East West Players Announces Cast & Crew of Unbroken Blossoms
Contact: TJ Ramirez, (213) 542-2489, tramirez@eastwestplayers.org
Peter Goldman (213) 500-8532 p.goldman@dcpublicity.com
For more press and event information: www.eastwestplayers.org
For press photos or interview requests: tramirez@eastwestplayers.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE • LOS ANGELES, CA
East West Players Announces Cast & Crew of ‘Unbroken Blossoms’
A World Premiere Play
Performs June 27 – July 21, 2024
Opening Night June 30, 2024
April 17, 2024, Los Angeles, CA | East West Players (EWP), one of the nation’s oldest theaters of color and the largest producer of Asian American theatrical works, presents Unbroken Blossoms, by Philip W. Chung and directed by Jeff Liu. Originally presented as a staged reading in 2015 by Visual Communications in partnership with East West Players, Unbroken Blossoms will have its world premiere as the second production of East West Players’ 2024 Season. Unbroken Blossoms performs at the David Henry Hwang Theater June 27 through July 21, 2024 with opening night on Sunday, June 30th, 2024.
About Unbroken Blossoms
Unbroken Blossoms, by Philip W. Chung (KCET/Artbound’s East West Players: A Home on Stage) and directed by Jeff Liu (EWP’s The Brothers Paranormal & Chinglish) is the story of the silenced voices behind the real silent film Broken Blossoms. This play is a historical reimagining of the making of the boundary-breaking Hollywood classic that shines a light on the collateral damage in the search for "authentic" representation, and asks what price we pay for our art.
The play follows Moon, an idealistic family man, and James, a cynical, aspiring filmmaker. The two are hired as the Chinese American consultants for Broken Blossoms, Hollywood's first onscreen interracial love story... between a white actress and a white actor in yellowface makeup. If the circumstances weren’t already questionable enough, the consultants must contend with the outsized ego of the film's director D.W. Griffith, who is attempting to belie criticisms of racism after the release of his controversial film The Birth of a Nation. Based on actual events, this world premiere production illuminates a historical conflict just behind the silver screen.
Unbroken Blossoms was originally presented in 2015 by Visual Communications in partnership with East West Players, and was also a semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference.
Unbroken Blossoms playwright Philip W. Chung was a Co-Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Lodestone Theatre Ensemble, as well as the consulting producer of the 2023 KCET/Artbound documentary, East West Players: A Home on Stage, currently available for streaming at eastwestplayers.org/artbound. Philip W. Chung and Unbroken Blossoms director Jeff Liu have collaborated in the past, on a hybrid theater-film-streaming production of the play Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang for the YOMYOMF Network on YouTube.
Tickets to Unbroken Blossoms may be purchased online at eastwestplayers.org or by calling (213) 625-7000.
Cast & Crew
The cast of Unbroken Blossoms comprises Gavin Kawin Lee* (LATC & EWP’s Tacos La Brooklyn, EWP & The Fountain Theatre’s Hannah and the Dread Gazebo) as James Leong, Ron Song (Amazon’s Jury Duty) as Moon Kwan, Arye Gross* (EWP’s M. Butterfly, AMC’s Better Call Saul) as D.W. Griffith, Alexandra Hellquist (Rogue Machine Theatre’s On The Other Hand, We’re Happy) as Lillian Gish/Gilda, and Conlan Ledwith* (Antaeus Theatre Company’s The Winter’s Tale) as Richard Barthelmess. Paul Dateh (LATC & EWP’s Tacos La Brooklyn) understudies the roles of James and Moon, Ty Aldridge (Geffen Playhouse’s The Inheritance) understudies the roles of Richard and Griffith, and Valerie Rose Lohman (3D Theatricals’ Parade) understudies the role of Lillian.
The creative team includes direction by Jeff Liu^ (EWP’s The Brothers Paranormal & Chinglish), intimacy direction by Shinshin Yuder Tsai (Long Beach Playhouse’s She Kills Monsters), fight choreography by Cesar Cipriano (EWP’s Spring Awakening), scenic design by Mina Kinukawa† (EWP’s Voices From Okinawa, Theater Mu’s The Kung Fu Zombies Saga), projection design by Sam Clevenger (EWP’s On This Side of the World & Assassins), properties design by Michael O'Hara (EWP’s Chinglish, Celebration Theatre’s A New Brain), costume design by Jaymee Ngernwichit (EWP’s On This Side of the World), lighting design by Wes Charles Chew (EWP’s The Great Jheri Curl Debate & Assassins, Artists at Play’s The Chinese Lady), assistant lighting design by Kelly Rodriguez (Shakespeare on the Bluff’s Macbeth), sound design by Cinthia Nava (Rubicon Theatre’s Almost, Maine), stage management by Brandon Hong Cheng* (EWP’s Kairos, Spring Awakening, Assassins, Man of God; CTG’s Our Dear Dead Drug Lord), and assistant stage management by Irene DH Lee (EWP’s Kairos & Spring Awakening).
