DEXTER's CS Lee and More Star in ANIMALS OUT OF PAPER, Opening Tonight at East West Players

East West Players (EWP), the nation's longest-running professional theatre of color in the country and the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work, opens its 50th Anniversary Season, Golden, with "Animals Out of Paper," by Pulitzer-nominated Rajiv Joseph and directed by Jennifer Chang. The production features CS Lee ("Dexter"), Tess Lina ("Revenge,""NCIS") and introducing Kapil Talwalkar.

When a world-renowned origami artist opens her studio to a teenage prodigy and his school teacher, she discovers that life and love can't be arranged neatly in this drama about finding the perfect design. A quirky and melancholy play, by the author of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, that has been hailed as "pitch-perfect" by the NY Times.

"We are proud to have a Pulitzer Prize finalist and multi-award winning playwright open our Golden Season at EWP," says Tim Dang, Producing Artistic Director. "As EWP leads the charge for diversity for all theaters to open up their storytelling to include the stories of the world, Rajiv and our production of Animals Out Of Paper is perfect to the core -- biracial playwright, Pan-Asian cast, diverse creative and design team. The future of theatre is here."

The design team includes: set design by Naomi Kasahara, lighting design by Tom Ontiveros, costume design by Halei Parker, sound design and original composition by Melanie Chen, and props by Ayako Inoue. Stage manager is Michelle Gutierrez-Martina.

All performances will be staged at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center of the Arts at 120 Judge John Aiso Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Opening Night for "Animals Out of Paper" is tonight, September 10th at 8pm and includes a 7pm pre-performance cocktail reception, and a post-show reception with the cast and creative team. Opening Night is sponsored by Edison International. Call theater for availability. "Pay-What-You-Can" Performance is on Thursday, September 11th. A special talkback with the cast and creative team is on Sunday, September 21 immediately following the performance. The production runs until October 5th.

Regular performances run Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets may be purchased online at www.eastwestplayers.org or by calling 213.625.7000. Regular tickets range from $28-$38. Student and Senior discounts available. Dates, prices and details are subject to change.