Thủy Vân Dance Company (Photo – thuyvandance.com)
Talk about being spoiled for choice. Sierra Madre Playhouse is featuring Asian American art, music, and film all weekend long to help you and the whole family ring in the Year of the Fire Horse with something special.
By Melanie Hooks
Bring the whole family and experience stories of heritage, identity, and celebration brought to life on stage.
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Experimental Pop Artist Jett Kwong (Photo – Sierra Madre Playhouse)
– Experimental Pop Artist Jett Kwong
Fri., Feb. 20, 8:00 pm
Jett Kwong combines her virtuosic skill on the Chinese guzheng with striking vocal melodies and electronics. Transporting listeners into dreamy soundscapes, Kwong’s music explores identity, heritage, migration, and belonging—reflecting her family’s roots in Hong Kong and the complexities of mixed identity in America. Toggling between tradition and innovation, she journeys through ambient textures, alternative pop, and chamber-inspired arrangements.
The recipient of the 2019 Kollaboration Award, which honors Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in entertainment and media, Kwong’s distinctive music has also been featured in various film and television projects.
Tickets: $12-35.
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East-West Players “Tam Tran Goes to Washington” (Photo – Sierra Madre Playhouse)
– East West Players’ Tam Tran Goes to Washington by Elizabeth Wong
Sat., Feb. 21, 11:00 am
This family-friendly play, written by Elizabeth Wong and directed by Rona Par, follows Tam Tran, a UCLA senior who prefers life behind the camera. When her undocumented status unexpectedly thrusts her into the spotlight, her best friend Cinthya steps in, and together they are drawn into the national conversation on immigration.
Compact yet powerful, the work centers young Asian American voices and immigrant experiences, weaving activism with personal narrative. It explores themes of fear, courage, friendship, and public responsibility. East West Players is the nation’s longest-running Asian American theater company and the largest producer of Asian American theatrical works.
Tickets: $20.
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Cannes Film Festival winner “Earl.” gets first public screening (Photo – Sierra Madre Playhouse)
– Award-Winning Documentary film Earl. about Composer Earl Kim
Sat., Feb 21, 4:00 pm
Attend the first public screening of Earl., Ty Kim’s award-winning documentary chronicling the remarkable life and music of American composer Earl Kim.
Born into poverty and raised by Korean immigrant parents who worked the fields of Dinuba, California, Kim learned keyboard through free lessons from a church organist and later studied at UCLA with Arnold Schoenberg. During World War II, he served as a U.S. combat intelligence officer, earning the rank of captain and flying over Nagasaki one day after the atomic bomb was dropped, an experience that profoundly shaped his artistic vision.
Throughout his academic career, Kim challenged racism and McCarthyism while collaborating with figures such as writer Samuel Beckett and violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman. An official selection at multiple film festivals, Earl. received Best Director at the Cannes World Film Festival.
Tickets: $25.
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Cold Tofu Improv & Comedy (Photo – Sierra Madre Playhouse)
– Cold Tofu Improv & Comedy
Sat., Feb. 21, 8:30 pm
Founded in 1981 in Los Angeles by Marilyn Tokuda, Denice Kumagai, Judy Momii, and Irma Escamilla, Cold Tofu is the nation’s first—and longest-running—Asian American improv and comedy troupe. At a time when Asian Americans rarely appeared in comedy roles, let alone formed their own ensembles, these artists created space for smart humor rooted in community, identity, and cultural insight.
Blending short- and long-form improv with sketch comedy and audience interaction, the troupe explores Asian American experiences, crossover cultural humor, heritage, and the absurdities of everyday life. Cold Tofu continues to provide an alternative to mainstream stereotyping and serves as a training ground for performers of color.
Tickets: $25.
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Thủy Vân Dance Company (Photo – Sierra Madre Playhouse)
– Thủy Vân Dance Company Showcases Vietnamese Dance
Sun., Feb. 22, 4:00 pm
Thủy Vân Dance Company brings its spectacular artistry to the Lunar New Year series, presenting folk, regional, and ethnic-minority dances from across Vietnam in a family-friendly program.
The ensemble’s name—Thủy (water/ocean) and Vân (clouds)—evokes harmony between sky and sea, symbolizing fluidity, movement, and transformation. Founded by Vietnamese American dancers rooted in tradition and shaped by life in the United States, the company performs Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnamese works, along with pieces inspired by Thai, Hmong, and Tày communities. Through breathtaking choreography, music, and visual storytelling, Thủy Vân brings to life stories of homeland, migration, memory, and identity.
Tickets: $12-$35.
For more information, please call Sierra Madre Playhouse at (626) 355-4318 or visit sierramadreplayhouse.org.
Sierra Madre Playhouse Lunar New Year Series Experimental Pop Artist Jett Kwong | Fri., Feb. 20, 8:00 pm Award-Winning Documentary film "Earl." | Sat., Feb 21, 4:00 pm East West Players’ "Tam Tran Goes to Washington" | Sat., Feb. 21, 11:00 am Cold Tofu Improv & Comedy | Sat., Feb. 21, 8:30 pm Thủy Vân Dance Company Showcases Vietnamese Dance | Sun., Feb. 22, 4:00 pm Location Sierra Madre Playhouse 87 West Sierra Madre Boulevard Sierra Madre, CA 91024 Tickets at Playhouse website.
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