East West Players' 44th Season Opens With ART, Previews 9/10

East West Players (EWP), the nation's premier Asian American theatre, starts its 44th season, themed Art Is..., with the 1998 Tony Award winner for Best Play, ART, by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton. This production will be directed by EWP's veteran director Alberto Isaac. The cast of the production will feature artists with diverse Asian American ethnic backgrounds; Francois Chau, Cambodian-Vietnamese, Bernard White, Sri Lankan and Ryun Yu, Korean.

ART is a comedic play about three friends who try to define the value of art. Imagine: A 4' x 5' white canvas, painted with fine white diagonal lines. Is this art? Serge believes it is, and is willing to pay 200 grand for it. When Marc flat out laughs at the ridiculousness of the situation, a third party is brought in for an objective opinion. Yvan agrees with both. When three opinions clash, three 15-year long friendships are put to the test. At the breaking point, Serge hands Marc a felt tip pen and dares him: "Go On."

"This production is the perfect start to our season's theme Art Is..., which leaves an open-ended thought for our audience to fill in," says Producing Artistic Director Tim Dang. "Similarly these three friends represent the view of our current society's opinion toward art, someone who values art, someone who undervalues it and someone who sees the reasoning of both sides. I am looking forward to seeing these three veteran stage actors in this production as they have all played characters with complex sides to their personality on television; Chau's re-occurring character on Lost that clues us into the Dharma Initiative, White's leading role as Detective Molina in the 1989 Dragnet series and Yu's co-starring roles on shows such as Cold Case, 24 and The Unit. It will be a real treat to see these actors in a 'Rashomon' style show with a more humorous setting.

ART has won numerous awards including Moliere Award, Laurence Oliver Award, Evening Standard Award, New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play.

Director Alberto Isaac is a veteran director for East West Players. Previous productions he has directed are YANKEE DAWG YOU DIE, THE MAIDS, HUGHIE, PERFORMANCE ANXIETY, HUGHIE, WOMAN FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD and YELLOW FEVER. Additionally, productions he has directed at Lodestone Theatre Ensemble are THE TROJAN WOMEN, CLAIM TO FAME and TEN TO LIFE.

This will be Francois Chau's David Henry Hwang Theater debut having performed previously with East West Players at the old space on Santa Monica Boulevard. He is most popularly known as the mysterious Dr. Pierre Chang/Dr. Edgar Halliwax/Dr. Marvin Candle/Dr. Mark Wickmund on ABC's hit show Lost. Bernard White was last seen on the EWP stage in 2002 production of QUEEN OF THE REMOTE CONTROL. He starred as Detective Carl Molina in the television remake of Dragnet. White has been featured in numerous films including Pay it Forward, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolution. Ryun Yu returns to the EWP stage after a critically acclaimed performance in the one-man show DAWN'S LIGHT: THE JOURNEY OF GORDON HIRABAYASHI, in which he portrayed the title character Gordon Hirabayashi. Yu has appeared in numerous television shows and featured in such films as The Brothers Solomon and Only the Brave.

The design team consists of set designer Alan E. Muraoka, costume designer Ivy Y. Chou, lighting designer Jeremy Pivnick, sound designer John Zalewski and property master Ken Takemoto. The stage manager is Pat Loeb.

Generous support for this production of ART is provided by the S. Mark Taper Foundation Endowment for East West Players, California Community Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Aratani Foundation, LA County Arts Commission, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation.

All performances of ART will be staged at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts at 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. ART opens Wednesday, September 16, 2009 and closes on Sunday, October 11, 2009. Opening night will be accompanied by a pre-performance cocktail reception and a post show reception with the cast and creative team. Performances are Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Previews are Thursday - Saturday, September 10 - 12 at 8pm and Sunday, September 13 at 2pm. The Pay-What-You-Can Performance will be held Thursday, September 17 at 8 pm.

General Tickets range from $25 - $35. Preview tickets are $20 for all seats. Opening night tickets are $60 for all seats. Tickets are currently on sale. For ticket purchases or more information, please call East West Players at (213) 625-7000 or visit www.eastwestplayers.org. Senior, student and group discounts are available. Dates and details are subject to change.

 

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