Pacific Overtures The 2024 Season culminates with the Tony Award winning musical Pacific Overtures, with music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman, additional material by Hugh Wheeler, and orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. 1853, and it’s the end of the world. Commodore Matthew C. Perry intends to open the gates of isolationist Japan. When Samurai Kayama and America-loving fisherman Manjiro are tasked with meeting the American gunboat docked on the coast of Kanagawa, little could they know that they would irreversibly change the “Floating Kingdom.” The original Broadway production of Pacific Overtures was directed by Harold Prince, and produced by Harold Prince in association with Ruth Mitchell. East West Players previously produced Pacific Overtures in 1979 with EWP founding Artistic Director Mako reprising his Tony nominated performance as The Reciter. The musical was again produced by EWP in 1998 as the David Henry Hwang Theater’s inaugural performance. Pacific Overtures 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. Pacific Overtures will perform November 7 through December 1 with opening night on Sunday, November 10. This production is supported in part by the David Lee Foundation. PACIFIC OVERTURES is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. mtishows.com
- Hugh Wheeler
- John Weidman
- Stephen Sondheim
Authors
Tony Awards and Nominations for Pacific Overtures
| Year | Category | |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Best Musical | |
| 2005 | Best Revival of a Musical |
Ages: Teens and adults
Pacific Overtures at East West Players Schedule
SUBMIT UPDATES
East West Players Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
East West Players is at 120 Judge John Aiso St, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Los Angeles, CA.
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EWP was founded by nine Asian American artists (Mako, Rae Creevey, Beulah Quo, Soon-Tek Oh, James Hong, Pat Li, June Kim, Guy Lee, and Yet Lock) seeking to create roles beyond the stereotypical parts they were offered in mainstream Hollywood. In 1998, EWP Artistic Director Tim Dang led the company’s move from a 99-seat Equity Waiver “black box” theatre into a new 240-seat venue at an Actors Equity Association contract level. EWP’s main stage is the David Henry Hwang Theater, housed within the Union Center for the Arts in downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district. The theater serves more than 25,000 people each year, and has become a creative center in this historically significant setting. When Dang retired in 2016, his successor Snehal Desai was appointed to guide East West Players into a new wave of artistic leadership. Desai has committed to steering the work of East West Players with an intersectional focus that further unveils the diversity of Asian Pacific identities as portrayed on stage.
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