NWAAT presents West Side Story January 28 to Feb. 21, 1999

The Northwest Asian American Theatre (NWAAT) , celebrating its 26th season of live performance theatre, is pleased to present "West Side Story" from January 28 to February 21, 1999 at the historic Nippon Kan Theatre (628 S. Washington in Seattle's Chinatown/International District above the Danny Woo Gardens).

This classic Broadway musical brilliantly melds together slices of incredible music, powerful movement, and the problems of love and youth into a touching musical of everyday life in the inner city. Performances run Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8pm, Saturday afternoons Feb. 6, 13, 20 at 2pm and Sunday evening at 7 pm.

The production features an energetic cast directed by NWAAT's artistic director Chil Kong with Bengie Santos as Choreographer and Gary Fukushima as Musical Director. Santos recently directed "All One Tribe," a cross-cultural dance production at NWAAT and has extensive credits as a choreographer. Fukushima is a noted local jazz artist.

The cast features NWAAT debuts by Katie Tupper as Maria and Tim Yamamura as Tony as well as return performances by veterans Richard Sloniker, Yumiko Fukushima, and NWAAT co-founder and contributing artist Maria Batayola. The other members of the cast are: Marites Babasa, Lisa Gascon, Vincent E. Paule, Brian Prugalidad, Damian A. Sevilla, Francesca Ty, Pedro B. Vidallon, Pamela Woon, Kim Ahn Yanda, Robert Cooper, Kenny Harlow, Rei Matsumoto, Loraine Mesaros, Serin Ngai, Steven James Scott III, Hiroko Yamaguchi, Bob Lee, and Kate Szyperski.

Ticket prices are: $20 General Admission
$18 Students/Senior Citizens
$15 Groups of five or more except for opening night

Concurrently with West Side Story, Pork Filled Players, NWAAT's artists-in-residence and multicultural comedy group, will perform "Won Ton of Love" Feb. 6-21. For reservations, please contact the Box Office at 206-340-1049

This production was made possible through the generosity of State Farm and the King County Arts Commission.

West Side Story is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials are supplied by Music Theatre International, 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019. "West Side Story" is based on a conception of Jerome Robbins, book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

The entire original production was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins and was originally produced on Broadway by Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince by arrangement with Roger L. Stevens.

The Northwest Asian American Theatre is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization dedicated to discovering, creating, developing, and promoting exceptional Asian Pacific Islander and international works, emphasizing the original and innovative.

For more information contact Louis Watanabe, NWAAT General Manager, 206-340-1445 or send email to nwaat@juno.com.