The next interview in our stagey chat series is with Cheeyang Ng. They are bringing their show, Fat, Femme & Asian to the incomparable Crazy Coqs on 5th November. The evening will consist of songs from their various musicals-in-development, with an all-star cast performing. You can book tickets here.
Get yourself comfy and join us for the next segment of Stagey Chat!
Hi Cheeyang, how are you? Thanks so much for chatting to Stage to Page today! Would you mind introducing yourself and telling our readers how you first got into the theatre industry?
Hello! My name is Cheeyang Ng, born and raised in Singapore, came to the US for college in 2011 and have been working in the theatre industry as a writer and performer for over 10 years now.
Unsurprisingly enough, I wanted to get into theatre because of Wicked — the first musical I saw that changed my life and I said, hey I want to do this. Years later, I got the opportunity to work with Stephen Schwartz, and met Winnie Holzman at the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop. The first musical score that I studied was Parade, and this week I am performing with Jason Robert Brown at Carnegie Hall. So things are truly coming full circle and I cannot wait to share this journey with our friends in the UK!
Your show, Fat, Femme & Asian is coming to Crazy Coqs in London next month. Can you tell us about what the evening has in store?
Where I grew up, the words fat and femme have always been and asian have always been associated with the notion of undesirability. When I started living in America, I learned that Asian is also a word associated with undesirability. So this evening is a reclamation and empowerment of these words, and an exploration of why words matter, and how stories related to being fat, being femme and being asian can be equally empowering. Most importantly, the evening will showcase all original songs, musicals that are coming to the stage very very very soon, including songs from Māyā: The Musical which is coming to London in 2025, directed by two time Olivier nominated Milli Bhatia.
From Eastbound, to Māyā, to The Phoenix, to Legendary - can you tell us the inspiration behind the musicals you're working on at the moment?
Every show that I write stems from an existential question that I do not have the answers to.
Eastbound is a show that explores what it means to be Asian in America, whether you grew up in America as an Asian person, or as an immigrant, what does that experience look like?
Māyā asks the central question: “When the world is falling apart around you, what responsibility do you have, as an individual, to that world? Can one person truly make a difference?”
The Phoenix, immersed in the world of Chinese Dance, is now a two part Epic, and Part 1 asks “When the thing that defines you is taken away, who do you become?” Part 2 asks “Is it ever too late to pursue the thing you loved?”
Lastly, Legendary is a semi-autobiographical one person show that explores what it means to be queer and have the familial expectations of continuing the family legacy.
The cast for the evening features Roshani Abbey, Desmonda Cathabel, Diya Sohi, Aaron Teoh and Sonya Venugopal. How does it feel having such an incredible line-up of performers to perform your work?
I am truly floored that Ben Armstrong assembled such a stellar cast. This evening is an extension of his work on his RepresentAsian series and these performers sound SO GOOD on the material. I’m not even kidding. You have to see it for yourself to believe it.
What are you most looking forward to for the show on 5th November?
I am very excited to invite the London audience into a world that is not typically seen on the stage. There is this universality to my experience, though extremely specific, and I hope audiences get to catch a glimpse into a world that would excite them for years to come!
A question I ask everyone we chat to - my blog is called Stage to Page. But if you could turn any book, from page to stage, what would it be and why?
Without a question of a doubt, Heartstopper. I think the book, and the Netflix series, can reach millions and millions of young adults every year if we made it into a musical. And think of the lives that can be changed from seeing that representation on the stage.
And finally, why should anyone reading this book tickets to Fat, Femme & Asian?
If you are interested in epic Asian stories, and miss the epic British musicals like Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and Phantom, I promise you’re about to experience songs and stories that will make you excited about musical theatre again.
You can book tickets to Cheeyang Ng: Fat, Femme & Asian, here.
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