East West Players: A Writers’ Gallery Reading will be held Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Ave. in Little Tokyo. Admission is free.
The play is “Spoiled,” written by Ken Narasaki, directed by Nathan Singh, and featuring Dian Kobayashi, Feodor Chin, Emily Kuroda, Marilyn Tokuda, Michael Hagiwara, and Sharon Rosner.
It’s a dark comedy about a Japanese American mother and her adult kids who, while they function well in the world, become a hot mess when they get together. Their drama is more darkly humorous than you might think.
Narasaki’s “Ghosts and Baggage” was produced at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in 1998. “Innocent When You Dream” was produced in 2007 at the Electric Lodge in Venice and was performed at the Smithsonian Institution in 2008 as part of the Day of Remembrance observance. “The Mikado Project,” co-written with Doris Baizley, was produced by Lodestone Theatre Ensemble at the Grove Center Theatre in Burbank in 2007. His “No-No Boy,” adapted from the novel by John Okada, received its world premiere at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica in 2010.
Formerly the literary manager for East West Players, Narasaki is also an actor who has appeared in more than 65 plays in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and New York. His recent TV credits include “Uncle Buck,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Murder in the First” and “Trophy Wife.” He has also appeared in such independent films as Jon Moritsugu’s “Terminal USA,” Chris Chan Lee’s “Yellow,” and Lane Nishikawa’s “Only the Brave.”