East West Players

10/03/2026

The women left out of the history books finally TELL IT LIKE IT IS!

Playwright Jaclyn Backhaus (jaclyn backhaus) flips the script in the sharp, whirlwind comedy WIVES, making its LA premiere this October at East West Players, in co-production with Hypokrit Live Arts, and featuring a powerhouse cast of witches and queens. In a moment when history feels up for grabs, WIVES, directed by Arpita Mukherjee (Arpita Mukherjee), insists that the true story has always belonged to those who never made the headlines.

SWIPE ➡️ to see our lovely cast and what to expect from us this October-November!

Rachna Khatau* as WIFE 1
(Queen, Hadley, Roop Rai, Swarn)
💜 Rachna Khatau

E.M. Davis* as WIFE 2
(Cook, Mary, Mr. Patterson, Witch)
🩵 E.M. Davis

Arasha* as WIFE 3
(Diane, Martha, Maharani, Swarn/Me)
🩷 Arasha

Parvesh Cheena* as MAN
(Henri, Big Ern, Maharaja, Swarn)
💛 Parvesh Cheena

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THESE SPECIAL EVENTS!

👑 Non Profit Night: Thursday, October 8th, 8pm
👑 Post-Show Conversation: Friday, October 9th, 8pm
👑 Student Saturday: Saturday, October 17th, 2pm and 8pm
👑 Post-Show Conversation: Friday, October 18th, 5pm
👑 CAATA AANHPI Theater Night: Sunday, October 25th, 5pm
👑 Witches & Wives Costume Party: Saturday, October 31, 8pm

Previews start October 8th! Get pay-what-you-will balcony seats starting at $15. Visit www.eastwestplayers.org/wives for more information.

10/02/2026

Describing WIVES in ONE word with the cast: Parvesh Cheena, E.M. Davis, Rachna Khatau and Arasha!

What if the women left out of the history books could finally tell it like it is? Playwright Jaclyn Backhaus flips the script in the sharp, whirlwind comedy WIVES, making its LA premiere this October from East West Players, in co-production with Hypokrit Live Arts, and featuring a powerhouse cast. In a moment when history feels up for grabs, WIVES insists that the true story has always belonged to those who never made the headlines.

GET TICKETS NOW: https://tinyurl.com/ewpwives

09/23/2026

09/13/2026 Photo Recap
WHEN YURI MET MALCOLM Benefit Premiere at The David Henry Hwang Theater, presented by EWP Theatre For Youth EWP Arts Education hosted by the one and only Jeanne Sakata ⭐

Congratulations to Pauline Yasuda & Erik Orjiako for kicking off this year's touring show to a packed house, and shout-out to all of our collaborators who made this premiere such a huge success.

This special event is supported in part by Alex Giza & Cathy Noonan and the Beulah Quo & Edwin Kwoh Fund for Arts Education. Season 61 is dedicated to the memory of Randall A. Tamura, and is sponsored by Randall A. & Mari Tamura, with additional support from NBCUniversal and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture. Theatre for Youth is supported in part by Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, L.L. Foundation for Youth, Cathay Bank Foundation, Green Foundation, California Arts Council, The Sun Family Foundation, The Tsao Family Foundation, The Walt Disney Company, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture.

EWP is a recipient of the 2026 THRIVE! Grant, funded by the Mark Edelman Theater Fund and administered by Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for theatre leading for a just and thriving theatre ecology.

09/15/2026

09/15/2026

✨The coven has assembled✨

The first rehearsal of WIVES launched the EWP 61st main stage season and welcomed us home to the David Henry Hwang Theater. With these phenomenal artists gathered around the table, we’re stirring up a potent cauldron of theatre magic bringing Jaclyn Backhaus’ dazzling tale of history’s queens, witches, and widows (and the power they bestow upon each of us) into our sacred space!

Get Pay-What-You-Will tickets now to for this upcoming LA premiere of the show The New York Times called “…a gleeful work of historical subversion”.

📸 Brian Hashimoto

09/13/2026

TODAY IS THE DAY! We are kicking off our Theatre For Youth tour with our benefit premiere performance of WHEN YURI MET MALCOLM! Featuring our kickoff performers Pauline Yasuda & Erik Orjiako

ℹ️ SYNOPSIS
First commissioned by East West Players in 2022, WHEN YURI MET MALCOLM explores the legacy of Yuri Kochiyama through her friendship with Malcolm X, tracing her journey from Japanese American incarceration camps to a lifetime of activism. What does it mean to be a citizen of a flawed country, and how much can one person do to change it?

Pauline Yasuda (she/her) is elated to return to EWP’s Theatre for Youth for her third show! She was previously seen in TAM TRAN GOES TO WASHINGTON and as Congresswoman Patsy Mink in PATSY. She has an extensive commercial career and can be seen in ads for Volkswagen, Avocados from Mexico, State Farm, Google, Homes.com, and McDonalds, just to name a few. TV shows include Criminal Minds and Ballard with Maggie Q. She is also a professional stand-up comedian and was finalist in the 2019 San Francisco Comedy Competition and winner of California’s Funniest Female Competition in 2013. She is also honored to continue her work as a Teaching Artist for EWP’s EWPlay! program.

Erik Orjiako (he/him) is a Nigerian-American actor with decades of experience on the stage and in film. With professional training in both comedy and drama, Erik’s performances are charged with emotion, passion, and an understanding of the complexity of his character’s inner worlds. WHEN YURI MET MALCOLM marks Erik’s return to the stage after many years spent primarily in front of cameras, and he’s excited and honored to portray such an iconic and nuanced character alongside a talented cast and crew.

Theatre for Youth is supported in part by Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, L.L. Foundation for Youth, Cathay Bank Foundation, Green Foundation, California Arts Council, The Sun Family Foundation, The Tsao Family Foundation, The Walt Disney Company, and The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture.

WHEN YURI MET MALCOLM may be coming to a venue near you! Be on the lookout for more upcoming tour dates, visit our WYMM webpage for more de