East West presents Follies

For Immediate Release
April 12, 2000

Contact: Suzanne Hee
213/625-7000, x12

EAST WEST PLAYERS SETS CAST AND DESIGNERS FOR THE BROADWAY MUSICAL FOLLIES

East West Players, the nation' s first and foremost Asian Pacific American theatre, sets the cast and designers for the Broadway musical FOLLIES, with book by James Goldman, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. FOLLIES is the final production of EWP's 34th Anniversary Season Adventure to New Worlds. The East West Players' David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts is located at 120 North Judge John Aiso Street (formerly San Pedro Street) in Little Tokyo downtown Los Angeles. Directed by Tim Dang with musical direction by Scott Nagatani, FOLLIES runs for four weeks, opening on Wednesday, May 17 and closing on June 11, 2000. Low priced previews begin on Thursday, May 11.

They were once "Follies" girls, the most beautiful and dreamed about musical entertainment stars that defined popular culture between the two World Wars. This story is about what has happened to these women since their shining moment and to the American dreams they symbolized for a generation. The action of the show takes place at their faded theater, now scheduled for demolition, when a group of Follies girls reunite for a party thirty years after the theater closed its doors.

The cast for FOLLIES includes (in alphabetical order) Robert Almodovar, Yukari Black, Kerry K. Carnahan, Linda Dangcil, Liza Del Mundo, Valerie Dunlap, Bryan Geli, Ai Goeku, Ben Gonio, Michael Hagiwara, Linda Igarashi, Denise Iketani, Diana Iketani, Amy Hill, Alvin Ing, Kurt Kuniyoshi, Emily Kuroda, Sharline Liu, Paul Martinez, Kim Montelibano, Katherine Nakano, Deborah Nishimura, Jack Ong, Freda Foh Shen, Sab Shimono, Ken Takemoto, and Marilyn Tokuda. Musicians include David Cheung, Greg Chun, David Iwataki, Lisa Joe, and Scott Nagatani. Set designer for FOLLIES is Bradley Kaye, costume design by Susan Watanabe, lighting design by Frank McKown, sound design by Joel Iwataki and props by Ken Takemoto. The production stage manager is Ricardo Figueroa.

Performances for FOLLIES are Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8pm and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. There is no Saturday matinee performance on Saturday, May 20. Low priced previews are May 11, 12, and 13 at 8pm and May 14 at 2pm. General ticket prices are $35 for orchestra and $30 for balcony. A limited number of rush tickets are available for $20 one hour prior to showtime (not available May 17 or May 18). Patrons can purchase tickets by calling Telecharge at 800-233-3123, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or in person at the theater box office, Monday through Friday, 11:30am to 2pm. For groups call 213-625-7000, Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm.