Making tracks
Encyclopedia
Making Tracks is an Asian American musical theater
production by Second Generation, with music by Woody Pak, lyrics by Brian Yorkey
, and concept and book by Welly Yang
.
Making Tracks tells the story of the rich and diverse history of Asians in America. Asians were often limited to playing the roles of "the gook," "the geek," and "the gangster." In the summer of 1993, Welly Yang began searching through history books and reading stories of Asian Americans.
In 1998, Yang asked two friends, Woody Pak, a recent Juilliard graduate who he met through a mutual friend, and Brian Yorkey
, a classmate from Columbia University
, to collaborate on a rock musical to tell these stories.
The original show was produced Off-Broadway
in cooperation with the Taipei Theater in New York City
in February 1999, bringing on another Columbia classmate, Lenny Leibowitz, as director. It also had Shawn Ku
as choreographer and it was musically directed by David Jenkins and Tom Kitt
. Yorkey and Kitt would go on later to write the Tony award winning show Next To Normal. The show employed a cast of Asian American theater professionals, many who had performed with Yang from Miss Saigon
. It starred Cindy Cheung, Timothy Huang, Mel Duane Gionson, Thomas Kouo, Mimosa, Michael Minn, Kiki Moritsugu, Aiko Nakasone, Rodney To, Virginia Wing, and Yang.
Village Theatre
invited the show to Washington state to continue developing the show as part of the Village Originals program in the spring of 2000. That production added a new second act. After that successful production, the Taipei Philharmonic Foundation invited the to Taiwan
, and launched the show's concept album, in collaboration with Sony Music Taiwan.
Act One
Prologue: A Cemetery, San Francisco, California 2001
Scene 1: The Sierra Nevada Mountains, Near Cape Horn, 1865
Scene 2: Angel Island, San Francisco Bay, 1885
Scene 3: Osaka, Japan and San Francisco, California, 1918-1941
Scene 4: San Francisco, 1941
Scene 5: Heart Mountain, Wyoming, 1942-1944
Scene 6: Heart Mountain, Wyoming and San Francisco, California, 1944
Act Two
Scene 1: A Townhouse, Pacific Heights, San Francisco
Scene 2: An Office, Mission District
Scene 3: A Cemetery, Daly City, in the Hills South of San Francisco
Scene 4: A Hospital, Potrero Hill
Scene 5: An Office, Mission District
Scene 6: An Office, Chinatown
Scene 7: A Townhouse, Pacific Heights
Scene 8: A Nightclub, Near Union Square
Scene 9: A Townhouse, Pacific Heights
Scene 10: An Abandoned Nightclub, Sutter Street
Scene 11: A Sweatshop, Chinatown
Scene 12: A Hospital, Potrero Hill
Scene 13: A Cemetery, Daly City, in the Hills South of San Francisco
, Brandon Kuwada, Doan Mackenzie, Alex Lee Tano, Michael K. Lee, Lea Salonga
, Rona Figueroa, Cindy Cheung, Julie Danao, Joan Almedilla
, and Sharon Leal
. Gloria Lee Pak is credited with background vocals.
Asian American theatre
Asian American theater is theater written, directed or acted by Asian Americans.- Background :Asian American theater emerged in the 1960s and the 1970s with the foundation of four theatre companies: East West Players in Los Angeles, Asian American Theatre Workshop in San Francisco, Theatrical...
production by Second Generation, with music by Woody Pak, lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Brian Yorkey
Brian Yorkey is an American playwright, lyricist, and theatre director. He shared the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2009 Tony Award for Best Original Score with composer Tom Kitt, and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Next to Normal.A native of Issaquah,...
, and concept and book by Welly Yang
Welly Yang
Wellington Yang is an Taiwanese American actor, playwright, and singer.-Biography:Yang was born in New York City. His parents emigrated from Taiwan in 1969. His mother returned to Taipei in 1991 to direct foreign affairs for the Democratic Progressive Party...
.
Making Tracks tells the story of the rich and diverse history of Asians in America. Asians were often limited to playing the roles of "the gook," "the geek," and "the gangster." In the summer of 1993, Welly Yang began searching through history books and reading stories of Asian Americans.
In 1998, Yang asked two friends, Woody Pak, a recent Juilliard graduate who he met through a mutual friend, and Brian Yorkey
Brian Yorkey
Brian Yorkey is an American playwright, lyricist, and theatre director. He shared the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2009 Tony Award for Best Original Score with composer Tom Kitt, and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Next to Normal.A native of Issaquah,...
, a classmate from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, to collaborate on a rock musical to tell these stories.
The original show was produced Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in cooperation with the Taipei Theater in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in February 1999, bringing on another Columbia classmate, Lenny Leibowitz, as director. It also had Shawn Ku
Shawn Ku
Shawn Ku is a U.S. choreographer and motion picture director. He has also danced on Broadway, and acted in an independent feature-length film...
as choreographer and it was musically directed by David Jenkins and Tom Kitt
Tom Kitt (musician)
Tom Kitt is an American composer, conductor, orchestrator and musician. For his score for the musical Next to Normal, he shared the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Brian Yorkey...
