East West Players welcomes you to a workshop reading of

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s FLOWER DRUM SONG

Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by David Henry Hwang
Based on the original book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joseph Fields
Based on the novel by C.Y. Lee
Directed by Lily Tung Crystal
Choreography by Lainie Sakakura
Music Directed By Marc Macalintal

Principal Cast (In Alphabetical Order)

  • Cooper Lee Bennett studied cultural anthropology at UC Irvine, taking a hiatus from theater, and is thrilled to join the East West Players for his first LA theatrical production. Cooper enjoys cooking for his girlfriend who, tragically, cannot cook. He wants to dedicate this production to two of his former teachers, Sue Byrne and Dana Alexander, as well as his family and every other person who led him down this wonderful path.

  • Taiwanese-American actor, writer, and singer, Kenton Chen first gained national attention on NBC’s The Sing-Off. A graduate of USC Thornton School of Music, he’s lent his voice to multiple artists/projects, most notably Postmodern Jukebox, Scary Pockets, Billie Eilish, The Simpsons, Disney’s Wish, and Wicked: For Good. As an actor, Kenton has appeared in Superstore (NBC), Platonic (Apple), and Perfect Harmony (NBC). Recently, Kenton released his debut original album Sweetmouth, processing his complicated relationship to his Taiwanese heritage and religious immigrant parents. Through all his work, he’s passionate about giving voice to queer, marginalized stories within the American tapestry.

  • EMILY KURODA: THEATER: TheatreWorks , Seattle Rep, South Coast Rep, NYTW, Yale Rep, Pan Asian, American Repertory Theater, Page 73, Clubbed Thumb, Actor’s Theater of Louisville (Humanafest), Huntington, Alliance, Sundance, Atlantic, BAM, Williamstown, The Tank, East West Players, Theater Mu, Kirk Douglas, Mark Taper Forum, Public, La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe, Singapore Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, Ahmanson, Theater Mu, LATC, Zephyr, LA Women’s Shakespeare Company, Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival.

    TV/FILM: “Gilmore Girls”, Flowervale Street, “Baymax”, “All Rise”, “The Good Doctor”, “The Resident”, “Drop Dead Diva”, “Sequestered”, “Under One Roof”, “The Power”, Strange World, Kimi, Adopting Audry, Party Boat , Red, Yellow Face.

  • East West Players: Beijing Spring, Chess, Pippin, Sweeney Todd, Equus.

    Tiananmen Phoenix Theatre Company, Pacific Overtures with George Takei, Classic Stage Company NY.

    Broadway: The King And I, Flower Drum Song, Bells Are Ringing, Fosse, Miss Saigon, Shogun: The Musical, Anything Goes.

    World Premiers: Roman Holiday (Guthrie), Sinatra: His Voice, His World, His Way (Radio City Music Hall), Over And Over (Signature), Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida (Alliance).

    Theatre: New York Theatre Workshop, City Center Encores!, Williamstown Theatre Festival.

    Tours: Cats, Anything Goes (Luke).

    Film: Onryo, An American Carol, The Muppets.

    Television: “Legion” Admiral Fukyama Season 2, “Henry Danger”, “Family Reunion”(Netflix), “ACS: Impeachment”, “Euphoria”, “Madame Secretary”, “Melissa & Joey”.

  • Scott has previously collaborated with East West Players on Mysterious Skin, Next to Normal, and last season’s production of Pacific Overtures. He most recently starred in the Off-Broadway run of SUMO at The Public Theater, reprising the role of Akio which he originated at La Jolla Playhouse. Other stage credits include The Great Leap (Cygnet Theatre), Valley of the Heart (Mark Taper Forum), Fugu (WCJT), and Ching Chong Chinaman (Artists at Play). Onscreen credits include Made for Love, Grey’s Anatomy, MDMA, Carrie Pilby, No-No Girl and Huge in France.

  • Gedde began his acting journey in 1976 with the original Broadway production of Pacific Overtures. He wanted to express the following: “Thank you, Lily Tung Crystal. We will always be grateful to have a home here at EWP that allows us to continue our journeys.”

  • Description Grace Yoo she/her (Mei Li) Broadway: Hadestown. Regional: Purple Rain (Wendy), Soft Power (Hillary Clinton, Helen Hayes Award), Into the Woods (Florinda). East West Players: Mamma Mia!, Allegiance, La Cage Aux Folles, Takarazuka!!! Tour: A Christmas Carol, Todd Rundgren ‘Clearly Human.’ Aperture Talent. text goes here

  • Krista Marie Yu grew up watching Flower Drum Song and has been inspired by everyone involved in the film and the Broadway revival.  In fact, her very first show was in the ensemble at Woodminster Theatre in Oakland, CA!  Krista’s pride for San Francisco Chinatown run’s deep, as her Great Auntie is Dorothy Toy of Toy and Wing and her Grandmother is Alice Fong Yu the first Chinese American public school teacher in San Francisco.  Krista is known for Hulu’s REBOOT, FOX’s LAST MAN STANDING, and ABC’s DR. KEN.  Thank you EWP for having me!

