Seattle theater Nordo opens 2022 by collaborating with two of the city's hottest artists: local writer/performer Sara Porkalob and Chef Aaron Verzosa of Archipelago. // Before departing for Broadway to perform in 1776, Porkalob brings two solo performances honoring her family - Dragon Mama & Dragon Lady. In these plays, three generations of Filipino Americans descended from gangsters fight to survive, thrive, love, and sing karaoke. As an add-on to the performance, Verzosa has crafted a pre-show menu of Archipelago’s signature Pacific Northwest cuisine through progressive Filipino flavors. Ticket packages are available now. // Unlike Nordo’s signature immersive events, Dragon Mama & Dragon Lady does not include a meal service during the show. Instead, Archipelago dinner service is served prior to the performance in Nordo’s adjacent venue, The Knife Room. Beverages are available pre-show and at intermission. // Seattle Premiere of Dragon Mama January 26th – February 13th; March 2-6 How does a Dragon earn her wings? Maria Porkalob, Jr., yearns for a gayer, more POC-filled life than Bremerton, WA, can offer. When presented with an opportunity to make a quick fortune, Maria must make an important decision: leave her debt-ridden mother, four young siblings, and newborn daughter Sara for the wild unknown of Alaska, or stay close to home, family, and intergenerational trauma. Traversing 25 years filled with queer love in a barren land, Dragon Mama features ghosts, Filipino gangsters, and a dope ‘80s and ‘90s soundtrack. // Dragon Lady February 11th – February 27th It is the year of the Water Dragon and the eve of Grandma Maria’s 60th birthday. By the light of the karaoke machine, fueled by pork dumplings and Diet Pepsi, she shares a dark secret from her Filipino gangster past with one lucky grandchild. Traversing 50 years of faulty family memories, this timely new musical is about what it means to come to America. The Seattle Times calls Dragon Lady “Commanding and irresistible…a fierce and vibrant memoir.”