The Chinese Lady & Love Letters

In repertory at Pear Theatre

The Chinese Lady: April 20, 25, 28; May 4, 12

Love Letters: May 3

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, set design by Peter Crompton

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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 FOLLIES by Stephen Sondheim/ San Francisco Playhouse

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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'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 PERORMED 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • EIKO YAMAMOTO AS THE INSANE ERNESTINA...SHE WAS OVER-THE-TOP FUNNY AND A REALLY AUDIENCE FAVORITE.

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

  • 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 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 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

April 20 - May 12

The Chinese Lady

By LLoyd Suh

IN REPERTORY with Love Letters

Directed by Wynne Chan

The Pear Theatre

Afong Moy is fourteen years old when she’s brought to the United States from Guangzhou Province in 1834. Allegedly the first Chinese woman to set foot on U.S. soil, she has been put on display for the American public as “The Chinese Lady.” For the next half-century, she performs for curious white people, showing them how she eats, what she wears, and the highlight of the event: how she walks with bound feet. Soon her celebrated sideshow comes to define and challenge her very sense of identity.

Inspired by the true story of Afong Moy’s life, The Chinese Lady is a dark, poetic, yet whimsical portrait of America through the eyes of a young Chinese woman.

May 3, 8Pm

In Love Letters, Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner, both born to wealth and position, are childhood friends whose lifelong correspondence begins with birthday party thank-you notes and summer camp postcards. After exchanging letters through the years into adulthood, both lives marked by personal trials and tribulations, the two ultimately reconnect for a brief affair - only to realize it is too late for both of them. However, a final letter after one’s untimely death soon surfaces, illustrating how close they truly were to each other despite their physical distance - as close as only true lovers can be.

APRIL 14 & 19, 7PM | MAY 6-12 ON DEMAND

NAN BY NOA GARDNER

By Noa Gardener

Directed by Giovanna Sardelli

The Magic Theatre in YPT and on demand

Alice finds herself back in a place where she thought she would never return—home with her mother Nan, whom she has not spoken to in fourteen years. Unresolved tensions play out as Alice tries to raise her own teenage daughter while struggling to provide for the whole family. These three generations of Hawaiian women overcome the past and cultural dissonance between them while balancing a life-or-death decision that hangs over their heads.

42nd Street Moon

Music, Book, and Story by Steve Martin
Music, Lyrics, and Story by Edie Brickell
Directed by Cindy Goldfield

Inspired by a true story and featuring the Tony®-nominated score by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Broadway’s BRIGHT STAR tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and ’40s. When literary editor Alice Murphy meets a young soldier just home from World War II, he awakens her longing for the child she once lost. Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past—and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives. With beautiful melodies and powerfully moving characters, the story unfolds as a rich tapestry of deep emotion. An uplifting theatrical journey that holds you tightly in its grasp, BRIGHT STAR is as refreshingly genuine as it is daringly hopeful.

June 6 - 23

Bright Star

Afong Moy

The Chinese Lady

The Pear Theatre

(L) Joseph Alvarado as Atung

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

cook/ Telegram girl

Clue

San Francisco Playhouse

SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE UPDATES