Memorable moments at the 50th anniversary of East West Players

LOS ANGELES—George Takei, 79, bid on tandem skydiving. The beloved veteran actor matter-of-factly said the last time he jumped off a plane with an instructor was a few years ago in Australia.

Reggie Lee and Vincent Rodriguez III, two Filipino-American actors working on US network TV (“Grimm” and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”), met for the first time.

Jon Jon Briones, back in LA after his Laurence Olivier Award-nominated performance as The Engineer in London, said he was busy rehearsing for his next challenge: Georges in “La Cage aux Folles.” Then, Jon Jon dons The Engineer’s flashy costume again when “Miss Saigon” returns to Broadway in spring 2017.

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s” Chan family—Josh (Vincent), Lourdes (Amy Hill), Jayma (Tess Paras), Joseph (Albert Isaac) and Father Brah (Rene Gube, also the show’s writer of the Filipino-themed episodes), plus Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom) were there in full force. Kulang na lang si Tita Myrna (Lea Salonga)! (“The only one missing was Tita Myrna!”)

These were among the memorable moments in the recent 50th anniversary Visionary Awards dinner and silent auction of East West Players (EWP)—the premier Asian-American theater and the longest-running professional theater of color in the US.

EWP is the one presenting Jon Jon and Gedde Watanabe (Albin) as a gay couple in Harvey Fierstein-Jerry Herman’s multiple Tony Award-winning musical at David Henry Hwang Theatre in LA’s Little Tokyo, beginning May 18, with previews starting May 12.

The theater organization, which is committed to producing works that reflect the Asian-American experience, last staged “Criers for Hire,” which became its highest grossing nonmusical world premiere play.

Written by Giovanni Ortega and directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera, “Criers for Hire” featured a brilliant cast: Joan Almedilla, Giselle Töngi, Samantha Cutaran, Nicole Barredo and Rudy Martinez.

Joan, the evening’s final performer, electrified the audience at the Hilton Universal City with “Feeling Good.”

The song’s declaration of “a new dawn, a new day” is apropos with Tim Dang stepping down after many successful years as EWP’s producing artistic director.

He and Marilyn Tokuda, also outgoing arts education director, were given leis by the event’s hosts, Mark Dacascos and Tia Carrere.

By coincidence, both Mark—Mr. Giyera in “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Wo Fat in “Hawaii Five-O” and The Chairman in “Iron Chef America”—and Tia (actress and two-time Grammy winner for her Hawaiian music albums) star in “Showdown in Manila.”

Directed by Mark, the movie shot in the Philippines also features Casper Van Dien and Alexander Nevsky.

Maxwel Corpuz capped his medley with “Purple Rain,” which stirred the audience into waving their mobile phones in honor of the late “dearly beloved” rock legend, Prince.

The evening’s honorees, cited for raising the visibility of the Asian-Pacific American community, were:

Rachel and Aline Brosh McKenna, producers of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” who were presented by Vincent. Needless to say, how often do we see a Filipino family on US mainstream prime time television?

Jay Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, producers of “Allegiance,” which showcased Lea, George and Telly Leung. George and Brad Takei fittingly presented this award.

Tisa Chang, founding artistic director of Pan Asian Repertory in New York, presented by actress Jodi Long.

It was a fun night of talents and friends meeting again or for the first time. Spotted on the red carpet and in the ballroom were Alec Mapa, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, François Chau, Parvesh Cheena, Janelle Dote, Takayo Fischer, Emily Kuroda, Laurie Cadevida Lubicz, Jennifer Sun Lee, Reuben Uy, Forrest Wheeler, Hudson Yang and Krista Marie Yu.

E-mail [email protected]. Follow him at https://twitter.com/nepalesruben.

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TAGS: Actors, East West Players, Filipino Actors, Hollywood