054 Combining Musical Theater & Science

April 26, 2026


Brigid Amos sits down with David Quang Pham to discuss how he combines his love of musical theater with science to educate and entertain.


Audio Engineer Gary Glor

One Heartbeat Away is provided to The Theater Project by Gail Lou 


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David Quang Pham is an award-winning songwriter, theatre and filmmaker, recognized for creating musicals that personify science to explore the human condition and social issues. His notable work includes plant-based comedy Turnover: A New Leaf, evolutionary fantasy The Living Fossils, and astrophysics family drama Ellipses. They have been produced Off-Broadway, nationally, and internationally. His talent has been recognized with numerous accolades, including a Working Title Playwrights apprenticeship, Playwrights Foundation fellowship, 2024 Great Performances Fellowship Award, and appearance at the 78th Tony Awards on CBS. Be up to lightspeed at science.studio and @ScienceTheatre


Tour (2019): A musical revolving around subatomic educators competing in an academic accelerator. It was a finalist at the 2019 Downtown Urban Arts Festival.


Turnover: A New Leaf is an award-winning plant-based musical by David Quang Pham that follows Vietnamese cilantro Rau Ram trying to earn a green card while running a salon and raising her son, Parsley, in "Dirty City". The story, inspired by Pham's childhood, explores immigrant assimilation, queer identity, and photosynthesis through a comedic, dramatic lens.


Aliyah Curry

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8550270/


Dr Quincy Thomas

https://www.queertk.org/bios/dr.-quincy-thomas


Queer Theatre Kalamazoo

https://www.queertk.org/


Janelle Lawrence

janellelawrence.com


Gonzalo Valencia Pena

http://www.gonzalovalencia.com/


Cải Lương is a form of modern folk opera that originated in southern Vietnam in the early 20th century. Often translated as "reformed theater" or "renovated theater," it represents a cultural fusion that combines traditional Vietnamese music and folk songs with Western stage techniques and modern spoken drama.

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