#ewp visionary awards 2018

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Jon Jon Briones - East West Players Visionary Awards 2018

East West Players 52nd Visionary Awards. IdeateTV host Jennifer Field interviews EWP honoree Jon Jon Briones. Jennifer gets Jon Jon to sing a little as well as gets a surprise shout out to him at the end of the video for Jon Jon and his receiving a visionary award. | 10 May 2018

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Congrats to Jon Jon Briones who will be receiving the 2018 East West Players Visionary Award at the East West Players (EWP) Annual Visionary Awards Dinner & Silent Auction at the Hilton Universal City tonight.

East West Players (EWP), the nation’s longest-running professional theater of color and the largest producing organization of Asian Pacific American artistic work is celebrating THE COMPANY WE KEEP, its 52nd Anniversary season with the Annual Visionary Awards Gala Benefit.

Lily Mariye, Suzy Nakamura and Wendy Chang/Dwight Stuart Youth Fund will also be honored. Recognizing the achievements of individuals who have raised the visibility of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through their craft, proceeds from the gala fundraiser  will benefit East West Players’ educational and artistic programs.

Actor Jon Jon Briones was born and raised in Quezon City, Philippines. At 9 years old he was sent to live at Santo Domingo convent as a boy soprano in the “Tiples of Santo Domingo” choir. This was to be his first formal training. In 1989, he joined the original London cast of Miss Saigon. Recently, he played the Engineer in the London 2014 revival (Olivier Award nominee, What’s One Stage Award winner) and its Broadway transfer (Drama Desk Award nominee, Theater Award winner). He has appeared in several other productions of Miss Saigon, among numerous additional stage credits. He has had the privilege of working with East West players in La Cage Aux Folles (Ovation Award nominee) and A Little Night Music. He was proudly involved in the pre-Broadway development of Allegiance at The Old Globe. Last month, Briones received raves for his chilling and brilliant portrayal as Modesto Cunanan on the television drama American Crime Story: Assassination of Gianni Versace.

Lia: Congratulations on your 2018 East West Players Visionary Award. What does receiving this award mean to you? Jon Jon: It’s always nice when you get compliments for your work but to be honored is totally different and very humbling. It really means a lot. It’s the highest form of “You’re alright”.

Lia: What shows have you performed in at East West Players? Jon Jon: My first show was A Little Night Music in 2012 and I played Fredrik Egerman. And then I did La Cage Aux Folles for them in 2016 and I played Georges.

Lia: How were you cast as Modesto Cunanan in “American Crime Story: Assassination of Gianni Versace.” Jon Jon: Darren Criss told me that when they started filming at the beginning of 2017, he and head writer Tom Rob Smith were talking about the role of Modesto Cunanan and they thought that I might be right for the part (they both saw me in Miss Saigon in London). They then started talking about me to the producers of the show. My agent contacted me about an audition that I have to tape because the audition was in LA and I was in NYC doing Miss Saigon. I taped my audition, sent it and as they say the rest is history.

Lia: How did you develop the character? Jon Jon: Research about Modesto on line did not yield a lot but reading Maureen Orth’s book and talking to her, discussing the character with writer Tom Rob Smith really helped me understand Modesto better. The two of them were a wealth of information.

Lia: How has your life or career changed since appearing on the show? Jon Jon: It’s a little better, I have to admit. Hopefully this will lead to better and complex roles not just for me but for other actors of Asian descent.

Lia: You were in the ensemble in the original production of Miss Saigon. What did it mean for you to lead the show on Broadway after all these years? Jon Jon: It meant so much to me. A couple of years ago I’ve accepted the fact that making my Broadway debut will not come into fruition because of my age and the lack of roles in shows for people like me. And I can’t seem to get cast in other Asian shows like The King and I. They probably think I’m not regal enough. I can’t blame them. I’m as blue collar looking as anyone out there. But when Cameron asked me if I wanted to do The Engineer on Broadway, I couldn’t believe it. The dream was not dead. And I made my Broadway debut at the age of 52.

Lia: Did you enjoy working in New York even though you are LA based? Jon Jon: We used to live in New York a few years ago and I just love the city! And everyday when I walk down the street on my way to the theatre, I get this overwhelming feeling of gratitude for living in the city and playing the lead in a Broadway show. Life was good!

