AmericanTheaterWeb Original News & Reviews

East West Players in Los Angeles has announced the lineup for its 2008-2009 season. Now in its 43rd year, the company has a schedule that includes two musicals, a Los Angeles premiere and two world premieres.

The company's season gets underway on September 11 with the world premiere of Dan Kwong's Be Like Water. Presented in association with Cedar Grove OnStage, "Water" focuses on a 13-year old gung-fu fanatic tomboy, who's challenged by school bullies and a mother who just wants her to be a "normal" girl. When things go from bad goes to worse for her, the Ghost of Bruce Lee appears to teach her the true meaning of strength and the true power of water. The production continues through October 12.

Susan Kim's adaptation of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club is the second production on East West Players' docket for the coming season. Running from November 6 - December 7, this production is the Los Angeles premiere of this play that centers on four young Chinese American women and their Chinese-born mothers.

In the New Year, the company will present its second world premiere, Paul Kikuchi's Ixnay, which centers on a sensei who's pulled up to the Reincarnation Station. But when he finds out he's being sent back to earth as a Japanese American, he refuses. This comedy is scheduled to run at East West Players from February 12 - March 15.

In the spring of 2009, East West Players will present a double bill of two one act musicals: Marry Me a Little and The Last Five Years. "Marry Me" is a two-person musical featuring songs that didn't fit into some of Stephen Sondheim's best-known musicals. The songs are woven together to tell a tale of two lonely people. Alongside this musical will be Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, which looks at a couple's relationship from two perspectives: from beginning to end and from the end to the beginning. "Marry Me" and "5 Years" will run May 7 - June 7.

Subscriptions for East West Players' 2008-2009 season are currently onsale and can be purchased by calling 213-625-7000 or by faxing an subscription form which is available online at: www.eastwestplayers.org