Remember the excitement of each new production from the Ridiculous Theatrical Company? The company would offer a riff on a classic, shot through with enough satire to stand on its own. Vampire Cowboys Theater Company is channeling that energy in LIVING DEAD IN DENMARK, the hilarious and witty new play by Qui Nguyen. Nguyen, like Charles Ludlam before him, knows his Shakespeare. Using HAMLET as a jumping-off point, Nguyen throws in martial arts, horror movies, pop songs, puppetry, and comic books. Eat your heart out, Ed Wood.... A Backstage Critic's Pick!
Victor Gluck, Backstage
Qui Nguyen's comic book fantasia on Bardic themes takes characters from the main tragedies and throws them into an us-versus-zombies apocalyptic scenario, with enough rock-accompanied stage combat to keep an Elizabethan groundling satisfied. This gamely trashy treat is a perfect storm of theater-and horror-geek obsessions.
David Cote, Time Out New York
In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, acclaimed young playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.
In a dark (darkly awesome!) future, New York's boroughs have grown too dangerous to police. Shoguns reign, vampires infest Brooklyn, and most terrifying of all, it's still stylistically the '70s. After losing her lover to some undead hoodlums, Dewdrop gets herself a training montage and a sidekick, and sets off for revenge. Explosively funny nonsense ensues.
SOUL SAMURAI kicks the Vampire Cowboys recipe up a notch; the script has the complexity of a graphic novel, though it hasn't sacrificed its zinelike homemade sweetness. Yes, outside it's still the chill dead of winter, but go and guffaw your way through SAMURAI. It can bring you back to life. A Time Out New York Critic's Pick!
Helen Shaw, Time Out New York
Not many theater groups can count both Comic Con as a sponsor and the Ma-Yi Theater Company as an artistic partner, but then there aren't a lot like Qui Nguyen's Vampire Cowboys, where pop culture and theater artistry combine seamlessly and satisfyingly. It's smart and funny stuff that's deftly supported in this sure-handed production, where Asian theater traditions are ably blended with Nguyen's exhilarating fight choreography. Side-splittingly funny and slyly intelligent!
Andy Propst, Village Voice
Even if, unlike me, you don't have a fondness for petite women brandishing large weapons, SOUL SAMURAI offers plenty of charm and entertainment. SOUL SAMURAI, a glorious melting pot of influences and inspirations, is theatre at its best. A Critic's Pick!
Mark Peikert, Backstage
In a post-apocalyptic Lost Vegas, a young gunslinger named Jess December enlists the help of a mysterious samurai cowboy to avenge the murder of her sister. However, the gang they'll be going against has powers that go way beyond just gunpowder and steel. To get revenge, they may have to become just as blood-thirsty as the monsters they're facing.
Poker players are always told that to be successful, you have to play aggressively. What is not usually explained is just exactly how you are supposed to play aggressively. On the Final Table of the 2016 WSOP Main Event, Qui Nguyen destroyed the opposition with an absolute masterclass in aggressive play and walked away with the coveted gold bracelet as well as $8 million. If you want to understand what this mythical playing aggressively means in practical terms, then From Vietnam to Vegas will give you the answer.
Many of the experienced professionals commentating for TV simply couldn't understand Qui's play. Antonio Esfandiari, who has won over $27 million in live play, commented, I couldn't get a read on Qui Nguyen if my life depended on it.
From Vietnam to Vegastells the complete story behind Qui's magnificent achievement. In this book Qui:
The book also includes commentary from Steve Blay, founder of AdvancedPokerTraining.com and Qui Nguyen's personal poker advisor at the final table. Blay's commentary often analyzes the mathematical basis behind Qui's decisions, and discusses practical ways to apply it to your own poker game.