New Maltby and Shire Musical Waterfall to Premiere on the West Coast

Waterfall, a new musical love story, will have its U.S. premiere at Pasadena Playhouse in June 2015. The production features a book and lyrics by Tony Award winner Richard Maltby Jr. and music by Oscar winner and two-time Tony Award nominee David Shire, the Tony-nominated songwriting team behind Baby, Big, Closer Than Ever, and more.

Performances at Pasadena Playhouse are set to begin June 2 in advance of a June 7 opening, followed by a run at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre in fall 2015 in preparation for a 2016 Broadway run.

Based on a contemporary classic Thai novel, Behind the Painting, written by Sriburapha, Waterfall is set in Bangkok and Tokyo between the turbulent years of 1933 and 1939 and follows the forbidden love story that unfolds between a young Thai student and the American wife of a Thai diplomat.

The production will be choreographed by Tony nominee Dan Knechtges (Xanadu) and directed by Broadway and Thai theatrical impresario Tak Viravan, who helmed the musical's earlier incarnation, Behind the Painting, in Thailand.

Thai actor/singer Bie Sukrit Wisetkaew, who originated the role of Noppon in Behind the Painting, will make his American stage debut in the upcoming production. Additional casting and creative team members will be announced in the coming weeks.