EWP Celebrates 33rd Anniversary

PRESENTS 1999 VISIONARY AWARDS ON MAY 24 AT THE WESTIN BONAVENTURE HOTEL

East West Players, the nation's first and foremost Asian American theatre company celebrates its 33rd Anniversary Awards Dinner on May 24,1999, at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, 404 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles. The no-host reception and silent auction begin at 6:00pm, and dinner and awards show begin at 7:00pm.

The theme of the evening is "Good Thing Going," celebrating the success of EWP's second season at the David Henry Hwang Theatre at the Union Center for the Arts located in downtown Los Angeles.

Honorees of the 1999 Visionary Awards are Christopher Lee (Producer, Chris Lee Productions), actress Nobu McCarthy (EWP Artistic Director Emeritus, The Karate Kid, The Wash), and playwright Philip Kan Gotanda (The Wash, Yohen). The Corporate Visionary Award will be presented to The Walt Disney Company for its groundbreaking film Mulan, which presents positive images of Asians and Asian Americans, and also featured many veteran actors of the East West Players stage. For excellence in playwriting, EWP's Made In America Award will be presented to Hiroshi Kashiwagi (LAUGHTER & FALSE TEETH, LIVE OAK STORE). The Rae Creevey Award, named after one of EWP's founders, will go to G. Shizuko Herrera, (Technical Director, CSU Los Angeles).

The reception and silent auction begin at 6:00 p.m. The dinner and awards show will commence at 7:15 p.m., and will be hosted by actress Janice Terukina (PACIFIC OVERTURES, THE TASTE OF KONA COFFEE) and actor Alec Mapa (M. BUTTERFLY, I REMEMBER MAPA).

Tickets are available through East West Players by mail: 244 S. San Pedro Street, Suite 301, Los Angeles, CA 90012; by telephone: (213) 625-7000; or by fax: (213) 625-7111. Individual ticket prices begin at $125 and go up to $1,000. Proceeds from this event will benefit EWP's operations and artistic programs.