Variety Show: disOrientalism part 9: Lucky Numbers
A spectacular all-star variety show to celebrate the Year of the Horse and AAPI heritage month. Comedy, cabaret, and music from the city’s most accomplished award-winning AAPI performers-from Broadway to Lincoln Center to the Grammy Stage to the Tony Awards to the best of downtown clubs. The show is curated and hosted by New York’s triple-threat dragon ladies – comedienne/spoken word artist Kate Siahaan-Rigg and child star-turned-Broadway-actress Olivia Oguma. This program lasts about 75 minutes and is guaranteed to boost your immunity against boredom, inaction, xenophobia, orientalism, and ill-advised bowl cuts.
ARKAI is a GRAMMY® award-winning, genre-defying string duo that bridges the classical and the contemporary, weaving cinematic soundscapes with electrifying virtuosity into epic performances around the world. Graduates of The Juilliard School, ARKAI’s trailblazing journey includes major prestigious stages like Carnegie Hall, GRAMMY® Museum, Lakers NBA Playoffs, EMMY Awards, and TED Talks. Their versatility has led to collaborations with celebrity photographer David LaChapelle, opening for GRAMMY® and Oscar-winning pianist Jon Batiste, tours with celebrity violinist Lindsey Stirling, and chart-topping releases with pianist Tony Ann. ARKAI’s sophomore album Brightside recently won a GRAMMY® Award in the Best Contemporary Instrumental category.
THE DYNASTIES This all-Asian, female-presenting cabaret dance group honors the legacy of Asian performers who graced the nightclubs of San Francisco’s Chinatown during the Golden Age of nightlife.
What began as a tribute has grown into a bold, contemporary expression of Asian identity and performance. The dancers, each rooted in different styles and cultural lineages, reflect the vast diversity of the Asian diaspora. Together, they bring a rich tapestry of movement, perspective, and presence—offering audiences an experience that is both nostalgic and radically new.
The Dynasties were Created by Preston Mui to celebrate Asian identity, empower women, and spark conversations about the Asian American experience through art, music and dance.
Pooja Reddy is a Brooklyn-based comedy writer and stand-up comedian, raised in rural Kentucky with roots in Hyderabad, India. She began her career in Washington, DC, working for First Lady Michelle Obama followed by a role brokering public private partnerships at the United Nations Foundation – natural stepping stones to stand-up comedy.
Pooja is also the co-host of Kutti Gang, a New York Times and Time Out New York recommended comedy show. Currently, she is a member of The Public Theater’s 2025–2026 Joe’s Pub Working Group, where she is developing her solo show, Pooja Reddy is White Trash. Pooja’s writing and performances have been featured widely, including in New York Magazine and in the 2025 Emmy-nominated special Voices Rising on PBS.
Pooja’s work blends comedy, storytelling, and cultural commentary through contributions to PBS’ ALL ARTS Network, Disney’s Localish, and through collaborations with organizations like Yellow Dot Studios and Doc Society. Off stage, Pooja can usually be found catching up on shifts at her food co-op, playing rummy, or riding horses – still chasing the glory of her peak equestrian achievement: hobby horse champion of the 1999 Etoile Community Fair.
Kate Siahaan-Rigg (@kateriggnyc): A star on the Manhattan comedy scene, producer and co-host Kate Rigg graduated from Juilliard drama and immediately began moonlighting in comedy and spoken word club stages around the country, bringing solo shows (Zombie Asian Moms, Happy Lucky Golden Tofu Panda Dragon Good Time Fun Fun Show, Kate’s Chink-O-Rama) and creating wild events like this one all over the city. By day, she creates and produces comedy-based TV shows, serves as creative director for OTRIFF- the nation’s only diversity film festival hosted by the Disability Community, is co-chair of the Joe’s Pub Council with Millicent Fortunoff, and acts in plays.
Olivia Oguma (@olioguma): Co-host and producer Olivia was the first Asian-American Young Cosette in Les Misérables and has been wowing New York audiences ever since in the Broadway casts of Mamma Mia, A Christmas Carol, Disney’s High School Musical, Yellowface, and several off-Broadway shows. She has appeared in many, many productions of Miss Saigon (and zero productions of King and I. ) She does a lot of plays where she is usually crying or playing a 14-year-old, and sometimes, she plays a crying 14-year-old. She has also been on a bunch of TV shows where she usually plays the token Asian assistant who drops something at inopportune times.
Photo credit: Thomas Brunot
