East West Players announces 36th season: Let Them Hear You

East West Players, the country's oldest and largest Asian Pacific Islander performing arts organization, announces its 36th Anniversary Season, which includes a world premiere, two LA premieres and a stellar musical revue. The Season's theme, Let Them Hear You, pays tribute to the growing Asian Pacific Islander voice in Southern California as well as the increasing visibility of this community in the area's politics, education, culture, and economy. All performances will be at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Little Tokyo, in downtown Los Angeles.

The Season opener is the Los Angeles Premiere of RED, written and directed by Chay Yew. When Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution sweeps through China, the ancient, glorious art of Beijing Opera becomes a pawn in the dangerous new game of politics versus tradition. For an established star, whose life plays out on stage, and his young female protege caught up in the Revolution, the game has stunning consequences. Majestically beautiful and chillingly truthful, RED will stay with you forever. RED opens on Wednesday, October 3, 2001 and runs through Sunday, October 28th. Previews begin Thursday, September 27, 2001. A TAP (Theater Access Performance) show, which is sign - interpreted for deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons, is on Friday, October -26th at 8: 00 p.m.

The long awaited LA Premiere of SISTERS MATSUMOTO by Philip Kan Gotanda, holds the second slot in the Season. In this touching tale of strength and survival, a Japanese American family returns home from the World War II internment camps to grapple with lost opportunities, new beginnings, and the answer to a secret. SISTERS MATSUMOTO opens Wednesday, January 23, 2002 and runs through Sunday, February 17th. Previews begin Thursday, January 17, 2001. A TAP (Theater Access Performance) show is scheduled for Friday, February 1 5th at 8:00 p.m.

The third play of the Season is the World Premiere of MONSTER by Derek Nguyen, one of the winning plays from East West Players' Y2K Playwriting Competition, which was funded in part by the James Irvine Foundation. A Vietnamese American detective investigates the disappearance of a Vietnamese high school student on the heels of a hate crime. The "monster" he finds may change him forever. This production is made possible by a generous grant from the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. MONSTER opens Wednesday, April 17, 2002 and runs through Sunday, May 12th. Previews begin Thursday, April 11, 2002. A TAP (Theater Access Performance) show is scheduled for Friday, May 1 0th at 8:00 p.m.

The acclaimed musical, THE WORLD GOES ROUND, with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, conceived by Scott Ellis, Susan Strohman and David Thompson rounds out the Season. Life-full of glories, indignities, hopes and quiet dreams-is the setting and the stunning Kander and Ebb catalog is the inspiration for this hit revue. Ingenious lyrics, perfect melodies, and the insight of Broadway masters create showstopper after heart-grabbing showstopper from such shows as CABARET, THE KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, THE RINK and the film NEW YORK, NEW YORK. This production is made possible in part by AT&T. THE WORLD GOES ROUND opens Wednesday, June 5, 2002 and runs through Sunday, June 30th. Previews begin Thursday, May 30, 2002. A TAP (Theater Access Performance) show is scheduled for Friday, June 28.

"We look forward to our exciting 36 th Anniversary Season. East West Players continues to nurture and promote the varied and vital talents of the Asian Pacific Islander artist. The fact that we are premiering three works in the upcoming Season validates the efforts of EWP to be a leader in creating engaging and empowering theatre that gives voice to our community," says Tim Dang, East West Players' Producing Artistic Director.

Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00pm. No matinee performance on the first Saturday after opening.

East West Players' David Henry Hwang Theater is located at 120 Judge John Aiso Street (formerly San Pedro Street) between Temple and First Streets. For more information call 213/625-7000.