The cast of On This Side of the World comprises:
Steven-Adam Agdeppa* (EWP’s Mamma Mia! & Crazy Talented Asians, The Wallis’ Invincible: The Musical, La Mirada Theatre’s Grease! & In the Heights)
Zandi De Jesus (Miss Saigon, La Jolla Playhouse’s Most Wanted, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Nat’l Tour)
Michael C. Palma* (EWP’s Mamma Mia! & Imelda: A New Musical, Cold Tofu Improv)
Cassie Simone* (La Mirada Theatre’s Hunchback of Notre Dame & RENT, A Noise Within’s Man of La Mancha)
Andrea Somera (EWP’s Assassins, A Noise Within’s A Christmas Carol)
Shaun Tuazon* (EWP’s Mamma Mia!, San Diego Rep’s Vietgone, Cabrillo Music Theatre's In the Heights, La Jolla Playhouse's #SuperShinySara & Hoopla!)
Melvin Biteng (Disney Jr. Live: Costume Palooza Nat’l Tour, Avenue Q, Mamma Mia!) and Justine Rafael (EWP’s Crazy Talented Asians, Paris Las Vegas’ Bat Out Of Hell) understudy this production.
The creative team includes direction by Noam Shapiro, music direction by Jennifer Lin and Marc Macalintal, choreography by Anjanette Maraya-Ramey, orchestration by Ian Miller, scenic design by Yi-Chien Lee, projection design by David Murakami, costume design by Jaymee Ngernwichit, properties design by Glenn Michael Baker, lighting design by Szu-Yun Wang, and stage management by Edward Khris Fernandez*.
Steven-Adam Agdeppa* (EWP’s Mamma Mia! & Crazy Talented Asians, The Wallis’ Invincible: The Musical, La Mirada Theatre’s Grease! & In the Heights)
Zandi De Jesus (Miss Saigon, La Jolla Playhouse’s Most Wanted, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Nat’l Tour)
Michael C. Palma* (EWP’s Mamma Mia! & Imelda: A New Musical, Cold Tofu Improv)
Cassie Simone* (La Mirada Theatre’s Hunchback of Notre Dame & RENT, A Noise Within’s Man of La Mancha)
Andrea Somera (EWP’s Assassins, A Noise Within’s A Christmas Carol)
Shaun Tuazon* (EWP’s Mamma Mia!, San Diego Rep’s Vietgone, Cabrillo Music Theatre's In the Heights, La Jolla Playhouse's #SuperShinySara & Hoopla!)
Melvin Biteng (Disney Jr. Live: Costume Palooza Nat’l Tour, Avenue Q, Mamma Mia!) and Justine Rafael (EWP’s Crazy Talented Asians, Paris Las Vegas’ Bat Out Of Hell) understudy this production.
The creative team includes direction by Noam Shapiro, music direction by Jennifer Lin and Marc Macalintal, choreography by Anjanette Maraya-Ramey, orchestration by Ian Miller, scenic design by Yi-Chien Lee, projection design by David Murakami, costume design by Jaymee Ngernwichit, properties design by Glenn Michael Baker, lighting design by Szu-Yun Wang, and stage management by Edward Khris Fernandez*.
Noam Shapiro (Director & Co-Creator) is a DC and New York-based director and the Producing Artistic Director of Three Hares Theater. He is the 2022-2023 Drama League Next Stage Resident Director, where he is developing Dear America, adapted from the memoir of journalist and activist Jose Antonio Vargas, with Paulo K Tiról. Noam was the SDC Foundation’s inaugural Kurt Weill/Harold Prince Directing Fellow at Encores! New York City Center, a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, a Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellow, a Drama League First Draft Resident Artist, and a winner of OPERA-America’s Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize for The Little Prince. His recent projects include On This Side of the World (East West Players; Rhinebeck Writers Retreat; NAMT Festival; Three Hares/Access Theater); Sweeney Todd (Yale Dramatic Association), Gonzo (LaGuardia Performing Arts Festival), Speaking as Then (Columbia University School of the Arts), Little League (Three Hares), The Laramie Project (Johns Hopkins Barnstormers), and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Lyra Theater). Associate Member of SDC. BA Yale. www.noamshapiro.com
A note from our Indiegogo Fundraising Campaign:
In July of 2022, East West Players (EWP) produced a workshop of On This Side of the World, written by Paulo K. Tiról and directed by Noam Shapiro.
A year later, the heartfelt musical made its way to East West Players' main stage at the David Henry Hwang Theater. The show was extended, proving its impact on the Filipino-American and immigrant community in Los Angeles and beyond, and becoming the highest grossing new musical in EWP’s history.
Now, for the first time since 2005, EWP is recording an original cast album for On This Side of the World- but we can't do it alone. EWP is committed to completing the project, and has already invested $10,000 into ensuring we rightly compensate the incredible artists involved in the creation of the show. Today, we are humbly asking for your support in raising an additional $5,000 for a total of $15,000 to help us recoup the additional costs that come with recording, mixing, mastering, artists’ royalties, and distributing this very special cast album.
We're launching this Indiegogo to ask for your support in making this project the best that it can be. As we aim to continue creating impactful work, every dollar counts towards helping us immortalize the magic of Paulo's work.
Please join us on this journey of creating the On This Side of the World Cast Album. Make a tax-deductible contribution today to help us bring a piece of EWP magic straight to you!
