CPAC Mounts Tragic Okinawa Wartime Story
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Del.icio.usCastle Performing Arts Center students will tell the story of courage, strength and perseverance in the Hawaii premiere of Okinawa 1945, set for 7 p.m. May 12 at Hawaii Okinawa Center in Waipio.
The free performance is open to the public as a gift to the community, but donations are always welcome.
Rich in education, culture and history, Okinawa 1945 relates the tragic story of the Himeyuri nurses who were sent into one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. In the end, 136 of the 240 nurses and teachers perished along with approximately one third of Okinawa’s entire population.
Following the premiere, CPAC will stage it at home in Ron Bright Theatre June 12-21 as a fundraiser. Tickets for the June shows cost $10 for adults, $8 for students, senior citizens and military. They can be purchased through www.showTix4U.com. Proceeds support the troupe’s trip - and European premiere of the play at the internationally renown Fringe Theatre Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland in August.
In preparation for this once-in-a-lifetime experience, the students have been studying Okinawan dance, clothing, music and history.
Written by San Francisco playwright Alice Shikina, the daughter of Okinawan immigrants, Okinawa 1945 developed after Shikina interviewed survivors of the experience.
The historical drama shows how peace in the Miyamoto household is shattered when their three teenage daughters are ordered by the Japanese military to tend to the wounded soldiers in the caves of Okinawa. Barely out of nursing school the girls witness the violence and brutality of war as their innocent lives are permanently transformed.
The production features Lisa Shimabukuro as the mother of the three daughters, who are portrayed by Akemi McColm, Kacy Lau, and Jayleina Mieko Tom. Also featured are Todd Ken Sato, J.K. Adam Canne, Chad Suetsu Tokunaga, Marlo Ito, Lee Nakasone, Gabriel Wright, and Dee Lazo Soliman.
It is directed by CPAC’s Karen Meyer.
For more information, call 233-5626.
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