East West Players

About the Theatre

EWP was founded by nine Asian American artists (Mako, Rae Creevey, Beulah Quo, Soon-Tek Oh, James Hong, Pat Li, June Kim, Guy Lee, and Yet Lock) seeking to create roles beyond the stereotypical parts they were offered in mainstream Hollywood. In 1998, EWP Artistic Director Tim Dang led the company’s move from a 99-seat Equity Waiver “black box” theatre into a new 240-seat venue at an Actors Equity Association contract level. EWP’s main stage is the David Henry Hwang Theater, housed within the Union Center for the Arts in downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district. The theater serves more than 25,000 people each year, and has become a creative center in this historically significant setting. When Dang retired in 2016, his successor Snehal Desai was appointed to guide East West Players into a new wave of artistic leadership. Desai has committed to steering the work of East West Players with an intersectional focus that further unveils the diversity of Asian Pacific identities as portrayed on stage.

Articles

Review: FRANKENSTEIN: RESURRECTION at Nocturne Theatre

by Harker Jones · September 23, 2026

The show is a swing for the fences like every show at the underrated and underseen Nocturne is.…

Review: Krysta Rodriguez Makes OC Cabaret Debut at Segerstrom Center

by Michael Quintos · September 22, 2026

To kick-off the 2026-2027 run of their often Broadway-centric Cabaret Series, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa tapped not only a proven Broadway star, but an OC native, too for a triumphant homecoming concert: Krysta Rodriguez. Marking her Center cabaret debut, Rodriguez performed to rap…

Review: A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD at Rogue Machine At The Matrix Theatre

by Evan Henerson · September 18, 2026

This delicate and insightful two-hander presents both the playwright and the company at their most skilled.…

Review: THE VISIT at Pasadena Playhouse

by Harker Jones · September 16, 2026

Tony winner Darko Tresnjak directs a nuanced and unsettling update of the 1956 Swiss play, adapted here by Maurice Valency.…

Review: World Premiere Musical WILD CHILD Debuts at Laguna Playhouse

by Michael Quintos · September 15, 2026

Featuring book and lyrics by Dan Marshall and music by composer Julianne Wick Davis, WILD CHILD is an ambitious, sincerely earnest, and, at times, cleverly innovative new musical about a group of teenagers who are forced to join an outdoor wilderness therapy program where they must grapple with iden…

Review: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS at Hollywood Pantages

by Evan Henerson · September 14, 2026

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS bears the imprint of its original director, the uber-talented Jessica Stone, and a team of collaborators who span a whole mess of creative genres. Along with their marvelous ensemble, they take us away.…

Review: ANTIGONE: IN THE LANGUAGE OF KINGS at Getty Villa & Latino Theater Company

by Andrew Child · September 13, 2026

Beneath the florid poetry, the stunningly-detailed costumes, and the imagistic staging, Sophocles would instantly recognize the overarching humanity that has carried his play through the centuries.…

Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Encore Theatre Company

by Edmund Whelan · September 13, 2026

Rooted in Faustian legend, a horticultural horror musical takes over Tulare for the next three weeks. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s Little Shop of Horrors highlights the dangers of greed and talking plants as destitute protagonist Seymour Krelbourn discovers his mysterious fly-trap plant may sud…

Review: PERICLES at Theater At Boston Court

by Evan Henerson · September 11, 2026

In staging the west coast premiere of Ellen McLaughlin’s modern verse translation, director Margaret Shigeko Starbuck and her cast are working their Helicanuses and Thaisas off to keep this lesser-staged romance punchy and relevant…

Review: THE ARSONISTS at Skylight Theatre

by Harker Jones · September 8, 2026

Swiss writer Max Frisch’s post–World War II absurdist satire THE ARSONISTS hit Los Feliz like a blow torch, scorching everything in its path.…

PARANORMAL INSIDE

Oct 9 – Nov 2, 2025

East West Players presents the new play PARANORMAL INSIDE by Prince Gomolvilas, directed by Jeff Liu. This supernatural thriller reunites audiences with Max and Delia, portrayed by Tamika Simpkins and David Huynh, as they confront a haunting spirit five years after the events of...

Pacific Overtures

Nov 7 – Dec 1, 2024

Pacific Overtures The 2024 Season culminates with the Tony Award winning musical Pacific Overtures, with music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman, additional material by Hugh Wheeler, and orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. 1853, and it’s the end of the world...

Interstate: A New Musical

Jun 2 – Jun 26, 2022

INTERSTATE is an Asian-American pop-rock poetry musical that follows Dash, a transgender spoken word performer who becomes internet-famous along with his best friend Adrian, a lesbian singer-songwriter.Fueled by the allure of fame and a desire to connect with their community...

ASSASSINS

Feb 17 – Mar 20, 2022

A darkly comic Tony-award winner that examines the motives of the nine notorious Americans who took their shot at the President of the United States, Assassins is the twelfth Sondheim musical mounted by East West Players in its fifty-six year history of producing theatre in Los...

The Sitayana (or "How To Make An Exit")

Sep 25 – Oct 17, 2021

The Sitayana (Or How To Make An Exit) is an artful transposition of the Hindu epic The Ramayana told from Sitas point of view. Part epic tale, part coming of age story, The Sitayana is the ultimate breakup play. Audiences are given the choice of one of three unique incarnations...

1 Hour Photo

Jun 12 – Jun 20, 2021

East West Players (EWP), the nations largest producer of Asian American theatrical works, is proud to present Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre (vAct)s 1 Hour Photo, written and performed by Tetsuro Shigematsu (Empire Of The Son, Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre) and directed by...

An Evening of Aloha with Daniel Ho

Dec 19

East West Players is excited to present multiple GRAMMY-winning musician Daniel Ho in concert on December 19th. Enjoy an evening of Aloha spirit with Daniels Hawaiian melodies featuring artists Kealii Ceballos, Kanani Toji, Randy Drake, and Lydia Miyashiro Ho in one of the first...

Crazy Talented Asians

Dec 13

East West Players, the nations premiere Asian American theatre organization, is partnering up with online musician AJ Rafael for Crazy Talented Asians, a concert series started by Rafael in September 2018. The Holiday Edition of this virtual event will happen LIVE on Facebook &...

Mamma Mia!

May 9 – Jun 23, 2019

On the eve of her wedding, a daughter’s quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother’s past back to the Greek island they last visited 20 years ago. The magical, disco-era music of ABBA sets the scene for this infectious tale of love and...

Man of God

Jan 31 – Feb 24, 2019

David Henry Hwang Theater: Anna Moench; dir: Jesca Prudencio.