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Pacific Overtures

Mar 7 - Apr 9, 2023
A young Japanese man stands in front of an image of the Japanese flag with the geographical outline of Japan over it. The man wears a black bowler hat, glasses, and is wearing a black pin-striped suit that fades into a red kimono with blue flower details.

A stunning exploration of tradition and transformation based on historical events.

In 1853, after 200 years of stability, Japan faces an American expedition determined to open the “floating kingdom” to trade. The isolationist island’s reckoning with the unwelcome western influence is brilliantly illuminated through a kaleidoscope of stories about sailors, samurai, “someone in a tree” and two friends who choose radically different paths.

This innovative epic of East meets West is one of Sondheim’s most ambitious and rarely produced musicals.

“One of the great musicals of our time.”
Variety

Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by John Weidman
Additional Material by Hugh Wheeler
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Music Direction by Alexander Tom
Direction and Musical Staging by Ethan Heard
#SigPacificOvertures
#SigPacificOvertures

Performance Info

Seating Chart

  • Run Time

    Running time is approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission.

  • Content Warnings

    This show uses strobe lights, loud drumming and theatrical haze. Recommended for teens and adults. Signature does not admit children under 6 years old.

  • Masking

    Masks are always optional in the lobby and other public areas of the building.

    Face masks are required inside the performance spaces on Thursdays and Sundays.
    Face masks are optional inside the performance spaces Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Content Warnings

This show contains depictions of death (on stage) and suicide (off stage), cannon blast sounds, and will use strobe lights, loud drumming and theatrical haze.

Program

Flip through the Pacific Overtures Program

Click the arrows to turn the pages, and click the box in the bottom right corner to view in full screen.

Specialty Nights

Discussion Nights

March 28 & April 5, 2023

Pride Night

March 31, 2023

ASL Interpreted

April 7, 2023

Cast Members

Alex Koichi Beard

Swing

he/him NYC: NYMF, Backbeard. REGIONAL: Priscilla Beach Theatre: Life Could be a Dream (Duke Henderson), Bye Bye Birdie (Conrad Birdie); Millbrook Playhouse: Life Could be a Dream (Duke Henderson), Rock of Ages. OTHER: Carnival Cruise Line: Lead Vocalist (1 Season); Kings Dominion: Lead Vocalist (9 Seasons). EDUCATION: BFA Musical Theatre, Shenandoah Conservatory. alexkbeard@gmail.com @alexkoichibeard

Eymard Cabling

Lord Abe and Others

SIGNATURE: Pacific Overtures. OFF-BROADWAY: Prospect Theater Company: Honor (Hideo). INTERNATIONAL TOUR: The King and I (The Kralahome). NATIONAL TOUR: Miss Saigon (The Engineer, Thuy u/s). DC AREA: Olney Theatre: The King and I, Once on This Island, Pippin; The Kennedy Center: Me…Jane, The Dragon King’s Daughter. REGIONAL: Brava Theater: Larry The Musical; East West Players: Allegiance; Utah Shakespeare Festival: Gold Mountain; Oregon Shakespeare Festival: She Loves Me; Tuacahn Amphitheatre: Mary Poppins, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Starlight Express, Shrek, Newsies, Mamma Mia, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. EDUCATION: BFA Carnegie Mellon University. @eymardisonearth

Andrew Cristi

Andrew Cristi

Mother of Shogun and others

he/they SIGNATURE: Pacific Overtures. BROADWAY: A Christmas Story, The Musical! OFF-BROADWAY: The Public: Miss You Like Hell; Encores! City Center: Big River, The Golden Apple; New World Stages: Freckleface Strawberry; Prospect Theater Company: American Morning. REGIONAL: American Repertory Theater, Geva Theatre Center, Papermill Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Berkshire Theater Group. TV: ABC, Manhattan Love Story, Disney/ABC Talent Showcase. EDUCATION: NYU/Tisch: BFA. www.andrewcristi.com. IG: @hello_drewby.

