WHEN:
November 7 through December 1, 2024
WHERE:
David Henry Hwang Theater
Union Center of the Arts
120 Judge John Aiso Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
TICKETS:
For more information and tickets visit the East West Players website.
CAST:
Scott Keiji Takeda* (Sumo at the La Jolla Playhouse, The Great Leap at Cygnet Theatre, EWP’s Mysterious Skin and Next to Normal) as the Thief, Brian Kim McCormick* as Kayama (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at South Coast Repertory and The Sound of Music at Musical Theatre West), Adam Kaokept* (EWP’s Assassins) as Manjiro, Kerry K. Carnahan* as Lorde Abe (EWP’s A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Passion, The World Goes ‘Round, Follies, Merrily We Roll Along), Ashley En-Fu Matthews* (Mamma Mia! at the Hollywood Bowl) as Tamate, Kavin Panmeechao* (the National Tour of The King and I and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Dial M for Murder at the White Heron Theatre) as the British Admiral, Kurt Kanazawa*(L’OPERA! at the Pan Asian Repertory; TV: Grey’s Anatomy, The Lincoln Lawyer) as the Fisherman, Sittichai Chaiyahat* (Little Shop of Horrors at New Village Arts) as the Warrior, Nina Kasuya* as the Dutch Admiral (TV: The L Word: Generation Q, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Good Doctor), Aric Martin as the Madam and French Admiral (EWP’s Assassins, La Cage aux Folles), Gemma Pedersen as the American Admiral/Boy (Head Over Heels at Arizona Repertory Theatre and Scrooge!at the Arizona Theatre Company), Kit Dezolt (TV: Generation, Baby Shark Live, Blippi: The Wonderful World) as Commodore Perry, Norge Yip as the Russian Admiral (Madama Butterfly at the Pacific Opera Project), with Jordan Fan and Jonah Meyer as understudies.
CREATIVE TEAM:
Direction by Tim Dang^, musical direction by Marc Macalintal, choreography by Yuka Takara, Kabuki consulting and choreography by Gankyō Nakamura, Japanese music direction by Shih-wei Wu and Tsugaru Terry, scenic design by Tesshi Nakagawa†, costume design by Naomi Yoshida, lighting design by Brian Gale†, audio design by Cricket Myers†, projections design by David Murakami†, properties design by Glenn Michael Baker, make-up and hair design by Yoko Haitz, fight choreography by Amanda Noriko Newman, assistant music direction by Miki Yokomizu, assistant costume design by J.J. Javier, assistant projections design by Sam Clevenger. Pacific Overtures is stage-managed by Edward Khris Fernandez* with Mikayla Bettner* and Bonnie Lynn Montano acting as Assistant Stage Managers.
A spokesperson describes the event as follows:
“...Set in 1853, Pacific Overtures explores the intersection of Western and Eastern cultures during the pivotal moment in Japan's history when it was opened to the West, through the lens of two friends caught in the change. With a unique score by Stephen Sondheim and a book by John Weidman, the show is renowned for its innovative storytelling, which beautifully fuses Kabuki theater and Broadway traditions..."