Lia: How did you balance the stage and TV shooting schedule? Jon Jon: That was interesting and pretty cool. A few times I had to take the red eye after an evening performance in NYC, arrived in LA early morning, took a short nap and then get picked up for an early morning shoot. I filmed for a few days and then took a red eye back to New York after a late night shoot, arrived in my New York apartment to sleep for a few hours and then do 2 shows. And then repeat. I credit my agent for making it work.

Lia: Your entire family is in the business. Was “American Crime Story” the first time that you worked with your daughter, Isa Briones, on screen? Jon Jon: That was the first time I worked with my daughter and it was pretty cool.

Lia: You must be so proud of her LA Ovation Award for Featured Actress in a Musical for East West Players’ production of Next to Normal, which garnered the top awards. How was she cast in Hamilton? Jon Jon: We’re very proud of her! They really loved her even the first time she auditioned that they kept calling her back to work with her. Maybe it was a combination of her being a little young (18 at that time) or know where to put her but she finally booked the show after 7 months.

Lia: What’s next for you? Jon Jon: I’m hoping to announce something good soon. We’ll see.

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@carlinjames: Also, from last night’s EWP Gala. It was so, so good to reunite with one half of my @ACSFX fam. Definitely missing the other half 💙

#EastWestPlayers #VisionaryAwards  #Grateful #Actor #CunananFamily #ActorsLife #JonJonBriones #IsaBriones #FX #FilAms #ACSVersace 

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angryasianman: The incredible Jon Jon Briones accepts the Visionary Award from East West Players. #ewpgala

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carlinjames917: So, so nice to reunite with one half of my ACS VERSACE fam. Thinking about it, I’m easily the LEAST talented of the entire group. So blessed to share the screen with these two. • #EastWestPlayers #Gala #VisionaryAwards#AcsVersace #Grateful #Actors #TVFamily#CunananFamily #ActorsLife#JonJonBriones #IsaBriones#CarlinJames #Grateful #FX #RedCarpet#FilAms

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twinstalktheatre: @jonjonbriones getting a visionary award at #ewpgala52 This guy is Amazing! An immigrant. A new American. A Broadway star! And the nicest guy backstage. Thank you! @eastwestplayers#twinstalktheatre

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Showbiz Tonight: Jon Jon Briones receives Visionary Award by East West Players

After wowing audiences as The Engineer in Broadway’s Miss Saigon and gaining mainstream fans playing a Filipino character in the “AHS: The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” actor/singer Jon Jon Briones was awarded one of the most prestigious awards in the Asian American entertainment community. | 3 May 2018

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Honoring

“Soft Power” is produced by Center Theatre Group in association with East West Players (EWP).

On April 30, EWP will hold its 52nd anniversary Visionary Awards dinner and silent auction to recognize “the achievements of individuals who have raised the visibility of the Asian Pacific American community through their craft.”

Filipino American actor Jon Jon Briones is included in this year’s group of Visionary Award honorees.

Briones joined the original London cast of “Miss Saigon” in 1989 and went on to play the role of the Engineer in several countries, including the recent 2014 London revival and 2017–18 Broadway revival.

Credits with EWP include “La Cage Aux Folles” and “A Little Night Music.” Recent television credits include playing Modesto Cunanan, the father of Andrew Cunanan, the murderer of fashion designer Gianni Versace in “American Crime Story: Assassination of Gianni Versace.”

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Source

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@yongchavezLA: More Two of our best: Reggie Lee presenting the Visionary award to Jon Jon Briones. #PinoyPride

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@yongchavezLA: @JonJonBriones So proud of you, kapatid!

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Megan Johnson Briones and actors Isa Briones, Jon Jon Briones and Teo Briones arrive at the East West Players "The Company We Keep" 52nd Anniversary Visionary Awards Fundraiser Dinner and Silent Auction at the Hilton Universal City on April 30, 2018 in Universal City, California. 

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pacificrimvideo: The #cunananfamily of @ahsfx back together sans #andrewcunanan at the @eastwestplayers 52nd Visionary Awards honoring @jonjonbriones