{"id":758791,"date":"2026-04-28T11:04:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/758791\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T11:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:04:22","slug":"photos-rodgers-and-hammersteins-flower-drum-song-premieres-from-east-west-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/758791\/","title":{"rendered":"Photos: RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN\u2019S FLOWER DRUM SONG Premieres From East West Players"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ud83c\udfad NEW! Los Angeles Theatre Newsletter<\/p>\n

\n Get all the top news & discounts for Los Angeles & beyond.\n <\/p>\n

East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center will present their world premiere of Tony-winner David Henry Hwang\u2019s newly updated 2026 book for RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN\u2019S FLOWER DRUM SONG. Helmed by EWP Artistic Director Lily Tung Crystal, this reimagined golden-age musical will open at JACCC\u2019s iconic Aratani Theatre. Performances will run April 30 – May 31. Check out photos from the show below!<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfad NEW! Los Angeles Theatre Newsletter<\/p>\n

\n Get all the top news & discounts for Los Angeles & beyond.\n <\/p>\n

The principal cast includes EWP veterans Grace Yoo* (Broadway: HADESTOWN) as Mei-Li, Emily Kuroda* (CW\u2019s Gilmore Girls) as Madame Liang, Marc Oka*(Broadway: THE KING AND I, FLOWER DRUM SONG) as Wang, Scott Keiji Takeda* (Off Broadway: SUMO \u76f8\u64b2) as Ta, and Gedde Watanabe* (Broadway: PACIFIC OVERTURES) as Chin. Cast members making their EWP debut include Krista Marie Yu* (Hulu\u2019s Reboot, FOX\u2019s Last Man Standing) as Linda Low, Kenton Chen* (NBC\u2019s The Sing-Off) as Harvard, and newcomer Cooper Bennett as Chao.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ensemble and understudy cast includes: Joven Calloway* (Ensemble), Ethan Yaheen-Moy Chan (Ta\/Chao\/Ensemble Understudy), IJay Espinoza (Ensemble), Sierra Goria (Ensemble Female Swing), Sally Hong* (Ensemble, Dance Captain), Tony Jin (Ensemble Male Swing), Esther Lee* (Ensemble, Linda Understudy), Brian Shimasaki Liebson* (Ensemble), Emma Park (Ensemble), Gemma Pedersen (Ensemble\/Mei-Li & Linda Understudy),\u00a0 Hillary Tang* (Ensemble), Ai Toyoshima* (Ensemble, Assistant Dance Captain), Haoyi Wen (Ensemble), and Paul Wong* (Ensemble\/Chin & Wang Understudy).<\/p>\n

The creative team includes David Henry Hwang (Writer of the 2002 & 2026 book, based on the original book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joseph Fields, based on the novel by C.Y. Lee), Lily Tung Crystal\u00ba (Director), Janelle Dote Portman (Choreographer), Marc Macalintal (Music Director), Jamie Guan (Beijing Opera Choreographer), Chen-Wei Liao^(Scenic Designer), Ruoxuan Li (Costume Designer), three-time Tony nominee Jiyoun Chang^ (Lighting Designer), Brian Hsieh (Sound Designer), Naomi Kasahara (Properties Designer), Sharon Peng (Hair & Make-Up Designer), Darlene Miyakawa* (Production Stage Manager), Annie Jin Wang (Dramaturg), Shinshin Yuder Tsai (Intimacy Director), and Patrick Chew (Cultural and Language Consultant). Music is by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.<\/p>\n

Set against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco Chinatown, Hwang\u2019s 2026 revision of RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN\u2019S FLOWER DRUM SONG explores themes of immigration, assimilation, tradition, and community with renewed urgency and heart. The story follows Mei-Li, a young Chinese opera performer fleeing communism, as she arrives in America and is drawn into the vibrant world of the Grant Avenue nightclubs. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein\u2019s classic songs and beloved characters make their long-awaited return to Los Angeles for the first time since the premiere of Hwang\u2019s adaptation at Center Theatre Group\u2019s Mark Taper Forum over twenty years ago.<\/p>\n

At a time when questions of identity, immigration, and cultural preservation feel especially urgent, David Henry Hwang\u2019s reimagining of the book for the Spring 2026 production gives Asian Americans a chance to reclaim this classic, offering new perspective and depth while honoring the community\u2019s continuous evolution.<\/p>\n

Photo Credit:\u00a0Mike Palma<\/p>\n

\"Photos:

\nGrace Yoo<\/a> and Scott Keiji Takeda<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Photos:

\nKrista Marie Yu<\/p>\n

\"Photos:

\nBrian Shimasaki Liebson<\/a>, Marc Oka<\/a>, Scott Keiji Takeda<\/a>, and Joven Calloway<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Photos:

\nGrace Yoo<\/a> and Krista Marie Yu in<\/p>\n

\"Photos:

\nMarc Oka<\/a> with Esther Lee<\/a>, Gemma Pedersen<\/a>, Ai Toyoshima, Sally Hong<\/a>, Hillary Tang, and Emma Park<\/p>\n

\"Photos:

\nEmma Park, Cooper Lee Bennett, Gemma Pedersen<\/a>, Hillary Tang, Haoyi Wen, Sally Hong<\/a>, and Ai Toyoshima<\/p>\n

\"Photos:

\nKenton Chen, Krista Marie Yu, Marc Oka<\/a>, Gedde Watanabe<\/a>, and Emily Kuroda<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\ud83c\udfad NEW! Los Angeles Theatre Newsletter Get all the top news & discounts for Los Angeles & beyond.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":758792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,2961,224,5337],"class_list":{"0":"post-758791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-los-angeles","12":"tag-losangeles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116482008151015961","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}