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Dina Lynne Morishita (left) plays Kim in Miss Saigon, with Aaron Ramey as Chris.
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Sacramento-Native Dina Morishita in ‘Miss Saigon’
By Gerrye Wong
Special to AsianWeek
In American Musical Theatre of San Jose’s presentation of Miss Saigon, young Sacramento-native Dina Morishita plays the lead character, Kim — a young Vietnamese girl involved in a tragic love affair with an American soldier.
Since its premiere in 1989, Miss Saigon has received 29 awards worldwide and was one of only six productions in Broadway history to reach 4,000 performances.
For Morishita, performing in Miss Saigon has been a major part of her life for the past few years. A few years ago, she was living in Los Angeles, working for an Internet company and attending Long Beach State University. In late 1999, Morishita went to an open call for Miss Saigon and ended up winning the role of Yvette, one of the prostitutes, in the ensemble and also covered the Kim role in the eight month national tour which ended up in New York.
Morishita’s singing career seemed natural because her mother was active in local musical theatre productions while she was growing up. She started dance lessons at age four and played in high school musical productions as a pastime. As a college student, she won the chance to travel the country with Miss Saigon, which according to Morishita, began a new chapter in her life.
Following the Miss Saigon tour in 2000, Morishita spent a tough year in New York trying to get further work in musical theater. She did some regional performances of Miss Saigon while honing her skills with singing and dance lessons. Morishita’s lucky break came the next year when she was hired to play Eponine in the touring production of Les Miserables. Traveling was tough. She grew tired of travelling from one city to the next, week after week. So, when the chance to perform in Miss Saigon came along, she went for it.
Morishita is thrilled to be playing Kim in this Paper Mill Playhouse and American Musical Theatre co-sponsored production, and is happy to be stationed in San Jose for its two-week run. Upon the play’s completion, she plans to move to Los Angeles and hopes to work in television or movies.
A very determined young woman with much drive and perseverance — which she says is necessary for any entertainer — Morishita takes college courses online, hoping to earn her bachelors in business next June.
“It is a frustrating business,” she maintains. “I do auditions for non-traditional Asian roles but it is difficult for Asians Americans as there are few roles available to us. There are not many new musicals now and it is hard for producers to find roles for Asian Americans.”
Following her South Bay run, Morishita will continue looking for other show business roles because she loves to sing.
What advice would she give to someone entering the entertainment industry?
“If you think you can be happy doing something else, then go do it because this is a very tough, tough business. I think of myself as a pretty tough cookie, and I am surviving, but who can predict what the future will hold.”
Miss Saigon will run through Nov. 17, at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. For tickets, call 888-455-SHOW or 408-453-7108.
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