On 21 August 2004, for one night only, James Shigeta and Nancy Kwan
will perform A.R. Gurney's Love Letters at East West Players in
Los Angeles.
The two pioneering Asian-American actors first starred together in the
groundbreaking Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Flower Drum
Song, and today they are recognised as the two brightest
Asian-American Stars of a Hollywood generation.
Preceding the performance, there will be a buffet reception where
audience members will have the rare opportunity to meet with both
Nancy and James in person, as well as a silent auction of memorabilia
from their careers.
Love Letters is an unique and imaginative theatre piece.
The two actors sit and read aloud a collection of personal letters to
each other; there are no special sets, costumes, or supporting
characters.
The play traces the lives of Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, a staid,
dutiful lawyer and aspiring politician, and Melissa Gardner, a lively,
unstable artist, from second grade through adolescence, adulthood, and
into middle age.
The story of their poignantly funny friendship and bittersweet romance
gradually unfolds from what is written -- and what is left unsaid --
in their letters.
The one night performance is a benefit fundraiser for East West
Players, the premier Asian American Theatre company, at the Union
Center for the Arts in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Tickets for
the event can be purchased directly from East West Players. To
purchase tickets or for more information, please visit their
website.
Everyone is encouraged to attend Love Letters to support
James and Nancy, and help raise funds for East West Players.