Ensemble (In Alphabetical Order)

  • Ethan Yaheen-Moy Chan (he/him) is thrilled to be joining East West Players for this project!  Film/Television: Foster Dade (Hulu/Warner Brothers), Trap Pack (Illusive Media Films). Theatre: BLENDED 和 HARMONY (Theater Mu, Broadway World Nominee, Best Supporting Actor), Double Helix (Bay Street, Goodspeed), Youngmee (Musical Theatre Factory), Next to Normal (SigPro), Sweeney Todd (Winnipesaukee Playhouse), Everest (National Asian Artists Project), Children of Eden (West End Collegiate).  WCSU BFA '23, LaGuardia Arts '19.  Proudly represented by The Mine Agency and Red Letter Entertainment.  Thank you to East West Players, Lily, and the giants of Asian American theatre whose shoulders I stand upon.

  • Amanda Angeles is thrilled to be performing at EWP for the first time! She is an actress and vocalist who recently graduated from the University of Southern California with her BFA in Musical Theatre. Previous credits include Little Red in Into the Woods (Musical Theatre West) and Stacey in the LA premiere of the new rock musical Pump Up The Volume (The Hudson Theatres). She has also starred in several touring educational musicals for children, Ronna Llama’s Moving Day/Ready Player Three and Saving Paka’s Dog Park/How Do You Know? (Musical Theatre West). So much love and gratitude to the EWP team!!! Instagram: @amandoodle

  • Sarah Marie Hernandez is a proud first-gen Filipino-American artist. She’s thrilled to return home to EWP, where you might’ve seen her as Martha & u/s Adult Women in Spring Awakening and Crazy Talented Asians '25. Sarah Marie’s work also includes collaborations with Disney Live Entertainment, Deaf West Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Diversionary Theatre, and the San Diego Symphony—where she performed 3 summers for The Rady Shell's Broadway Concert Series alongside Megan Hilty, Norm Lewis, Adrienne Warren, Kelli O’Hara, and more. Alum of San Diego State University Musical Theatre. Proud child of immigrants. Rep: Aperture Talent sarahmariehernandez.com & @sarahmarie.hernandez

  • Nina Kasuya is a singer and actor based in Los Angeles, California. Recent performing credits include The Polar Express Train Ride (Steward), In Response: Rise Up (America), the world premiere of Flashes of Light (Athena), The Diary of Anne Frank (Mrs. Van Daan, La Mirada Theater), Pacific Overtures (Dutch Admiral, East West Players), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair De Lune (Frankie), The L Word: Generation Q, The Good Doctor, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and singing for artists including Teddy Swims, CeCe Winans, Alfie Boe, and Brandon Victor Dixon.

  • Paul Wong is an actor and singer who works in multiple media formats including live theatre, film, television, podcast voiceover and audio book narration. He is also the winner of the NAACP Theatre Award as Best Music Director for Do Lord Remember Me. For more information please go to his actor website Paul-Wong.com.

  • A Little Night Music, Beijing Spring, Chess, and La Cage Aux Folles with EWP. Also: A Chorus Line, Anything Goes, Cabaret, Closer Than Ever, Damn Yankees, Flower Drum Song, Hello Dolly!, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamboat, Miss Saigon, One Way Ticket to Hell, Sweet Charity, The Christians, The King and I, The Life, The Wild Party, The Wiz, The Wizard of Oz, West Side Story and Your Arms Too Short to Box with God. IMDb.me/dtmatias

Workshop Creative Team

  • David Henry Hwang and East West Players share an intimate history. The theater’s current location at the former Union Church in historic Little Tokyo was funded in part by Henry and Dorothy Hwang, the parents of the renowned playwright for whom the theater is named. Previous productions of Hwang's work at East West Players include FOB (1980 and 1997 revival), The Dance and the Railroad/House of Sleeping Beauties (1993), Golden Child (2000), M. Butterfly (2004), Yellow Face (2007), Chinglish (2015), and Soft Power, a co-production with Center Theatre Group (2018).

  • LILY TUNG CRYSTAL (she/her) is a director, actor/singer, and the artistic director of East West Players in Los Angeles. She is also the former artistic director of Theater Mu in Minneapolis-St. Paul and co-founder of Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a director, her recent productions include the world premiere of Jessica Huang and Jacinth Greywoode’s new musical BLENDED 和 (HARMONY): THE KIM LOO SISTERS (Mu/History Theatre); the world premiere of Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay’s THE KUNG FU ZOMBIES SAGA (Mu); Lauren Yee’s CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND (Mu/Jungle Theater); Susan Soon He Stanton’s TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY (Mu); and Steven Karam’s THE HUMANS (Park Square Theatre), which won the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers’ Favorite Play 2022. She also helmed David Henry Hwang’s CHINGLISH and FLOWER DRUM SONG (Palo Alto Players) and the world premiere of Leah Nanako Winkler’s TWO MILE HOLLOW (Ferocious Lotus), all for which she was named a Theatre Bay Area Award Finalist for Outstanding Direction. As an actor/singer, Lily has performed at theaters across the country, including Cal Shakes, Jungle Theater, Magic Theatre, Mixed Blood, New World Stages, Playwrights’ Center, Portland Center Stage, SF Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, and Theater Mu. lilytungcrystal.com; eastwestplayers.org

