Asian American Theatre
The history of Asian American Theatre begins with the founding of East West Players in 1965. After 42 years, they are still the major theatre for Asian American actors, writers, and directors, and perhaps even more importantly, they are the longest-running theatre of color in the country. Without them, it’s probably true that Asian Americans would not have produced the prominent level of talent they have today.
And so any review of the current status of Asian American Theatre begins with them. And they are continuing this through what can be called an anime/hip hop version of the Stephen Schwartz musical Pippin, which is an update of the 1972 original production. As usual, it features an all Asian American cast, most of the designers are Asian American, and the director is Tim Dang, EWP’s producing artistic director.
Further north in the Valley, we have another mainstay of Asian American Theatre, Lodestone Theatre. While not as storied as EWP, they have been alive and well for over a decade. Their current production, Trapezoid, is a fascinating sci-fi look at the consequences of creating life, whether artificial or human.
And finally, the producing group known as Thumping Claw is putting on a show of four one-act plays by well-known Asian American playwrights and directors. As it happens, I was recently enlisted to help this show, so I really hope you come out to support not only the show, but the prospect of Asian American Theatre itself.
