East West Players announces One Night Only: The forced dog sex videosSecret Play Project, a special benefit reading, on Monday, Jan. 30, at the David Henry Hwang Theatre, 120 Judge John Aiso St. in Little Tokyo.
The reading will be directed by award-winning director, writer, and actress Lily Mariye, and will star Parminder Nagra, Rizwan Manji, Marc Anthony Samuel, and Sherri Saum.
“We wanted a unique one-night-only experience for our audience with a little air of mystery,” says EWP Artistic Director Snehal Desai. “Audiences will only find out in person on the 30th what play this star-studded cast will be reading. Just be ready for a great evening of laughter and surprises.”
Best known for portraying Neela Rasgotra on NBC’s hit series “ER,” Nagra was also a series regular on NBC’s “The Blacklist,” playing the CIA operative Meera Malik, and in JJ Abram’s “Alcatraz” on Fox, playing Dr. Lucy Banerjee. She will soon be seen in Season 2 of the critically acclaimed Sky Atlantic and Pivot drama “Fortitude,” also starring Dennis Quaid and Michelle Fairley, set to premiere this month. Most recently, she completed a guest arc on ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD.” Her breakout role was in the international hit Bend It Like Beckham, playing the spirited Jess.
Canadian actor Manji is best known for playing Rajiv Gidwani on NBC’s “Outsourced,” and has played regular or recurring roles on shows like “NCIS,” “24,” “Better Off Ted,” and “Backstrom.” He has appeared in films like “American Desi” (with Kal Penn), “Charlie Wilson’s War” (with Tom Hanks), “The Mikado Project” (with Tamlyn Tomita), and “The Wolf of Wall Street” (with Leonardo DiCaprio).
Samuel is best known for playing gay nurse Felix Dubois on “General Hospital,” and has appeared on “NCIS” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.”
Best known for her groundbreaking role playing lesbian adoptive mother Lena Adams Foster on Freeform’s “The Fosters,” Saum has been nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards for playing Keri Reynolds on “One Life to Live” and Vanessa Hart on “Sunset Beach.” Saum has guest-starred on “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Heroes,” “Gossip Girl,” and the “Law & Order” series.
Mariye played nurse Lily Jarvik on “ER” during its entire run (1994-2009) and has since pursued writing, directing, and filmmaking. After being chosen as a director for the ABC/Disney/DGA Creative Development Program, she directed her first television episode for ABC’s “Nashville,” which Entertainment Weeklypraised as “the best episode of this season of ‘Nashville’ so far — and by quite a long shot.” Mariye recently directed Amazon’s “Just Add Magic”; “Leap of Faith,” her second episode of “Nashville,” now on CMT; and “Diamond in the Rough,” an episode of “The Fosters,” after directing her film debut, “Model Minority.” She is currently participating in the 2017 CBS Director’s Initiative.
Cocktails will be served in the courtyard at 6:30 p.m., and the reading will begin at 7:30 p.m. The play will be announced on the day of the event. A post-show VIP reception will take place at 9 p.m. at Far Bar, 347 E. First St.
Orchestra seat tickets start at $50 (includes hosted bar and show). VIP tickets (includes the hosted bar, show, and VIP reception) are $75. For more information, call (213) 625-7000 or visit www.eastwestplayers.org.