I was a theatre major and still a big theater nerd which means I included a ton of musical Easter eggs in Something Cheeky. The novel’s backdrop is a feminist retelling of Vietnamese Cinderella—but as a rock musical. It’s too hard to pick specific songs so I’m sharing five musicals that inspired the novel.
Into the Woods music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine: Best friends-to-lovers Zoe and Derek reconnect after years apart. They reminisce about their college production of this fractured fairy tale musical. Specifically she designed its Southern-and-vampire inspired costumes, including Derek’s, who played the Wolf. The image of him in a spandex suit with a big fluffy tail and a codpiece makes Zoe a bit flustered.
SIX the Musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss: This heart pounding musical is basically a ninety-minute rock concert about Henry VIII’s six wives. I walked out of the performance completely inspired by how they modernized the story. I originally conceived my fictional musical with rock music, but seeing this show live showed me how exhilarating it could be.
Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda: I couldn’t discuss modern musicals without mentioning this cultural zeitgeist. While I love Miranda’s clever rap lyrics, his ballads are my favorite songs here. Seeing Asian American Phillippa Soo sing “Burn” as Eliza Hamilton was heartwrenching, which is how I imagined Zoe felt when she thought that Derek betrayed her.
KPOP the Musical book by Jason Kim and music and lyrics by Helen Park and Max Vernon: I’m not as familiar with this musical as it didn’t stay on Broadway very long. A majority of the songs are in Korean, which received some criticism from a NY Times white reviewer. This affirmed how the artistic director in Something Cheeky pushed to whitewash Derek and Zoe’s production. KPOP also inspired me to make several songs in Vietnamese for my fictional musical.
Rent by Jonathan Larson: As one of the first musicals I saw live and one of my favorites. I often think of the song “Glory” where Roger sings about writing one great song to leave his mark on the world before he dies (he’s HIV positive). I think this is also an anthem that drives Derek as he writes and directs an all-Asian production of Vietnamese Cinderella.
A Novel
Zoe Tran is living her best life, designing plus-size lingerie at her own award-winning clothing boutique, when suddenly her college best friend reenters her life. Derek Bui is offering a tantalizing chance to recapture a forgotten dream: designing costumes for the musical they created together years ago.
Derek has loved Zoe since freshman year but never had the guts to confess his true feelings. Now he’s directing the Vietnamese Cinderella rock musical they dreamed up in college. The stakes are high: it’s the first production with an all-Asian cast and creative team at Washington, D.C.’s largest theatre and if they can make it work, they’ll head to Broadway. But his real goal: get Zoe back in his life.
A proud demisexual, Zoe only ever saw Derek as her best friend, but working on their dream production together brings them closer than ever. Sparks ignite under the hot spotlights. But when the theatre’s artistic director pressures Derek to make the musical “less Asian,” he and Zoe clash on whether to stay true to their vision or compromise to keep the production alive.
Will Zoe and Derek finally let love take center stage or will their creative differences close the curtains on them forever?
Romance | Women's Fiction [Avon, On Sale: March 4, 2025, Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9780063237384 / eISBN: 9780063237339]
Thien-Kim Lam writes stories about Vietnamese characters who smash stereotypes and find their happy endings. A recovering Type-Asian makes art, and bakes her feelings to stay sane. Thien-Kim is also the founder of Bawdy Bookworms, a subscription box that pairs sexy romances with erotic toys. She’s been featured on NPR, BBC America, and NBC.
Thien-Kim also writes about multicultural parenting at I’m Not the Nanny and has been featured on NBC News Asian America, BBC World, and NPR’s All Things Considered.
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