LARRY THE MUSICAL: March 16 - April 14 2024

Larry Itliong (1913-1977) was one of the founding fathers of the West Coast labor movement. Itliong was a Filipino-American farmworker who organized and led protests for equal pay and dignified living conditions for farm and cannery workers throughout the West Coast and Alaska from the 1930s to when the United Farm Workers was created in 1966.  

This musical educates audiences on Larry Itliong’s life and contribution to the United Farm Workers Movement. His contribution to the labor movement was previously unacknowledged, although he worked alongside Cesar Chavez in creating the United Farm Workers. 

AA CARES was one of several supporters for Larry the Musical, which held its world premiere from March 16th to April 14th at Brava Theater in San Francisco’s Mission district. We brought and sponsored 100 students across seven Asian American/Ethnic studies classes to attend a showing of the performance on March 17, 2024. 

AA CARES also hosted a panel led by SFSU’s Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales with Dr. Joy Sales (CSULA), Carlos Hagedorn (SFSU), and the creative team of Larry the Musical to discuss the making of the musical and the importance of the story for community healing. Finally, we invited audiences to complete surveys on the impact of the musical on their lives as well as understanding their school and city climate.

Larry the Musical fulfills AA CARES’s mission to amplify Asian American voices and the important contributions that Asian Americans have made to benefit our entire society. Filipino Americans were and remain key in ensuring that farm workers today have labor rights. The musical promotes community healing by acknowledging Asian Americans’ legacies, celebrating our achievements, and reinserting ourselves back into history.