Albert Hsueh

Boy and others

he/him INTERNATIONAL: China: Mamma Mia!; Norway: Made in China; Taiwan: The ashy feather, Miss Taiwan. OFF-BROADWAY: Theatre Row: Anything Goes; TADA Theatre: Romance of the Western Chamber. NEW YORK: NAAP: The Pajama Game. REGIONAL: Drury Lane: The King and I (swing); Arizona Broadway Theatre: Chicago, Gypsy, A Christmas Carol; Interlakes Theatre: Grease, The King and I; Mac-Haydn Theatre: Anything Goes; Midtown Arts Center: A Christmas Story. EDUCATION: AMDA. @alberthsueh1216

Joey Ledonio

Swing

he/him SIGNATURE: A Chorus Line. NATIONAL TOUR: An Officer and a Gentleman. NYC: National Asian Artists Project: Bethune (reading), The Monkey King (reading); Royal Family Productions: Lola (reading); NYTB: Called (workshop). REGIONAL: Quintessence Theatre Group: Mary Poppins (Associate Choreographer); Argyle Theatre: Cabaret; Quisisana Resort: Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (Mungojerrie), Polkadots; Priscilla Beach Theatre: West Side Story. EDUCATION: BFA Pace University. joeyledonio.com @joeyledonio

Jonny Lee Jr.

Manjiro and others

he/him SIGNATURE: Pacific Overtures (Manjiro). NEW YORK: NAAP: Gold Mountain the Musical (Lit Ning). REGIONAL: Kennedy Center TYA: The Dragon King's Daughter (world premiere, Kenny); Utah Shakespeare Festival: Gold Mountain the Musical (world premiere, Lit Ning); Village Theatre: Eastbound (world premiere, Yun); Kansas City Starlight: Miss Saigon (Midwest tour, Thuy); Broward Stage Door: Thoroughly Modern Millie (Ching Ho), Mame (Ito); Oguma Playhouse: Company (Bobby). TV/FILM: City of Dreams (Julian). OTHER: Farewell My ConcubineUntitled MILCK Project, Tiananmen the Musical, Shanghai Sonatas. EDUCATION: AMDA. www.JonnyLeeJr.com @jonnyleejr

Quynh-My Luu

Quynh-My Luu

Tamate and others

SIGNATURE: Pacific Overtures (Tamate), Daphne’s Dive (Jenn), A Little Night Music (Mrs. Nordstrom). NYC: New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players: The Mikado (Yum-Yum). DC AREA: Kennedy Center: RENT in Concert (Alexi Darling); Ford’s Theatre: Into the Woods (Rapunzel); Olney Theatre Center: Matilda (Acrobat), Sweeney Todd, Beauty and the Beast. REGIONAL: Arvada Center: Into the Woods (Cinderella); Geva Theatre Center: Sister Act (Sister Mary Robert), A Christmas Carol (Belle/Fred’s Wife/Martha); Virginia Repertory Theatre: Cinderella (Ella); Fulton Theatre: The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Interlakes Summer Theatre: Miss Saigon (Kim). EDUCATION: BA in Musical Theatre from James Madison University.  www.quynhmyluu.com.

Jason Ma

Reciter and others

he/him BROADWAY: Sly Fox, Miss Saigon, Shogun, Prince of Central Park, Chu Chem. OFF-BROADWAY: The Public: Antony & Cleopatra; Classic Stage Company: Hamlet; Pearl Theater: The Merchant of Venice; NAATCO: Falsettoland. INTERNATIONAL: Peter Sellars’ Peony Pavilion (London, Vienna, Rome); Cambodia Agonistes (Cairo, Johannesburg, NYC). WRITING/COMPOSING: Gold Mountain (Utah Shakespeare Festival, world premiere); Twelfth Night (Kansas City Repertory Theater, original music and score); Broken Ground (Village Theatre commission, co-written with Christine Toy Johnson). AWARDS: 2017 ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award presented to composer/lyricist; 2021 Harold Adamson Award for musical theater lyricist. jasonmamusic.com; goldmountainthemusical.com

