East West Players’ 50th Season Culminates With Diversity in ‘La Cage Aux Folles’

John Turner

Since it opened in 1965, East West Players has been heralded as the nation’s longest-running professional theater company of color. And to culminate its 50th anniversary, EWP is taking the idea of diversity to a whole new level with “La Cage Aux Folles,” which has performances May 12-June 26 at the David Henry Hwang Theatre in Little Tokyo. For the musical that centers around a gay couple’s clash with the heterosexual world, EWP is partnering with Los Angeles LGBT Center, which has had six at-risk youth from the Center’s program serve as unofficial interns for the production. “La Cage” is also a swan song for show director Tim Dang who is stepping down after 23 years as EWP’s artistic director.

“La Cage Aux Folles” tells the story of Georges, a gay nightclub owner, and his “wife,” Albin, a drag queen who is the nightclub’s star performer; when Georges’ son – who is straight – brings home his fiancée’s ultra-conservative parents to meet them, hilarity and hijinks ensue.

Having the LGBT Center involved with the production, the EWP said in a press release, is “a perfect pairing of art and social justice.” Since rehearsals began, EWP stated, the six interns have been involved in every aspect of the production and have been paid by the Los Angeles County Youth Jobs Program. “To confront the discrimination that still exists in 2016, LGBT youth have learned to cope and survive, often through their own creativity and without the support of families, friends, or employers,” LGBT Center Chief of Staff Darrel Cummings said in the release. “This collaboration with East West Players has encouraged them to use that creativity to help bring “La Cage Aux Folles” to the stage, and in the process, learn not only to survive but to thrive.”

Artistic Director Dang, meanwhile, will pass the torch after 23 years at the EWP helm. During that time, he produced nearly 100 new and classic works that highlighted the Asian-Pacific experience. In 2012, Dang was an essential part of the first Asian-American Theatre Conference, which was held in Los Angeles and spearheaded by EWP.

“La Cage Aux Folles” is at the David Henry Hwang Theatre from May 12-June 26. For more information, visit the East West Players’ event page.