East West Players 2023 — On This Side of the World

WORLD PREMIERE: EAST WEST PLAYERS 2023

On May 14, 2023, ON THIS SIDE OF THE WORLD opened its world premiere production at East West Players in Los Angeles, the largest and longest-running Asian American theatre in the United States. The show ran for 23 performances from May to June 2023, including three previews and a sold-out one-week extension. The world premiere was produced in association with FilAm Arts.

Click here to view the production’s souvenir program. Scroll down to view the production gallery, press coverage, cast and creative team.

GALLERY

Artwork for the world premiere production.

Excerpt from “One-Way Ticket”, feat. Steven-Adam Agdeppa, Zandi de Jesus, Mike Palma, Cassie Simone, Andrea Somera, & Shaun Tuazon

Excerpt from “Yaya (Wish You Were Here)”, feat. Cassie Simone with Zandi de Jesus & Andrea Somera

Excerpt from “Rice Queens”, feat. Steven-Adam Agdeppa

“One-Way Ticket”, feat. Justine Rafael & Melvin Biteng, accompanied by Jennifer Lin

“The Language Lesson”, feat. Zandi de Jesus, accompanied by Jennifer Lin

“Cool Tito”, feat. Michael C. Palma, accompanied by Marc Macalintal

“Lantern in the Window”, feat. Cassie Simone, accompanied by Marc Macalintal

“Leading Man”, feat. Shaun Tuazon, accompanied by Marc Macalintal

“In This Kitchen”, feat. Andrea Somera & Steven-Adam Agdeppa, accompanied by Marc Macalintal

Poster design by Torres.
Production photos by Jenny Graham.
Production footage produced by Rooster and Pig Productions, Inc.
Promotional videos produced by Gavin Pak.

PRESS HIGHLIGHTS

REVIEW: "A sweeping consideration of the immigrant experience that is comical, pithy and often so poignant that tears result. …Director Shapiro delivers a taut, sharply realized staging — and considering all the moving parts of this supremely ambitious production, that is no mean logistical feat." — F. Kathleen Foley in Stage Raw, May 17, 2023

REVIEW: “There is much to like in this new work from the catchy, Broadway pop songs that take flight and invite you on a journey to a collective story of merging two worlds, vividly exploring how we assimilate to new surroundings while holding on to what makes us unique. …On This Side of the World transcends any one race and speaks to every immigrant story and to those who feel “othered” in our society. It’s a celebration of the human spirit willing to begin again wherever it lands.” — Alisa Hayashida in South Pasadenan, May 17, 2023

FEATURE. "‘On This Side of the World’ turns a one-way ticket to the U.S. into a unifying trip, one captivating song at a time." Steven Vargas in the Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2023.

T.V. FEATURE. "'On This Side of the World' arrives in LA with a suitcase full of songs." Tara Lynn Wagner on Spectrum News 1, May 19, 2023.

T.V. FEATURE. "New Musical: On This Side of the World." CBS News Los Angeles, May 16, 2023. .

PODCAST INTERVIEW. "Ep 425: Paulo K. Tirol & Noam Shapiro On Creating Filipino American Musical." Asian America: The Ken Fong Podcast, May 7, 2023.

FEATURE. "Filipino composer-lyricist’s musical opens to standing ovation in LA: ‘These are our stories!’" Elizabeth Lolarga in The Diarist.Ph, May 11, 2023.

FEATURE. "‘On This Side of the World’ musical tells Filipino immigrant stories." May Ruiz in Hey SoCal, April 26, 2023.