Daniel May

Daniel May

Kayama and others

he/him SIGNATURE: Pacific Overtures (Kayama). BROADWAY: Rogers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song (revival). NATIONAL TOURS: The Prom, Soft Power (World Premiere), Thoroughly Modern Millie. OFF-BROADWAY: The Public Theater: Soft Power (2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama finalist), Amas Musical Theatre: Red Eye of Love. DC THEATRE: The Kennedy Center: Spamalot!. REGIONAL: The Muny: Chess, OKC Rep: Vietgone, Flint Repertory: The Who’s Tommy, Marriot Theatre: Kiss Me, Kate, East West Players: Beijing Spring, Pippin; Goodspeed Opera House: Thoroughly Modern Millie, Tuacahn Amphitheatre: Mary Poppins. TV/FILM: FBI: Most Wanted (CBS); The Newsroom (HBO), Clocked. CAST RECORDINGS: Soft Power (Grammy nominated), Flower Drum Song. IG: @danielmayofficial

Christopher Mueller

Christopher Mueller

Warrior and others

he/him SIGNATURE: Pacific Overtures, She Loves Me, Simply Sondheim, Assassins, Blackbeard, Passion, Titanic, The Fix, Crossing, Miss Saigon, Spin, Brother Russia, Chess, Sweeney Todd, The Hollow, The Boy Detective Fails, Giant, Kiss of the Spider Woman. NEW YORK: LaGuardia Arts: Chess in Concert. DC AREA: Ford’s Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors, Into the Woods, A Christmas Carol, Ragtime; The Kennedy Center: Camelot in Concert, My Fair Lady in Concert; Olney Theatre Center: My Fair Lady, Carousel, Godspell, Spring Awakening; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Two Gentlemen of Verona (a rock opera); Arena Stage: Redhand Guitar Workshop, Skindiver Reading; Imagination Stage: Dr. Doolittle, Disney's Mulan; Adventure Theatre: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; Keegan Theatre: The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee, RENT. EDUCATION: The Catholic University of America; The London Dramatic Academy. IG: @christopher_mueller

Ashley D. Nguyen

Ashley D. Nguyen

Swing

she/her SIGNATURE: King of the Yees (Lauren Yee), Pacific Overtures (Swing). DC AREA: Arena Stage: Ride the Cyclone (Swing); Olney Theatre Center: Dance Nation (Zuzu); Theater J: The Hatmaker's Wife (Voice); The Kennedy Center TYA: The Day You Begin (Min), The Dragon King's Daughter (Xing u/s); Keegan Theatre: Shakespeare in Love (Viola de Lesseps); Creative Cauldron: Into the Woods (Little Red); Studio Theatre: White Pearl (Ruki Minami u/s – US World Premiere); Catholic University: A Little Night Music (Fredrika Armfeldt), The Wolves (#8), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Marcy Park). EDUCATION: BM in Musical Theatre from Catholic University. Website: ashleydnguyen.com. Instagram: @ashley.d.nguyen  

Ryan Sellers

Ryan Sellers

Swing

he/him SIGNATURE: Pacific Overtures, West Side Story, The Threepenny Opera, Miss Saigon. NATIONAL TOUR: Adventure Theatre MTC: Five Little Monkeys. DC AREA: Roundhouse Theatre: The Tempest (Helen Hayes, Best Supporting Performer); Ford’s Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors; Folger Theater: The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Second Shepherds' Play; Studio Theater: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream; Imagination Stage: The Ballad of Mu Lan, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Night Fairy, Anime Momotaro; Constellation Theatre Company: School for Lies, White Snake, Arabian Nights; Keegan Theatre: Noises Off, The Undeniable Sound of Right Now, Shakespeare in Love; Arts on the Horizon: Sunny and Licorice, Point A to Point B.

