"KRISTINA WONG, SWEATSHOP OVERLORD"

As Pulitzer Prize finalist and Los Angeles based writer/actor Kristina Wong continues the 2023 Kirk Douglas season with her hilarious and heartfelt one-person play, “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord,” Los Angeles audiences will have a variety of ways to engage with Wong and the community. A co-production with Center Theatre Group and East West Players, with additional support from the Skirball Cultural Center, “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord” will play February 12 through March 15, with opening on February 15 in Culver City.

In the true spirit of the show, which speaks about human connection and the desire to create community, Kristina Wong will be doing post-performance discussions featuring guest panelists, including members of the Auntie Sewing Squad, for various community groups on the following dates: Friday, February 17 at 8 p.m., Saturday, February 18 at 2 p.m., Sunday, February 19 at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, February 22 at 8 p.m., Tuesday, February 28 at 8 p.m., Wednesday, March 8 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, March 11 at 2 p.m.

Post-performance discussions offer an opportunity for the community gathered in the theatre to come together after the performance and get to the heart of the experience they just shared.

In addition to the post-performance discussions, audiences have the opportunity to attend an ACCESS Performance, American Express Card Member Performance, Student Matinees, and an L.A. Theatre Community night. Details about each event are below.

The community events include (in date order):

Post-Performance Discussions – 8 p.m., February 17; 2 p.m., February 18; 6:30 p.m., February 19; 8 p.m., February 22; 8 p.m., February 28; 8 p.m., March 8; and 2 p.m., March 11.

Post-performance discussions offer an opportunity for the community gathered in the theatre to come together after the performance and get to the heart of the experience they just shared. Kristina Wong and a variety of special guests will have a Q&A after these select performances.

Student Matinees – 10:45 a.m., February 21- 22, and March 1.

Center Theatre Group partners with local educators to host students from the greater Los Angeles area for select performances across its three theatres, the Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, and Kirk Douglas Theatre. The goal is to collaborate with classroom teachers to provide young people access to high-quality, live professional theatre as a core part of their basic education, and to help them make meaningful connections between art and their lives. For more information about Student Matinees, visit CenterTheatreGroup.org/StudentMatinees.

American Express Card Member Performance – 8 p.m., February 23.

As American Express is the official card of Center Theatre Group, card members have access to exclusive offers including Card Member Performance opportunities. For “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord,” drink tickets will be given for the 8 p.m. performance on February 23. For more information about American Express offerings, visit CenterTheatreGroup.org/Amex.

L.A. Theatre Community Night – 8 p.m., February 28.

Los Angeles County theatre community members are invited to a special Los Angeles Theatre Community Night to support and celebrate “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord.” Kristina will be hosting a post-show reception and discussion about the creation of her one-woman show immediately following the performance. A special offer for $20 (regularly $30-55) is available when code LATHEATRE is used.

ACCESS Performance – 2 p.m., March 11,.

Center Theatre Group’s ACCESS program is committed to accessibility for all audiences. CTG offers a number of services to accommodate persons requiring mobility, vision, and hearing access. One Saturday matinee for every mainstage Center Theatre Group production is designated as an ACCESS performance. These performances are designed for patrons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and/or have low vision. ACCESS performances offer American Sign Language interpretation, Open Captioning and Audio Description. For more information on the ACCESS program visit CenterTheatreGroup.org/Access.

About “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord”

In “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord,” on day three of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wong began sewing masks out of old bed sheets and bra straps on her Hello Kitty sewing machine. Before long, she was leading the Auntie Sewing Squad, a work-from-home sweatshop of hundreds of volunteers — including children and her own mother — to fix the U.S. public health care system while in quarantine. It was a feminist care utopia forming in the midst of crisis — or possibly a mutual aid doomsday cult. This Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Lortel Award-winning Pulitzer Finalist and recently the recipient of En Garde Arts the Joan D. Firestone Commissioning Award invites the audience in on Wong’s work building community in isolation, while reflecting on what we’ve been through and imagining what we want to become.

Tickets for “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord” are currently on sale and start at $30. They are available through CenterTheatreGroup.org, Audience Services at (213) 628-2772 or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Offices (at the Ahmanson Theatre) at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012 or at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (open 2 hours prior to curtain) at 9820 Washington Blvd. in Culver City 90232. Performances run Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.