiNFoLK". Vulture. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
14. "Seven Playwrights Granted New Dramatists Residencies". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2023-08-02. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
15. Barbagallo, Jess (2016-11-01). ""A current gaining more wave:" 25 Years of Artist Development at Brooklyn Arts Exchange". The Brooklyn Rail. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
16. Christopherson, Jody (2019-02-01). "An Interview With Playwright Kristine Haruna Lee". New York Theatre Review. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
17. Einerson, Katy (2016-02-09). "Talking to the left of the pantry and under the sugar shack: an interview with Kristine Haruna Lee". Culturebot. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
18. Smith, Olivia Jane (2013-09-10). "Olivia Jane Smith on Plum de Force, written and directed by Kristine Haruna Lee at the Bushwick Starr". New York Theatre Review. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
19. McPhee, Ryan (2020-07-14). "Heroes of the Fourth Turning, A Strange Loop Among 2020 Obie Award Winners". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
20. "2021 Steinberg Playwright Awardees Announced". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2021-12-14. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.