East West Players Celebrates Tim Dang’s 15th Anniversary as Producing Artistic Director with One Night Only Concert
On Saturday, August 23rd, East West Players (EWP) kicks off its 43rd season with One Night Only: Divas vs. Tenors, A Face-off Celebrating Tim’s Fifteenth to honor Tim Dang on his 15th anniversary as the Producing Artistic Director of the nation’s premier Asian American Theatre Organization. Directed by Marilyn Tokuda with musical direction by Nathan Wang, the one night only extravaganza promises to be an electrifying concert featuring some of the best and brightest talents to grace the EWP stage.
“Tim is truly a visionary and a maverick. During his 15 years as Producing Artistic Director, he took the momentous task of advancing East West Players to a mid-size theater and has been instrumental in carrying the torch of past leaderships. And he continuously challenges himself artistically to raise the standards for Asian American theatre,” says director Marilyn Tokuda. “This concert will not only recognize all of Tim’s accomplishments, but it also offers a special treat for the audience. With both Tenors and Divas performing on stage together for the very first time, the evening promises to be jam-packed with powerhouse talent.”
Celebrating Tim’s Anniversary are performers Ethan Le Phong, Jenni Selma, Kathy Villanueva, Kerry Carnahan, Maegan McConnell, Antoine Diel, Randy Guiaya and Lito Villareal. Amy Hill and two special guest stars will preside as celebrity judges in a special segment of the show where Divas and Tenors spar over their musical talents. The Master of Ceremonies for the evening is Marcus Choi, last seen as the Leading Player on EWP’s stage in PIPPIN.
Affiliated with EWP since 1980 in various capacities from actor to director to producer, Tim Dang became Artistic Director in 1993. Under his leadership, EWP made the remarkable achievement of moving from its 99-seat black box theater to the 240-seat David Henry Hwang Theater at the historic Union Center for the Arts in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district in 1998. East West Players is the largest Asian American theatre in the nation, and is the oldest professional theatre of color in the United States.
With productions such as EQUUS starring George Takei, IMELDA: A NEW MUSICAL, M. BUTTERFLY, and DAWN’S LIGHT: THE JOURNEY OF GORDON HIRABAYASHI, EWP has garnered widespread artistic acclaim across the country from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Washington Post. East West Players’ ever-growing educational programs serving youth and underrepresented Asian Pacific Islander communities have played an important role in California.
A native of Hawaii, Dang has worked as a successful actor and director, earning two Ovation Awards for direction. He has directed at Singapore Repertory Theatre, Asian American Theater Company (San Francisco), Mark Taper Forum New Works Festival, Celebration Theatre, West Coast Ensemble and Perseverance Theatre (Juneau, Alaska). Dang has garnered critical acclaim with his musical productions such as SWEENEY TODD, PACIFIC OVERTURES, INTO THE WOODS and most recently, PIPPIN. As a writer, Dang wrote the book and lyrics for the musical BEIJING SPRING, the lyrics for CANTON JAZZ CLUB, and co-wrote THE NISEI WIDOWS CLUB and THE NISEI WIDOWS CLUB ON THIN ICE.
Dang has been a board member of L.A. Stage Alliance and participated on panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council and Theatre Communications Group. In the Asian American community, Dang serves as an advocate for Asian Americans in the media and in 2000, testified in front of President Clinton’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders on the state of art and culture. He was recognized with the prestigious Durfee Foundation Sabbatical Award in 2002. In 2006, Dang led EWP to host the Next Big Bang, the first national Asian American Theatre Conference. He is on the steering committee that launched the first National Asian American Theater Festival in June 2007 in New York City and held the 2008 Asian American theatre conference in Minneapolis.
Performers will highlight the artistic excellence of the theatres’ past 15 years and special guest speakers will pay tribute to Dang and the theatre organization. One Night Only: Divas vs. Tenors, A Face Off Celebrating Tim’s Fifteenth will not only commemorate all of Dang’s invaluable contribution at East West Players, but proceeds raised that evening will also benefit EWP’s year-round mainstage productions and educational programs.
One Night Only: Divas vs. Tenors, A Face-Off Celebrating Tim’s Fifteenth will be held at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts at 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 on Saturday, August 23rd, 2008. The event starts with a hosted bar and reception with cuisines prepared by Japon Bistro at 6:00 pm, continuing with the performance at 7:30 pm, before concluding with a raffle drawing and dessert reception. Various levels of sponsorships are available and general tickets are $250 for VIP, $100 in the orchestra and $60 in the balcony. For more information on tickets and sponsorships, contact the Development Manager Lisa Tang at ltang@eastwestplayers.org or call (213) 625-7000 x17.