  • Lainie Sakakura is a multihyphenate NYC-based theatermaker — director, Joe A. Callaway Award and Joseph Jefferson Award winning choreographer, librettist, educator, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award winning and 3x Tony nominated Broadway co-producer with Theatre Producers of Color - GYPSY,CABARET,SUFFS. Her dynamic Broadway career spans nearly three decades born from a rich artistic upbringing: shaped by San Francisco Ballet and Vaudeville tapper Coralene Kerr—who inspired her lifelong love of Golden Age musicals, physical comedy, and the legacy of the great Black tap dancers of the 1930s.​

  • Marc Macalintal is an LA native who has been involved in theatre as a music director (Mamma Mia, Allegiance, The Last Five Years), a composer (Krunk Fu Battle Battle) and an actor (Master Class, The King And I, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown). He was nominated for several LA theatre honors in music direction: an Ovation Award in EWP’s Next To Normal, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award in EWP’s La Cage aux Folles and an NAACP Theater Award in EWP’s The Who’s Tommy and in David Grae’s stage play Moose Mating.

  • Annie Jin Wang is a dramaturg and generative artist for new plays, musicals, and opera. From the development of new works to revitalizing classic texts for today’s audiences, her body of work primarily investigates constructs of race, gender, and citizenship. Her collaborative approach is dynamic, compassionate, and rigorous, drawing upon a diverse range of artistic traditions and globally-informed touchpoints to support and expand the creative processes of artists at all stages of their practice. Annie is celebrated for the deep relationships she fosters with her artistic collaborators, as well as for her versatility in working across disciplines and forms; in addition to live performance, she has facilitated development and revision processes for film, television, literature, and game design. 

  • Patrick CHEW (Dialect, Language, and Cultural Consultant) is delighted to be working with East West Players on The Flower Drum Song. He has worked with: History Theatre, Pear Theatre, Stages Theatre, Theater Mu, San Jose Stage Company, Ikeibi Films, Masquers Playhouse, San Francisco Playhouse, Jungle Theater, ACT (San Francisco), Ten Thousand Things Theater, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Palo Alto Players, Contra Costa Civic Theater, and Jay Kuo Productions. He has degrees in Linguistics and East Asian Languages (Chinese, Altaic Languages) from UC Berkeley. Patrick’s day-job is normally in tech, focusing on internationalization and localization, where language and tech intersect.

  • Andrew Orbison is a musical director, composer, and arranger who was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA.  Favorite credits include: Drag: The Musical (MD/Conductor/Keys, New World Stages), Slam Frank (MD/Conductor/Keys), It’s A Dog’s Life Theme (Co-Composer, Disney+), The Final, Final Farewell Tour of Dick and Delores Del Rubio (Composer/Dick Del Rubio, US Tour/Edinburgh Fringe), Did You See What Walter Paisley Did Today? (MD/Conductor, World Premiere- La Mirada Theatre), Ilcahuilia: A Musical (Arranger/MD). Andrew also loves traveling, finding new restaurants, and puppy kisses. Love to his partner Gootz! @andreworbison

Stage Management

  • Brandon is excited to help present this reading with East West Players. He’s a San Francisco native and a graduate of CSULB, with a B.A. in Technical Theatre. Credits include: Paranormal Inside, Yankee Dawg You Die, Unbroken Blossoms, Kairos, Spring Awakening, The Brothers Paranormal, Assassins, Mamma Mia!, & Next to Normal-East West Players; God Will Do The Rest-Artists At Play; frou-frou: a menagerie of sorts-Boston Court Pasadena; Fetch Clay, Make Man-Center Theatre Group; Sanctuary City-Pasadena Playhouse; The Great Leap-PPST/EWP; and Allegiance-Japanese American Cultural & Community Center/EWP. Thanks to his family and friends for all their love and support! Enjoy the show!

  • Bonnie-Lynn Montaño is an LA-based theatre-maker, LMU grad, and musician. Previous work: Neha & Neel at Artists at Play (ASM), Pacific Overtures at East West Players (2nd ASM), Cambodian Rock Band, EWP (PA), and more. Acting credits: Pirates Wanted (Captain Souvanna), Songs for a New World at Loyola Marymount University (Woman 1), and more. You can find her at Universal Studios aboard the Enterprise-D or in the Toadstool Kingdom. Thank you to her family, friends, and Cade for their love and support. ig: bonifacia.erlinda 

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association

ºMember of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

Learn More About Our Mainstage Show

Sponsors

FLOWER DRUM SONG is sponsored by The David Lee Foundation, as well as Henry & Denise Byun, Caplin Foundation, Mercy & Howard Steenwyk, Randall & Mari Tamura, and Ji-young Yoo, with additional support from Employees Community Fund of Boeing and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts & Culture.