LOS ANGELES: East West Players has announced its 2018-19 season, which will be the company’s 53rd anniversary season. The productions will be connected by the theme of culture shock.
“Our season explores what it means to be an immigrant in this country and an ‘American’ abroad,” said EWP producing artistic director Snehal Desai. “How do we overcome the disorientation of political and cultural shocks, and when the boundary lines of propriety are breached? To that end, this season is about disrupting the status quo, taking charge of the ‘outsider’ narrative, and producing some cultural shocks of our own.”
The season will open with the Los Angeles premiere of Vietgone (Oct. 18-Nov. 11) by Qui Nguyen, about refugees who flee from the Vietnam War and fall in love at an Arkansas relocation camp. Jennifer Chang will direct.
Next will be the world premiere of Man of God (Jan. 31-Feb. 24, 2019) by Anna Moench, a feminist thriller about four Korean Christian girls who go on a mission trip to Thailand and make astonishing discoveries. Jesca Prudencio will direct.
The season will close with a musical that will be announced later and will run May 9-June 9, 2019.
The company will also present Counter-Culture, an ongoing series of community conversations and readings of new works.
Founded in 1965, East West Players is the nation’s premiere Asian American theatre organization which focuses on programming that sparks dialogue about the Asian Pacific Islander (API) experience and advocates for API stories and artists.
