L.A. Theatre Works to Record VIETGONE by Qui Nguyen for Radio, Podcast and Online Streaming

Vietgone - East West Players producing artistic director emeritus Tim Dang directs Will Dao, Desirée Mee Jung, Greg Watanabe, Paul Yen and Jeena Yi in Qui Nguyen's hilarious, "probably-mostly-true" version of how his parents met and built a life for themselves in a new land. Set in 1975 - just after the fall of Saigon - this epic, award-winning play repurposes pop culture from the last 40 years to tell the story of two Vietnamese refugees who meet in an Arkansas relocation camp before setting out on a rip-roaring road trip across America. Equal parts buddy story, all-American romance and motorcycle adventure, Vietgone sizzles to a smart, sassy and raucous hip-hop soundtrack by Shane Rettig.

Each of the four performances at UCLA's state-of-the-Art James Bridges Theater will be recorded live in front of an audience for future radio broadcast, distribution on CD, digital download and online streaming. L.A. Theatre Works' syndicated radio theater series broadcasts weekly on public radio stations across the U.S. (locally, in Southern California, on KPFK 90.7 FM); daily in China and worldwide on the Radio Beijing Network; weekly on KCRW Berlin 104,1 FM, Berlin's English language public radio station; can be downloaded as a podcast via iTunes and NPR One; and can be streamed on demand at www.latw.org.

WHO:

• Written by Qui Nguyen
• Original music by Shane Rettig
• Directed by Tim Dang
• Starring Desirée Mee Jung, Will Dao, Greg Watanabe, Jeena Yi
• Produced by Susan Albert Loewenberg
• Presented by L.A. Theatre Works

WHEN:

• Friday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m.
• Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m.
• Saturday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m.
• Sunday, Jan. 26 at 4 p.m.

WHERE:

James Bridges Theater
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
235 Charles E. Young Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90095
(enter UCLA from Hilgard just south of Sunset Blvd.; park in Lot 3 on the lower level)

HOW:

310-827-0889 or www.latw.org

TICKETS:

$15-$65

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