The form of this week’s column is new for me. Rather than focusing on individual Japanese Americans, it covers (or recovers) the unknown story of a pioneering theatrical drama, by the name of “Tondemonai — Never Happen!” It premiered in Los Angeles in May of 1970, and was the first commercially-produced play to dramatize the […]
THE GREAT UNKNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN GREAT: Early play took an unflinching look at the trauma of the wartime incarceration
May 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Asian American media group criticizes use of yellowface in ‘Cloud Atlas’
November 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — The Media Action Network for Asian Americans has released a statement criticizing the new Warner Brothers film, “Cloud Atlas,” which it said has been promoted as “artistically groundbreaking because its actors swap racial and sexual identities — as business-as-usual in its exclusion and offensive yellow-faced renditions of Asian people.” The multi-ethnic epic […]
THE KAERU KID: A small bite of the Big Apple
July 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
“When it’s 100 degrees in New York, it’s 72 in Los Angeles. When it’s 30 degrees in New York, in Los Angeles it’s still 72. However, there are six million interesting people in New York, and only 72 in Los Angeles.” — Neil Simon I love New York and try to visit at least once a […]
Management of San Francisco Japantown theater changes hands
July 7, 2011 by 1 Comment
The San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) announced on June 22 that the New People Cinema, located in San Francisco Japantown’s New People building, will become a permanent home to the film society. The SFFS has been searching for a permanent home for its yearlong showings as well as its two-week long San Francisco International Film […]
‘Love in American Times’ a merger of hearts
June 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Philip Kan Gotanda offers a modern look at the concept of matchmaking in his brilliant dark comedy, “Love in American Times,” which recently opened at the San Jose Repertory Theatre. Directed by Rick Lombardo, the play touches on issues of class and race in a highly entertaining manner. The story focuses on 70-year-old Jack Heller […]
‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ skillfully explores wartime prejudice
April 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The Japanese American concentration camps of World War II provide a compelling backdrop for the excellent theatrical production of “Snow Falling on Cedars.” Based on David Guterson’s 1994 best-selling novel, the play offers a potent mix of romance and whodunit, as well as an exploration of the issue of prejudice against […]
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