Moritz Stiefel. (Photo by TJ Ramirez)
East West Players (EWP), the nation’s longest-running Asian American theater and the largest producer of Asian American theatrical works, presents the Tony Award winning musical “Spring Awakening.”
Based on the play by Frank Wedekind, “Spring Awakening” features book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik. Former EWP Artistic Director Tim Dang directs “Spring Awakening,” the last production of EWP’s Season 57.
This revolutionary musical rocks the roof off the David Henry Hwang Theater Oct. 26 through Nov. 19, with opening night on Sunday, Oct. 29.
“I’m thrilled to return to EWP after seven years to direct a challenging and thought-provoking play like ‘Spring Awakening,’” shares Dang. “I didn’t realize it had been that long a stretch but a lot has happened to the world, to our community, and to ourselves personally during that time.”
The last production Dang directed at EWP was 2016’s “La Cage Aux Folles.”
Dang continues, “The themes of ‘Spring Awakening’ are relevant on so many levels that will affect different audiences in various ways: by age group, cultural background, economic/social class, religion, sex, and privilege/power. By this intersectionality, the musical becomes this complex tapestry of rebellion that our youth faces on a daily basis.
“Yet, this play takes place in 1890s Germany, which makes it so bold and devastating: its message is still very clear and heartbreaking in 2023 America.”
In 1891 Germany, repressed, adolescent students stumble into adulthood as clumsily as they do into each other’s arms. With obstinate parents unwilling to guide them, young Melchior and Wendla explore their desires for each other, while Melchior’s dear friend Moritz fumbles dangerously through his own coming-of-age.
This generation-defining musical is a rock anthem to all the “guilty ones,” poignantly exploring the dark, passionate, and twisting journey from adolescence to adulthood.
Dang has assembled a multicultural cast. “Our casting is more intentional than colorblind,” he says. “The mission of East West Players is to portray the Asian American experience. In this production, the Asian American experience does not live in a vacuum, or a silo, or a monolithic community. This production emphasizes the intersectionality of our youth today. Our casting is race-conscious and race-specific.
“By 2042, America is projected to be majority POC (people of color). It is with intention that many of our performers are of mixed heritage, mixed-race, biracial, hapa, or bicultural. These performers represent the youth of a generation that is already majority POC. The balance of power shifting to the new majority makes EWP’s production of ‘Spring Awakening’ that much more different from other productions that have come before us.”
Tamlyn Tomita, a long-time EWP community member and artist whose extensive Hollywood and screen credits comprise such roles as Waverly Jong in “The Joy Luck Club” and Kumiko in “The Karate Kid Part II,” makes her EWP mainstage debut in “Spring Awakening.” She plays the adult women of the musical, including Frau Bergmann and Fanny Gabor, the mothers of Wendla and Melchior, respectively.
Stage and screen actor Daniel Blinkoff (Bob Cratchit in South Coast Repertory’s “A Christmas Carol”), Tomita’s husband, stars opposite her in the adult men roles.
The cast is led by Mia Sempertegui (“Sister Act,” “Beehive: The ’60s Musical”) as Wendla Bergman, Thomas K. Winter (“The Secret Garden,” “The Last Five Years”) as Melchior Gabor, Marcus Phillips (“The Prom” national tour, La Mirada Theatre’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”) as Moritz Stiefel, Madison Grepo (“Evita,” “Anything Goes”) as Ilse Neumann, Tomita and Blinkoff.
Also featured are Jaylen Baham (Chance Theater’s “Next to Normal” and “Ride the Cyclone,” “In the Heights”) as Georg Zirschnitz, James Everts (“Newsies,” “Legally Blonde”) as Otto Lämmermeier, Genki Hall (“Evita,” “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”) as Ernst Röbel, Sarah Marie Hernandez (“Lizzie: The Musical,” “Spring Awakening,” “Songs for a New World”) as Martha Bessell, Justine Rafael (EWP’s “On This Side of the World,” Paris Las Vegas’ “Bat Out of Hell”) as Thea, Eric Renna (“A Chorus Line,” “Next to Normal,” “West Side Story”) as Hänschen Rilow, and Leianna Weaver (Musical Theatre West’s “The Wizard of Oz”) as Anna.
CJ Cruz (“1660 Vine”) and Evan Pascual (“Little Shop of Horrors,” “Sister Act”) understudy this production, along with Kay Sibal (The Wallis’ “Invincible: The Musical,” Shakespeare Center Los Angeles and After Hours Theatre Company’s “The Tempest: An Immersive Experience”), who also is the production’s assistant music director.
