Actor/ Singer / Mover / Maker

ALOHA E KOMO MAI (hello, welcome)

Eiko Moon-Yamamoto (she, they) is a Japanese-Korean-American, multi-hyphenate artist based in the Bay Area. Born in Tokyo, Eiko immigrated to Hawaii from Seoul at age six. 
Be it Shakespeare, Sondheim, Stoppard, or new works, they're passionate about empowering positive change one story at a time.
Eiko is committed to championing historically excluded voices in the American theatre canon and have developed new works with Playwrights Foundation, The Ground Floor at BerkeleyRep Theatre, PlayOn Shakespeare, Magic Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, Crowded Fire, Z Space, AlterLab and Company One (Boston). 
Next Eiko will play Jack's Mother in INTO THE WOODS at San Francisco Playhouse. Regional credits include the world premiere of Lauren Gunderson's Little Women (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), M’Lynn Eatenton in STEEL MAGNOLIAS (SierraRep), FOLLIES (San Francisco Playhouse), CYMBELINE (San Francisco Shakespeare Festival), SLEEPING BEAUTY PANTO (The Presidio Theatre), CLUE (San Francisco Playhouse), TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS (San Francisco Playhouse) and DISENCHANTED! (San Jose Playhouse). 
Eiko is an Artistic Associate of Rainbow Zebra Productions at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco and a PlayGround company member. They are a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and the Ring of Keys coalition. First in their family to graduate, they holds degrees from UCLA and California College of Arts. Also as a contemporary visual artist, she has shown her paintings and installations in the Bay Area and abroad.
They say couples, who dance together, stay together. Eiko met her partner while dancing Lindy Hop, 7 days a week. They learned directly from the old timers who danced it in their heyday. They tell their son, that Jazz lead to his birth.  
Aloha Nui Loa!
Resume

  • Brilliant...Meiko (Eiko Yamamoto)...throughly committed. Actors are well-matched to characters and deliver a difficult script with utter believability so that you feel you know these people in real life. An absolute must see.

    -Jeannie K. Smith (SFBATCC), Sonoma County Gazette review of EUREKA DAY by Jonathan Spector/ Spreckels Theatre Company

  • Eiko Yamamoto is Jack's worried and prodding mother who brings her own winning voice that has the ability to pierce through the air with electrifying presence.

    - Eddie Reynolds (SFBATCC), Theatre Eddys review of INTO THE WOODS by Stephen Sondheim/ Mountain Play

  • It's definitely worth 90 minutes of anyone's time. Eiko Moon-Yamamoto plays Afong and Joseph Alvarado plays Atung. Both are excellent.

    - Joanne Engelhardt (SFBATCC), Aisle Seat Review of THE CHINESE LADY by Lloyd Suh/ The Pear Theatre

  • Some of the best acting comes from Eiko Yamamoto as Louise, the stage Manager who tries to keep everyone in line.

    -Judy Richter, The San Mateo Daily Journal review of THE 1940’s RADIO HOUR by Walton Jones/ Hillbarn Theatre

  • The Highlight may be a scene-stealing scene dance duet by Eiko yamamoto and REne Collins as the Whitmans.

    -Charles Lewis III, 48 Hills review of FOLLIES by Stephen Sondheim/ San Francisco Playhouse

  • Eiko Yamamoto as Elizabeth Condell offer more polished performances. Yamamoto'S Elizabeth is the perfect combination of support and playfulness.

    -Otto Coelho (SFBATCC), TheatreStorm review of THE BOOK OF WILL by Lauren Gunderson/ Foothill Theatre Arts

  • Eiko's delivery is so well timed. Some of the lines were only funny because of the way they were delivered. She's a good actress.

    -Broadway with AJ and Sarah review of DISENCHANTED! by Dennis T. Giacino/ 3Below

  • A HIGHLIGHT IS A MELANCHOLY BALLAD "MILLWORK" AND PERFORMED WITH SOULFUL FEELING BY EIKO YAMAMOTO. THE PASSIONATE YAMAMOTO'S WONDERFUL VOICE MAKES SKILLFUL USE OF TERRIFIC CHOREOGRAPHY TURNING THE MIND NUMBING MILLWORK IN TO A SKILLED ART.