. Yorkey and Kitt would go on later to write the Tony award winning show Next To Normal. The show employed a cast of Asian American theater professionals, many who had performed with Yang from Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
. It starred Cindy Cheung, Timothy Huang, Mel Duane Gionson, Thomas Kouo, Mimosa, Michael Minn, Kiki Moritsugu, Aiko Nakasone, Rodney To, Virginia Wing, and Yang.
Village Theatre
Village Theatre
Village Theatre is a 5013 non-profit professional producing musical theatre company founded in 1979. Village Theatre is based out of Issaquah and Everett, Washington, both near Seattle...
invited the show to Washington state to continue developing the show as part of the Village Originals program in the spring of 2000. That production added a new second act. After that successful production, the Taipei Philharmonic Foundation invited the to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and launched the show's concept album, in collaboration with Sony Music Taiwan.
Musical numbers
- This is from the 2002 Seattle production.
Act One
Prologue: A Cemetery, San Francisco, California 2001
- Making Tracks (Grandfather )
Scene 1: The Sierra Nevada Mountains, Near Cape Horn, 1865
- Making Tracks (Wei, Dai Lum, Railroad Workers)
- Many Rivers (Dai Lum, Wen)
- This is Our Day (Dai Lum, Wei, Railroad Workers)
- Making Tracks (Reprise) (Wei, Dai Lum, Railroad Workers)
Scene 2: Angel Island, San Francisco Bay, 1885
- Mei Guo (Lucky, Immigrants)
- Mei Guo (Reprise) (Older Immigrant, Lucky, Immigrants)
- Many Rivers (Reprise) (Lucky, Translator)
- Mei Guo (Reprise) (Lucky, Wei)
Scene 3: Osaka, Japan and San Francisco, California, 1918-1941
- Picture Perfect (Miyuki, Brides)
- So Now I See You (Miyuki, Tokashi)
Scene 4: San Francisco, 1941
- Step On In (Charlie Chuck, Forbidden City Performers)
- Dance the World Away (Frankie, Dottie)
- Dance the World Away (Dottie)
Scene 5: Heart Mountain, Wyoming, 1942-1944
- Shikataganai (Tokashi, Paul, Miyuki, Frankie, Internees)
- Stars (Paul, Miyuki, Soldiers)
Scene 6: Heart Mountain, Wyoming and San Francisco, California, 1944
- The Lucky One (Paul, Grandfather)
Act Two
- Prologue: A Club, The Bowery, New York City, 2001
- I Will Walk Away (Dylan)
Scene 1: A Townhouse, Pacific Heights, San Francisco
Scene 2: An Office, Mission District
- The Way a Day Goes By (Meg, T.J., Grace, Minister, Mourners)
Scene 3: A Cemetery, Daly City, in the Hills South of San Francisco
- Look Inside (Grandfather, David)
- I'm Not the One (Dylan)
Scene 4: A Hospital, Potrero Hill
- Mei Guo (Reprise)/I'm Not the One (Reprise) (Dylan, David)
Scene 5: An Office, Mission District
- Right Behind Your Eyes (Grace, Dylan)
Scene 6: An Office, Chinatown
Scene 7: A Townhouse, Pacific Heights
- Stars (Reprise) (Dylan)
Scene 8: A Nightclub, Near Union Square
- Must be the Music (Club singer, Ensemble)
Scene 9: A Townhouse, Pacific Heights
- Go to Her (Grandfather, David, Dylan)
Scene 10: An Abandoned Nightclub, Sutter Street
- Dance the World Away (Reprise) (Dylan)
- Time and Again (Dylan, Grace)
Scene 11: A Sweatshop, Chinatown
- This is Our Day (Reprise) (Grandfather, Dylan, Meg, Ensemble)
Scene 12: A Hospital, Potrero Hill
- So Now I See You (Reprise) (T.J., Meg)
Scene 13: A Cemetery, Daly City, in the Hills South of San Francisco
- Wings Like a Dove (Meg, Ensemble)
- Making Tracks (Reprise) (Dylan, Grandfather, Ensemble)
Tracks (2001)
- Making Tracks
- Many Rivers
- This Is Our Day
- Picture Perfect
- So Now I See You
- Mei Guo
- Dance The World Away
- Shikataganai
- Stars
- The Lucky One
- I Will Walk Away
- Satellite
- Must Be The Music
- Wings Like A Dove
Cast
The cast included Hoon, Welly YangWelly Yang
Wellington Yang is an Taiwanese American actor, playwright, and singer.-Biography:Yang was born in New York City. His parents emigrated from Taiwan in 1969. His mother returned to Taipei in 1991 to direct foreign affairs for the Democratic Progressive Party...
, Brandon Kuwada, Doan Mackenzie, Alex Lee Tano, Michael K. Lee, Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga-Chien is a mezzo-soprano singer and actress from the Philippines well known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards.She was the first Asian to play the roles of Éponine and...
, Rona Figueroa, Cindy Cheung, Julie Danao, Joan Almedilla
Joan Almedilla
Joan Almedilla is an international film & theater actress, composer, and singer who has starred as 'Kim' in the Broadway musical Miss Saigon.-Biography and early career:...
, and Sharon Leal
Sharon Leal
Sharon Leal is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in movies such as Dreamgirls, Why Did I Get Married?, Why Did I Get Married Too? and the televisions series Hellcats.-Personal life:...
. Gloria Lee Pak is credited with background vocals.