East West Players 43rd Anniversary Visionary Awards Honor 'TREK' Star Cho 4/27

East West Players (EWP), the nation's premier Asian American theatre, celebrates its 43rdAnniversary with its glamorous Visionary Awards Dinner & Silent Auction, which salutes those who have raised the visibility of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through their artistic excellence and support of Asian Pacific American performing arts.

The award winning event will take place at the Hilton Universal City on Monday, April 27, 2009. Proceeds from the event will benefit East West Players' educational and artistic programs.

"Following the theme of our 43rd Anniversary Season, the evenings theme will be Beyond Presence," announced Producing Artistic Director Tim Dang. "East West Players and the APA community have certainly established a presence on the national landscape, but now it is time to take our presence to the next step and we invite all our supporters to join us."

Nathan Wang will lead the orchestra for the 7th year as the evening's Musical Director. The orchestra will be a combination of professional studio musicians and students of the Olympia Youth Orchestra.

This years Honorees will include:

VISIONARY AWARD

John Cho: At East West Players, John Cho has appeared in several productions including F.O.B. (1997), THE TASTE OF KONO COFFEE (1996) and MY TIRED BROKE ASS PONTIFICATING SLAPSTICK FUNK (2000). He gained attention with a feature role in the 1999 comedy American Pie and its sequels. His career soared to a new level with the release of the 2004 hit film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, leading to a sequel Harold and Kumar 2: Escape from Guantanamo Bay, which Cho starred in again. Cho also had a starring role in the ensemble cast of Better Luck Tomorrow, a drama/dark comedy focusing on the travails of a group of Asian Americans living in Southern California. He has guest starred on several TV shows including How I Met Your Mother, Ugly Betty, House M.D. and Grey's Anatomy. He will be starring in the new Star Trek movie as Hikaru Sulu, which opens nation-wide May 8, 2009.

California Community Foundation: The California Community Foundation was formed in 1915 as a charitable giving option within the trust department of Security Pacific Bank. For the 65 years after its inception, the foundation, which was affectionately known as the "typewriter foundation," stayed relatively small, making small grants mostly for equipment and capital. The purpose of the California Community Foundation is to help strengthen communities and build a brighter future for Los AngelesCounty. California Community Foundation seeks to improve life for all residents, especially those who are most vulnerable; promote philanthropy and act as an effective steward of charitable funds; and work with others to address the core causes of problems facing our region. California Community Foundation is known as one of L.A.'s most innovative investors in permanent, low-income housing; the biggest supporter of individual artists in the region; the largest scholarship fund manager in L.A.; and a national leader in increasing services for returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, California Community Foundation has more than $1 billion in assets and award approximately $125 million each year in grants to outstanding nonprofits. In 2007, California Community Foundation awarded East West Players with a $100,000 grant for its mainstage and educational programs.

Current major sponsors include: George and Sakaye Aratani & CBS as the evening's Platinum Circle sponsors and NBC Universal as Gold Circle sponsors.

East West Players' 43rd Anniversary Visionary Awards Dinner and Silent Auction will be held onMonday, April 27, 2009 at the Hilton Universal City, 555 Universal City Drive, Universal City, CA 91608.

The no-host reception and silent auction will start at 6pm. The dinner and awards program will start at7pm. Tickets are $175 - $1,250.

Full table sponsorship packages are also available. For more information on East West Players' 43rd Anniversary Visionary Awards Dinner and Silent Auction please visit www.EastWestPlayers.org or contact Development Manager Lisa Tang at (213) 625.7000 x17 or LTang@EastWestPlayers.org.

As the evening draws closer, special celebrity appearances and performances will be announced.