Taking on the master

Leading Asian American theater company East West Players stages “Master Class,” Terrence McNally’s play about fiery opera diva Maria Callas, based on teaching she did at Juilliard at the end of her career. No longer in her prime and aware of it, the still-glamorous, haughty Callas teaches -- and terrifies -- her young student singers, while taking an emotional inward journey through her legendary life. McNally’s original Callas, Zoe Caldwell, played the role in the West Coast premiere at the Mark Taper Forum in 1995 and later won a Tony Award for her

Broadway performance. Here stage veteran Jeanne Sakata heads an all-Asian cast. Jules Aaron directs.

“Master Class,” David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 N. Judge John Aiso St., L.A. Opens 8 p.m. Wednesday. $35 and $40. Opening night, $65 (includes post-show reception). Pay what you can next Thursday. (213) 625-7000; www.eastwestplayers.org

* Runs 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays; ends March 4.