    -Vince Mediaa (SFBATCC), VmediArts Theatre Arts Review of WORKING by Nina Faso and Stephen Schwartz/ Palo Alto Players

  • Pitch perfect cast give life to Spector's INFURIATING, MOVING AND COMPLETELY RECOGNIZABLE CHARACTERS. FIVE STARS.

    -Harry Duke, (SFBATCC) North Bay Stage and Screen review of EUREKA DAY/ Spreckels Theatre Company

  • IT'S AT ONCE HYSTERICAL AND EXASPERATING TO WATCH THESE PERFECTLY-CRAFTED, SUPERBLY-ACTED AND ALL TOO RECOGNIZABLE MODERN ARCHETYPES..MEIKO (EIKO YAMAMOTO).

    -Nicole Singley (SFBATCC), Aisle Seat Review of EUREKA DAY/ Spreckels Theatre Company

  • The Six-Person Cast features terrific individual voices, but their divinity is in their collective choral blend.

    David John Chávez - The Mercury News review of DISENCHANTED! by Dennis T. Giacino/ 3Below

  • “The folks who have seen or heard the play so far always comment that it is perfectly cast." -Jerry Lee, Dir. Three impressive and dazzling actresses making their SRT: Eiko Yamamoto as M’Lynn...

    Ledger Dispatch review of STEEL MAGNOLIAS by Robert Harling/ Sierra Repertory Theatre

  • The fairies who have to muster their strength against Hernia are a delight...Eiko yamamoto is pacifica.

    -Chad Jones, Theatre Dogs review of SLEEPING BEAUTY: PANTO by Stephanie Brown and Richard Ciccarone/ Presidio Theatre

  • Rounding out the night’s zany escapades was Eiko Yamamoto as the insane Ernestina. She was over-the-top funny and a real audience favorite.

    -Janet Grant, Tri-City Voice review of HELLO DOLLY!/ Douglas Morrisson Theater

  • Eiko Moon-Yamamoto as the Shogun's Mother delivered a delicious "Chrysanthemum Tea" steeped in comic timing.

    -Wayman Wong, freelance journalist critic, Broadway World Forum review of Pacific Overtures by Stephen Sondheim/ Kunoichi Productions/ Theatre of Yugen

  • "Chrysanthemum Tea," about a mother poisoning her shogun son...are dazzling.

    - Chad Jones, TheaterDogs review of Pacific Overtures by Stephen Sondheim/ Kunoichi Productions/ Theatre of Yugen

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by James Lapine

James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim explore the darker side of happily ever after in the timeless and ever-relevant Into the Woods. Beloved storybook characters collide as this timeless tale weaves together the stories of a childless Baker and his wife, Cinderella’s quest for love, and Jack’s journey to giant-slaying fame. With its rich blend of humor, heartache, and unforgettable melodies, Into the Woods reveals that even the most familiar stories hold unexpected twists and profound lessons.

Winner of 3 Tony Awards including Best Original Score and Best Book (1988)

“A funny, insightful, and thrilling story about life and death and all that’s waiting along the way.”New York Theatre Guide

“A musical theater masterpiece.”Deadline

Info & Tickets
tickets

Shogun’s Mother

Pacific Overtures

Kunoichi Productions & Theatre of Yugen

(L) Ryan Marchand

Afong Moy

The Chinese Lady

The Pear Theatre

(L) Joseph Alvarado

photo: Sinjin Jones

 

M’Lynn Eatenton

Steel Magnolias

Sierra Repertory Theatre

(L to R) Olivia Jones, Laurie Strawn, Emily Gatesman, Isabella Chang, Eiko Moon-Yamamoto

courtesy photo

Aviragus/ Posthumus’ mother/ Musician

Cymbeline

San francisco Shakespeare Festival

photo: Neal Ormond

Pacifica, the fairy

SLEEPING BEAUTY:Panto

Presidio Theatre

(L to R) Ryan Patrick Welsh, Ruby Day, Eiko Moon-Yamamoto

photo: Terry Lorant

Jack’s mother

Into the woods

Mountain Play

(L to R) Kevin Singer, Eiko Moon-Yamamoto, Chachi Delgado, Luke Hichman, Grace Margaret Craig

 

Emily Whitman

FOLLIES

San Francisco Playhouse

(L ro R) Cindy Goldfield, Maureen McVerry, Eiko Moon-Yamamoto, Rene Collins

photo: Jessica Palopoli

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