The creative team includes choreography by Preston Mui, fight direction by Cesar Cipriano, intimacy direction by Carly DW Bones, music direction by Marc Macalintal, scenic design by Christopher Scott Murillo, properties design by Glenn Michael Baker, costume design by JoJo Siu, hair and makeup design by Gillian Woodson, lighting design by Derek Jones, sound design by Cricket Myers, and stage management by Brandon Hong Cheng.
About the Director
Tim Dang is the recipient of the Society of Directors and Choreographers’ Zelda Fichandler Award for transforming the regional theatre arts landscape through theatre. His career spans over four decades as theater director, producer, arts administrator, cultural diversity and equity advocate, adjunct lecturer, writer, and performer. He started out as an actor performing on stage at EWP and appearing on television, and still performs voiceover work today.
He served as producing artistic director emeritus of EWP for 23 years through 2016, producing over 100 plays and musicals.
For six years, Dang was adjunct lecturer teaching directing and dramaturgy at the USC School of Dramatic Arts and prepared emerging artists about the audition process, industry business essentials, and networking at AMDA College for the Performing Arts.
EWP directing credits include “La Cage Aux Folles,” “Beijing Spring” twice (world premiere), “Follies,” “A Little Night Music,” “Chess,” “Krunk Fu Battle Battle” (world premiere), Mysterious Skin (Los Angeles premiere), Imelda: A New Musical (world premiere/New York premiere), “Pippin,” “Equus,” “Voices From Okinawa” (world premiere), “Passion” (Los Angeles premiere), “The Nisei Widows Club,” “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Pacific Overtures” (L.A. Ovation Award), “Sweeney Todd” twice (L.A. Ovation Award), “Canton Jazz Club,” “F.O.B.,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” and “Into the Woods.”
He has also directed at Singapore Repertory Theatre, AMDA, PanAsian Repertory Theatre, GeVa Theater Center (New York), Sierra Madre Playhouse, L.A. Theatre Works, MainStreet Theatre Company, Mark Taper Forum New Works Festival, Celebration Theatre (California), and Perseverance Theatre (Alaska).
As a writer, Dang wrote the book and lyrics for the musical “Beijing Spring”; the lyrics for the musical “Canton Jazz Club”; and co-wrote the trilogy of comedies “The Nisei Widows Club,” “The Nisei Widows Club: Holiday on Thin Ice” and “The Nisei Widows Club: How Tomi Got Her Groove Back.”
Dang has been heard in video games and animated shows such as “Diablo IV: Welcome to Hell,” “Spidey and His Amazing Friends,” “Ghost of Tsushima,” “World of Warcraft: The Mists of Pandaria,” “Curious George,” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
He is an alumnus of the USC School of Theatre.
Performance Schedule
All performances of “Spring Awakening” are presented at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center of the Arts, 120 Judge John Aiso St. in Little Tokyo. The show runs Oct. 26 through Nov. 19, with preview performances Oct. 26 through 28 and opening night occurring Sunday, Oct. 29.
Performance times: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays at 8 p.m., with additional 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and 5 p.m. performances on Sunday. Ticket prices range from $39 to $69. A pay-what-you-can performance is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 6. at 8 p.m. An ASL-interpreted performance, featuring interpretation provided by Pro Bono ASL, is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased online at eastwestplayers.org or by calling (213) 625-7000. At time of purchase mention any wheelchair/accessible seating needs. Student, senior, and group discounts are available. Dates, details, and ticket prices are subject to change. Box office is available 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, as well as one hour before all performances.
The show contains dark themes, brief nudity, and adult, sexual content. For any questions on the content of the production, contact the box office at boxoffice@eastwestplayers.org.
$15 Access Tickets are available in limited quantity to all performances. EWP’s Access Ticket initiative is intended to lower the price barrier to access live theater and guarantee affordable seats to every EWP mainstage performance at the David Henry Hwang Theater. Access Tickets are available via the same methods all tickets are purchased, with no additional steps necessary to purchase. EWP asks that audience members who are able to afford standard-priced tickets continue to do so, in order to ensure the limited quantity of Access Tickets remain available to those who would otherwise be unable to attend live theater.
Tomita and Blinkoff will be appearing in “Spring Awakening” Oct. 26 through Nov. 6 and Nov. 17 through 19.
EWP has implemented numerous COVID-19 safety protocols to ensure that artists and audience members are able to safely enjoy their experience. For more information, visit eastwestplayers.org.
“Spring Awakening” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).