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association
^Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
†Member of USA 829
Artist Biographies
Philip W. Chung (Playwright) is a writer and producer based in Los Angeles. He was the co-founder/co-Artistic Director for Lodestone Theatre Ensemble, an acclaimed Asian American theater company, where he wrote/produced/directed almost 100 mainstage productions, workshops, readings, and other theatrical events. He was the creative director at YOMYOMF, founded by the Fast & Furious franchise director Justin Lin to tell stories from Asian American and other underrepresented voices. At YOMYOMF, Chung oversaw the hybrid production of David Henry Hwang's Pulitzer Prize-finalist play, Yellow Face, which was adapted by Unbroken Blossoms director Jeff Liu (and is available to watch on YouTube). Unbroken Blossoms was a semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference and a scripted podcast series version of the story is in development with Clamor Media and YOMYOMF. Previously, Chung has developed/produced projects for Comcast/NBCUniversal, Legendary Pictures, eOne, IFC Channel, Gunpowder & Sky, Google/YouTube, HBO Max/WB, and others. He was the consulting producer on the 2023 KCET/Artbound documentary, East West Players: A Home on Stage (available on YouTube and the PBS app), and recently sold or optioned his screenplays to Netflix and Buzzfeed Studios. He is consulting producer on an upcoming Margaret Cho-narrated documentary about the Asian American hapa cult icon Tura Satana (star of Russ Meyers' Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) and associate producer of the indie film Late Bloomers, which premiered at SXSW and stars Jumanji's Karen Gillan (coming June 7). His play My Man Kono, a historical drama about Charlie Chaplin's Japanese American valet, will world premiere Off-Broadway at the Pan Asian Rep in early 2025 (the play placed second in EWP's Pacific Century Playwriting competition). He was also commissioned by the Adventure Theatre MTC in Washington, DC to write the book and lyrics for POOP! The Musical in collaboration with composer Woody Pak (Making Tracks).
Jeff Liu (Director) is a writer and director for theater, film, and web, and also an Artistic Producer for the Ojai Playwrights Conference. His productions include the LA premiere of Chinglish by David Henry Hwang (LA Times Critic's Choice), as well as the world premieres of Warrior Sister of Wu by Damon Chua, Memorial by Livian Yeh (NYT Critic's Pick), Paletas de Coco by Franky D. Gonzalez (Ars Nova ANTFest), The Brothers Paranormal by Prince Gomolvilas, Two Mile Hollow by Leah Nanako Winkler, Mexican Day and The Chinese Massacre (Annotated) by Tom Jacobson, Texas and Solve For X by Judy Soo Hoo, Murderobilia and Terminus Americana (Ovation Award nominee for Best World Premiere) by Matt Pelfrey, and The Golden Hour and Grace Kim and the Spiders From Mars by Philip W. Chung. He also adapted and directed the Pulitzer-nominated play Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang for the YOMYOMF Network on YouTube, where it is still available to watch for free.
Calendar Information About Kairos
Tickets to Unbroken Blossoms may be purchased online at eastwestplayers.org or by calling (213) 625-7000. At time of purchase please mention any wheelchair/accessible seating needs. Student, senior, and group discounts are available. Box office is available 11AM - 5PM, Monday-Friday, as well as ninety minutes before all performances.
All performances of Unbroken Blossoms will be presented at the David Henry Hwang Theater in the Union Center of the Arts at 120 Judge John Aiso Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 in Little Tokyo. Unbroken Blossoms will perform June 27 through July 21, 2024 with opening night on Sunday, June 30th, 2024. Performance times Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays are at 8PM, with additional 2PM matinees on Saturday and 5PM performances on Sunday. All Saturday 2PM performances are Masked Matinees, making theater more accessible to audiences who prefer a masked audience experience.
Ticket prices range from $39 to $69. A Pay-What-You-Can performance is scheduled for Monday, July at 8PM. EWP offers $15 Access Tickets in limited quantity to all performances. Access Tickets are intended to lower the price barrier to access live theater by offering a more affordable option to EWP mainstage performances. Access Tickets are available via the same methods all tickets are purchased, with no additional steps necessary to purchase. Performance dates and details are subject to change.
Tickets to Unbroken Blossoms may be purchased online at eastwestplayers.org or by calling (213) 625-7000.
About East West Players
East West Players (EWP) is one of the nation’s longest-running theaters of color and the largest producer of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) creative work. Since its founding in 1965, it has produced more than 230 shows and has received regional and national accolades, including being honored as one of America’s Cultural Treasures by the Ford Foundation. EWP leads the Asian American theater movement, using its platform to advocate for comprehensive and intersectional diversity, equity, and inclusion practices through world-class theater. EWP invests in the future of Asian American artists by offering career development classes for both seasoned and emerging artists, as well as its arts education programs. To learn more, visit eastwestplayers.org.
Acknowledgements
East West Players is supported in part by the Ford Foundation, Perenchio Foundation, Aratani Foundation, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and Dwight Stuart Youth Fund.
Tickets to Unbroken Blossoms may be purchased online at eastwestplayers.org or by calling (213) 625-7000.
Contact: TJ Ramirez, (213) 542-2489, tramirez@eastwestplayers.org
Peter Goldman (213) 500-8532 p.goldman@dcpublicity.com
For more press and event information: www.eastwestplayers.org
For press photos or interview requests: tramirez@eastwestplayers.org
