On Saturday, January 27, Erin Quill will moderate a panel at BroadwayCon 2018 called FAN TAN FANTASTIC- Asian American performers how far we have come and how much further we intend to go – featuring Asian American Broadway stars Ali Ewoldt (Phantom of the Opera), Raymond J. Lee (Groundhog Day), Telly Leung (Aladdin) and Shoba Narayan (Hamilton) at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center at 10AM.
BroadwayCon 2018 will take place January 26–28, 2018 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001. Click here for tickets and here for more information.
Ali Ewoldt is currently starring as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut as Cosette in Les Miserables, appeared in Lincoln Center’s recent Tony Award Winning revival of The King and I and has played Maria in numerous productions of West Side Story across the nation and the world. Her other credits include: The Fantasticks (Luisa) Off-Broadway, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Philia) at The Muny in St. Louis, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s The King and I (Tuptim), McCarter Theatre’s A Christmas Carol (Fan/Mrs. Bonds) and concerts at Feinstein’s/54 Below, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall and The Town Hall. TV/Film: The Michael J. Fox Show, Yield and Drama: The Web Series. Ali has a BA in psychology from Yale University. www.aliewoldt.com
Raymond J. Lee recently originated the role of Ralph in Groundhog Day on Broadway. Other Broadway credits: Honeymoon In Vegas, Anything Goes, Mamma Mia! Off-Broadway: Two Gentlemen of Verona (The Public), The Wild Party (Encores!). Regional: Tiger Style! (La Jolla), Stuck Elevator (A.C.T.), Nerds (PTC), Great Wall (Village Theatre), Spelling Bee (PCS), Seussical(MUNY). TV/Film: “Billions,” “Succession,” “Smash,” “The Jim Gaffigan Show,” “Fame,” “Red Oaks,” The Mikado Project, Ghost Town. Thanks for having me BroadwayCon 2018! For more information, please visit www.raymondjlee.com and follow @raymondjlee
Telly Leung is currently playing the title role in Disney’s ALADDIN on Broadway. Other Broadway & National Tour credits: In Transit, Allegiance (with George Takei and Lea Salonga), Godspell, Rent (final Broadway company), Wicked (Boq, Chicago company), Pacific Overtures, & Flower Drum Song. Off Broadway: MTC’s THE WORLD OF EXTREME HAPPINESS. Television: “Wes, the Warbler” on “Glee” (Fox), “Instinct” (CBS), “Odd Mom Out” (Bravo), “Deadbeat” (Hulu), “Law and Order: Criminal Intent’ (NBC). He has released two solo albums – I’ll Cover You (2012) and Songs for You (2016) and can be heard on many original Broadway cast recordings. BFA Carnegie Mellon University. Website: www.tellyleung.com.
Shoba Narayan will be starring as Eliza Hamilton in the HAMILTON Tour (Philip Company) in 2018. Originally from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Ms. Narayan is a New York- based actor, singer, and dancer. She was also in the original cast of the 12-Time Tony Nominated musical Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 on Broadway. Her previous TV credits include: QUANTICO, GOSSIP GIRL, HALAL IN THE FAMILY, THE GOOD WIFE and LIMITLESS. She has played supporting roles in films such as GROWING UP SMITH (starring Jason Lee), COIN HEIST (starring Sasha Pierterse), PRICE FOR FREEDOM (starring Navid Negahban) and MISTRESS AMERICA (starring Greta Gerwig). Narayan is also a Bharatanatyam (South Indian Classical) dancer and teacher. She has performed extensively throughout the US and India, and has placed first in international dance competitions. Youtube videos of her performances have gathered upwards of 500,000 hits.
Erin Quill graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a BFA in Performance. She was a member of the OBC of Avenue Q, played Madame Rita in the 50th Anniversary Production of Flower Drum Song, and toured with The King and I as Lady Thiang. As an activist and blogger, she has been quoted or sourced for information by BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, The NY Times, The LA Times, International Business Times, Playbill.com, BroadwayWorld.com, Backstage.com and many more. Her blog, www.FairyPrincessDiaries.com came to prominence with her post ‘Moises Kaufman can Kiss my Ass and here’s why’ and has been on the forefront of Asian American Representation on stage, Television and Film ever since.
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
The all-star cast is lead by four Tony Award nominees: Constantine Maroulis (“American Idol,” ), Max von Essen (An American in Paris, Evita, Les Miserables), Saycon Sengbloh (ABC’s “Scandal,” Eclipsed) and Charl Brown (Motown: the musical), plus Drama League Award nominee Eden Espinosa (Brooklyn, Wicked), one of the stars of CBS’ hit show “Madam Secretary” and the Jersey Boys film, Erich Bergen, two-time Drama Desk Award nominee, celebrity vocal impressionist and YouTube sensation Christina Bianco (“The Ellen Degeneres Show,” Forbidden Broadway), from NBC’s “The Voice,” Katrina Rose (Hairspray), original cast member of the TONY Award winning musical Jersey Boys, Daniel Reichard (The Midtown Men), Recording artist Shayna Steele (Hairspray, RENT, Jesus Christ Superstar), Broadway’s Nick Adams (Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Wicked, A Chorus Line), Kevin Smith Kirkwood (Kinky Boots), Marty Thomas (Wicked, Xanadu), and Erin Quill (Avenue Q – Original Broadway Company), a special performance by The Doo Wop Project, and more! The evening will once again be produced and hosted by TV personality Scott Nevins (Bravo’s “The People’s Couch,” “truTV Presents: World’s Dumbest…”) with Benjamin Rauhala serving as Music Director and Arranger. *Cast is subject to change without notice.
Brian Eugenio Herrera will moderate an 