Chani Wereley

Chani Wereley

Madam and others

she/they SIGNATURE: Sweeney Todd (Bird Seller), Pacific Overtures (Madam/others), Into the Woods (Lucinda). DC AREA: Ford’s Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey); Olney Theatre Center: Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Yitzhak), AD16 (Esther); Folger Theatre: Love’s Labor’s Lost (Katherine); Round House Theatre: Spring Awakening (Martha); Kennedy Center: Earthrise (Sophia); Constellation Theatre Co: Little Shop of Horrors (Crystal); Keegan Theatre: American Idiot (Extraordinary Girl), Dogfight (Ruth Two Bears); Monumental Theatre Co: Pippin (Catherine), Bonnie and Clyde. REGIONAL: Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival: The Last Five Years (Cathy). EDUCATION: Catholic University. www.chaniwereley.com @ chaniwhirly

Nicholas Yenson

Nicholas Yenson

Perry and others

he/him SIGNATURE: King of the Yees, Pacific Overtures, Miss Saigon. NEW YORK: Alligator Summer, Ghostlight, Broadway Backwards. DC AREA: Arena Stage: Anything Goes, Red Hot Patriot, The Music Man, You Nero; Firebelly Productions: Of Mice and Men, Sylvia; Shakespeare Theatre: The Taming of the Shrew. REGIONAL: 42nd Street Moon: The Pajama Game, Me and My Girl; American Conservatory Theater: Port City; McCarter: A Christmas Carol; San Francisco Playhouse: A Chorus Line, As You Like It, La Cage aux Folles; Wellesley Rep: boom, The House of Blue Leaves. EDUCATION: American Conservatory Theater, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.

Creative Team

Ethan Heard

Direction and Musical Staging by

he/him SIGNATURE: Associate Artistic Director. Director: Soft Power, The Bridges of Madison County, Pacific Overtures, Which Way to the Stage. NEW YORK: Co-Founder of Heartbeat Opera: Fidelio (NYTimes Critic’s Pick), Butterfly, Breathing Free (Drama League Nominee), Lady M, Dido & Aeneas, Kafka-Fragments, seven drag extravaganzas; Inner Voices: The Other Room; Experiments in Opera: Sisyphus; Judson: Desire|Divinity; Dixon Place: The Gay Ivy; Opera America: Truth & Reconciliation. REGIONAL: Opera Philadelphia: Madame Butterfly; Berkshire Theatre Festival: A Little Night Music, Bells Are Ringing, Little Shop of Horrors; Williamstown: Pullman, WA; Curtis: Empty the House; Princeton: Into the Woods, Next to Normal, The Producers, Poppea; Carnegie Mellon: A Little Night Music; Yale: Sunday in the Park with George, Merrily We Roll Along, Julius Caesar, L’Orfeo, Yale School of Drag. DC AREA: The Kennedy Center: La Susanna. INTERNATIONAL: Broadway Asia: The Secret (Resident Director). EDUCATION: Yale: BA and MFA. TEACHING: Yale, Princeton, O’Neill Theater Center. ethanheard.com. @ethanjheard

Sponsored by

Signature Theatre

4200 Campbell Ave Arlington, Virginia

Inside Signature with Jason Ma

Jason Ma plays the Reciter in Pacific Overtures, a present-day Asian American man who serves as the bridge between today and 1850s Japan. Learn about his Broadway career, his work as a composer/lyricist and his new musical Gold Mountain about the Chinese men who build the world’s first transcontinental railroad.

East Meets West

Click the link below to read about the historical context of Pacific Overtures, artist depictions of the events of the time, and more.

Pacific Overtures Food and Drink Specials

Head to Ali’s Bar in the Mead Lobby on the 2nd floor before the show to enjoy a Pacific Overtures inspired menu. Suntory Highball: Featuring Japanese Suntory whisky with club soda and a splash of fresh lime, this refreshing, light cocktail is one of the most popular in Japan. Chicken yakitori: Grilled chicken breast skewers in a sweet and salty sauce served with a side salad with our Asian vinaigrette.

Press Reviews

Something close to miraculous

BroadwayWorld

Gorgeously detailed

DC Theater Arts

Outstanding… brings impressive luster to a Sondheim gem

Metro Weekly

Dazzlingly smart… staged magnetically by [Ethan] Heard

The Washington Post

Insightful, moving, and ultimately defiant

Washington City Paper

Immensely talented actors

Talkin' Broadway