East West Players set for Paranormal Inside

East West Players (EWP), the nation's longest-running Asian American theater and the largest producer of Asian American artistic work, announced the cast and company for the first production of the highly anticipated National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of PARANORMAL INSIDE by Prince Gomolvilas, directed by Jeff Liu. Just in time for Halloween, this supernatural thriller reunites audiences with Max and Delia, the unforgettable characters at the heart of EWP's 2022 Los Angeles premiere of THE BROTHERS PARANORMAL, also written by Gomolvilas and helmed by Liu. The sequel marks the third production in East West Players 60th Anniversary Season.

Paranormal Inside presented by East West Players

PARANORMAL INSIDE finds Max and Delia once again navigating the perilous intersection of grief, ancestry, and identity, as a sinister spirit threatens to upend the fragile peace they built five years after the events of THE BROTHERS PARANORMAL. As the boundaries between the living and the dead once again dissipate, the play explores the generational trauma and cultural legacies that linger long after the lights go out. Will they survive or be claimed by the forces that haunt their past?

East West Players Artistic Director Lily Tung Crystal says, "We are absolutely thrilled to collaborate with longtime EWP playwright Prince Gomolvilas as part of our 60th Anniversary season and to partner with our fellow co-commissioning theaters, Theater Mu and Perseverance Theatre. PARANORMAL INSIDE continues a story that captivated audiences and digs even deeper into the ways culture, grief, and spirituality shape our lives. It also allows our community to claim space in the horror genre-a genre that has historically excluded Asian American artists and narratives. Prince's work has always pushed the boundaries of what American theater can be, and this play continues breaking barriers with an intercultural and intergenerational, pulse-pounding ghost story. We cannot wait for audiences to experience the next chapter within this dynamic universe."

"I fully intended THE BROTHERS PARANORMAL to be my last show-a fitting bookend to a career that began at EWP so long ago," shares playwright Prince Gomolvilas. "But East West Players, Perseverance Theatre, and Theater Mu had the audacity to offer me a new-play commission. I couldn't refuse. I found I had more to say about supernatural phenomena, Thai America, cross-cultural connectivity, and the mysterious world in which we all inhabit."

Director Jeff Liu adds, "How rarely do we get to do a sequel in the theater? What a joy that three wonderful companies came together so we can go on another adventure with these bruised but funny souls, the Thai American Max and African American Delia. They're older, possibly wiser, but life's challenges and those voices from the other side aren't done with them yet, so we too get to deepen our relationship with these indelible characters that Prince has so lovingly imagined into further life."

The production marks another milestone in Gomolvilas's prolific collaboration with East West Players, which includes BIG HUNK O' BURNIN' LOVE (1998), THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (2000), MYSTERIOUS SKIN (2010), and the EWP Theatre for Youth show SCRIMMAGE (2019). Director Jeff Liu helmed both the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre and East West Players stagings of THE BROTHERS PARANORMAL, as well as EWP's IXNAY (2009), CHINGLISH (2015), and UNBROKEN BLOSSOMS (2024).

The cast features the lead actors returning from the 2022 East West Players production of THE BROTHERS PARANORMAL, Tamika Simpkins as Delia and David Huynh as Max. Joining them on stage will be Nicole Javier as Bincy, veteran EWP artist Alberto Isaac as Somboon, Aja Hinds as Tasha, and Davide Costa as Ethan. Understudies include Dekontee Tucrkile, Ace Christensen, Ratana, and Ryan Beaghler.