FLYING SKY HIGH
Ottawa's Warren Yang is a castmember in the new Apple TV show Schmigadoon!, where he puts his gymnastic skills to work.
A new AppleTV+ series set in a magical town that's stuck in a never-ending 1940s musical includes a pair of Ottawa siblings in the cast.
Warren Yang and his sister, Ericka Hunter, play two of the singing, dancing residents of the village portrayed in Schmigadoon!, a small-screen series that takes its cues from classic musicals like Brigadoon, Wizard of Oz and Sound of Music, and skewers them with the offbeat comedic mastery of Saturday Night Live.
In fact, you'll recognize many of the names from SNL, starting with executive producer Lorne Michaels, creator of the late-night, live-comedy sketch show. Schmigadoon! also stars SNL cast member Cecily Strong and comedian Keegan-Michael Key, who hosted SNL in May. They play a New York couple who get lost on a hike and stumble into a strange town where everyone sings and dances.
For Yang, a relative newcomer to showbiz, the series marks his television debut. For Hunter, the younger of his two older sisters, it's the latest in a career path that began with dance lessons as a child more than 30 years ago. She attended Canterbury High School, Ottawa's arts-focused secondary school.
“Her dream was always to perform,” said Yang, 34, in an interview. “But that was never the path I thought was an option for me.”
While his sister studied dance, Yang did gymnastics. He was an elite gymnast throughout his youth, ultimately leaving Merivale High School at 16 to train in Montreal, finishing high school through correspondence courses. He was a member of the Canadian National Team and received a scholarship to study at Penn State, majoring in marketing.
A few years after graduation, Wang was working at an advertising agency in Toronto when he got a call from a Manhattan number. To his astonishment, they asked if he would be interested in auditioning for a Broadway revival of Miss Saigon.
“I was in disbelief and a little shell-shocked,” he recalls. But he knew his sister had just been cast in the show, and it turned out they needed someone who could sing, dance and do acrobatics, too.
Yang still had his gymnastics ability so he decided to give it a shot. A few days later, he was offered the role. It was a tough decision.
“It was a one-year contract but I would be leaving my career that I had been building for five years to pursue it,” he said.
“But once I thought about it, how could I pass up an opportunity to perform on Broadway? I know the dedication it takes to get to that level.”
With the blessing of his former boss, who said he could return to advertising if it didn't work out, Yang moved to New York City and immediately signed up to learn how to sing, dance and act.
From the moment of Miss Saigon's first preview performance, he fell in love with performing, finding that it reminded him of the spotlight that shone on his old gymnastics routines.
“At one point I thought I'm going to give this a shot, see if I can have a career, so I really invested in the training — the acting, the singing and dancing — to see if I could push things forward,” Yang said.
The son of a mother who grew up on a farm in Eastern Ontario and a father who was born in China and grew up in Hong Kong, Wang learned the value of hard work during his gymnastics training. As an adult, his parents supported his career change from advertising to the stage because they saw he was putting in the work to succeed.
“It was always about making sure you're putting in the appropriate work to accomplish what you want to do,” he said. “That was the most important thing.”
Yang was on tour with Miss Saigon last year when COVID-19 hit. Shows were cancelled and everyone headed home, with Yang ending up at his parents' house in
The significance of being able to do a show like this during the pandemic with these people ... it's amazing.
Ottawa. He enjoyed spending time with family, but was thrilled to get the part in Schmigadoon!, which shot in Vancouver.
“The significance of being able to do a show like this during the pandemic with these people who are like comedy royalty, it's amazing,” he said. “It is such a joy.”
What's more, he figures the world needs a happy, colourful production like Schmigadoon! after the challenges of the last 16 months.
“I think there's a real need for joyful material, hopeful material,” he said, “and I think musicals do help deliver that.”
Yang returns to New York City next week, ready for the reopening of Broadway. Schmigadoon! starts streaming on Friday.