BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//PYVOBJECT//NONSGML Version 1//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:events.uid.875@www.discovernikkei.org DTSTART:20060825T000000Z DTEND:20060826T000000Z DESCRIPTION:&ldquo\;Nihonmachi: The Place to Be\,&rdquo\; a new musical jou rney about California&rsquo\;s Japantowns featuring nostalgic Japanese and American songs\, will have its world premiere in conjunction with the 100 th anniversary of San Francisco&rsquo\;s Japantown on:\n\nFriday\, August 25\, 2006\, at 7:00 p.m. \nSaturday\, August 26\, 2006\, at 11:00 a.m.\n\n at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCC NC) in San Francisco.\n\nProduced by the Los Angeles-based Grateful Crane Ensemble\, and presented by JCCCNC\, &ldquo\;Nihonmachi: The Place to Be&r dquo\; is written by San Francisco native Soji Kashiwagi\, (&ldquo\;The Ca mp Dance: The Music &amp\; The Memories&rdquo\;)\, directed by Academy Awa rd winner Chris Tashima (&ldquo\;Visas and Virtue&rdquo\;)\, with musical direction by Scott Nagatani.\n\n&ldquo\;The JCCCNC is pleased to present t his world premiere in celebration of San Francisco&rsquo\;s Japantown&rsqu o\;s 100th anniversary. It&rsquo\;s a wonderful way for the entire commun ity to gather\, celebrate\, reminisce and reflect upon what makes our Japa ntowns and memories of our Japantowns so important\,&rdquo\; said Paul Osa ki\, JCCCNC Executive Director.\n\nFunded by a grant from the California C ivil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP)\, as part of the Birth of A Community Grant\, the two-act show tells the fictional story of Alan Iw ata\, a tired\, burned-out\, third generation manju maker who is shutting down his family business after 99 years in Nihonmachi (Japantown). But ju st before he closes his doors for good\, the spirit of his Issei grandfath er returns and takes Alan on a journey back some 77 years to Nihonmachi th e way it used to be.\n\n&ldquo\;And along the way\,&rdquo\; said playwrigh t Kashiwagi\, &ldquo\;Our Sansei character meets his feisty Issei grandmot her\, sees his family business through the Great Depression\, the war year s in camp\, resettlement after camp\, redevelopment in the 50&rsquo\;s and 60&rsquo\;s\, the Asian American Movement of the 70&rsquo\;s and the Redr ess Movement in the 80s.&rdquo\;\n\nBy learning his family history\, said Kashiwagi\, Alan realizes the tremendous sacrifices and challenges his fam ily overcame to keep the family business alive\, and in the end he decides it&rsquo\;s well worth the extra effort to work one more year so he and t he community can celebrate 100 years of manju together.\n \n&ldquo\;Our sh ow tells a Nihonmachi story through the eyes of the Japanese American manj u-ya family\,&rdquo\; said Kashiwagi. &ldquo\;If you look at our three re maining Japantowns\, the one business that has lasted 100 years or more is the manju-ya\, so that&rsquo\;s why I decided to focus our story around t his manju family.&rdquo\;\n\nSimilar in format to the Grateful Crane Ensem ble&rsquo\;s hit touring show\, &ldquo\;Camp Dance\,&rdquo\; classic Japan ese and American songs are interspersed throughout this show including &ld quo\;Oboro Zukiyo\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;Sumida Gawa\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;Jinsei G ekijo\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;Mennai Chidori\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;Don&rsquo\;t Fenc e Me In\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;Night and Day\,&rdquo\; and &ldquo\;Koko ni Sach iari\,&rdquo\; to name a few. Also included is a medley of songs in tribu te to the late Misora Hibari\, the enormously popular Japanese singer and actress.\n \n&ldquo\;All of the songs will trigger fond memories and will take our community back to a special time and place in their lives\,&rdquo \; said Kashiwagi. &ldquo\;For the Nisei\, the Japanese songs especially will bring back memories of their Issei parents.&rdquo\;\n\n&ldquo\;For th e Sansei\, these songs are also very emotional because they remember heari ng their grandparent or parent singing them as they were growing up. And many of the songs\, especially those by Misora Hibari\, gave our community strength and hope and helped get us through some very difficult times thr oughout our history.&rdquo\;\n\nThe seven-member cast for the show include s Yoko Ibuki\, Haruye Ioka\, Keiko Kawashima\, Kurt Kuniyoshi\, Merv Maruy ama\, Helen Ota and Ping Wu. Musicians include Scott Nagatani on piano\, D anny Yamamoto (of Hiroshima) on drums and San Francisco-based Sansei Mark Izu on bass and sho.\n\nThe JCCCNC is located at 1840 Sutter Street in San Francisco&rsquo\;s Japantown. Tickets are $25 general admission\, $20 fo r seniors and students\, and $15 for groups of 15 or more. For tickets an d information\, call the JCCCNC at 415.567.5505.\n\nAbout CCLPEP\nThe Cali fornia Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP) was created in 19 99 as the result of the passage of the California Civil Liberties Public E ducation Act (A.B.1914 and A.B. 1915) sponsored by Assemblymember Mike Hon da. The legislation creates the California Civil Liberties Public Educatio n Program\, (CCLPEP). Its purpose is to provide competitive grants for pub lic educational activities and the development of educational materials to ensure that the events surrounding the exclusion\, forced removal and inc arceration of civilians and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry will be remembered and so that causes and circumstances of this and simil ar events may be illuminated and understood. Since its inception the CCLP EP has funded nearly 200 projects related to the Japanese American experie nce during World War II.\n\nAbout JCCCNC\nEnvisioned by the Japanese Ameri can community\, JCCCNC will be an everlasting foundation of our Japanese A merican ancestry\, cultural heritage\, histories and traditions. The JCCCN C strives to meet the evolving needs of the Japanese American community th rough programs\, affordable services and administrative support and facili ties for other local service organizations. The JCCCNC is a 501(c)(3) non -profit community center based in San Francisco.\n\n# # # DTSTAMP:20240416T181959Z SUMMARY:"NIHONMACHI: THE PLACE TO BE" Musical to Premiere in San Francisco on August 25-26 URL:/en/events/2006/08/25/nihonmachi-the-place-to-be-musical-to-premiere/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR