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 jo urney about California&rsquo\;s Japantowns featuring nostalgic Japanese an d American songs\, will have its world premiere in conjunction with the 10 0th 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\ nat the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCC CNC) in San Francisco.\n\nProduced by the Los Angeles-based Grateful Crane Ensemble\, and presented by JCCCNC\, &ldquo\;Nihonmachi: The Place to Be& rdquo\; is written by San Francisco native Soji Kashiwagi\, (&ldquo\;The C amp Dance: The Music &amp\; The Memories&rdquo\;)\, directed by Academy Aw ard winner Chris Tashima (&ldquo\;Visas and Virtue&rdquo\;)\, with musical direction by Scott Nagatani.\n\n&ldquo\;The JCCCNC is pleased to present this world premiere in celebration of San Francisco&rsquo\;s Japantown&rsq uo\;s 100th anniversary. It&rsquo\;s a wonderful way for the entire commu nity to gather\, celebrate\, reminisce and reflect upon what makes our Jap antowns and memories of our Japantowns so important\,&rdquo\; said Paul Os aki\, JCCCNC Executive Director.\n\nFunded by a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP)\, as part of the Birth o f A Community Grant\, the two-act show tells the fictional story of Alan I wata\, a tired\, burned-out\, third generation manju maker who is shutting down his family business after 99 years in Nihonmachi (Japantown). But j ust before he closes his doors for good\, the spirit of his Issei grandfat her returns and takes Alan on a journey back some 77 years to Nihonmachi t he way it used to be.\n\n&ldquo\;And along the way\,&rdquo\; said playwrig ht Kashiwagi\, &ldquo\;Our Sansei character meets his feisty Issei grandmo ther\, sees his family business through the Great Depression\, the war yea rs in camp\, resettlement after camp\, redevelopment in the 50&rsquo\;s an d 60&rsquo\;s\, the Asian American Movement of the 70&rsquo\;s and the Red ress Movement in the 80s.&rdquo\;\n\nBy learning his family history\, said Kashiwagi\, Alan realizes the tremendous sacrifices and challenges his fa mily overcame to keep the family business alive\, and in the end he decide s it&rsquo\;s well worth the extra effort to work one more year so he and the community can celebrate 100 years of manju together.\n \n&ldquo\;Our s how tells a Nihonmachi story through the eyes of the Japanese American man ju-ya family\,&rdquo\; said Kashiwagi. &ldquo\;If you look at our three r emaining Japantowns\, the one business that has lasted 100 years or more i s the manju-ya\, so that&rsquo\;s why I decided to focus our story around this manju family.&rdquo\;\n\nSimilar in format to the Grateful Crane Ense mble&rsquo\;s hit touring show\, &ldquo\;Camp Dance\,&rdquo\; classic Japa nese and American songs are interspersed throughout this show including &l dquo\;Oboro Zukiyo\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;Sumida Gawa\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;Jinsei Gekijo\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;Mennai Chidori\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;Don&rsquo\;t Fen ce Me In\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;Night and Day\,&rdquo\; and &ldquo\;Koko ni Sac hiari\,&rdquo\; to name a few. Also included is a medley of songs in trib ute 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\,&rdqu o\; said Kashiwagi. &ldquo\;For the Nisei\, the Japanese songs especially will bring back memories of their Issei parents.&rdquo\;\n\n&ldquo\;For t he Sansei\, these songs are also very emotional because they remember hear ing their grandparent or parent singing them as they were growing up. And many of the songs\, especially those by Misora Hibari\, gave our communit y strength and hope and helped get us through some very difficult times th roughout our history.&rdquo\;\n\nThe seven-member cast for the show includ es Yoko Ibuki\, Haruye Ioka\, Keiko Kawashima\, Kurt Kuniyoshi\, Merv Maru yama\, Helen Ota and Ping Wu. Musicians include Scott Nagatani on piano\, Danny 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 Sa n Francisco&rsquo\;s Japantown. Tickets are $25 general admission\, $20 f or seniors and students\, and $15 for groups of 15 or more. For tickets a nd information\, call the JCCCNC at 415.567.5505.\n\nAbout CCLPEP\nThe Cal ifornia Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP) was created in 1 999 as the result of the passage of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Act (A.B.1914 and A.B. 1915) sponsored by Assemblymember Mike Ho nda. The legislation creates the California Civil Liberties Public Educati on Program\, (CCLPEP). Its purpose is to provide competitive grants for pu blic educational activities and the development of educational materials t o ensure that the events surrounding the exclusion\, forced removal and in carceration of civilians and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestr y will be remembered and so that causes and circumstances of this and simi lar events may be illuminated and understood. Since its inception the CCL PEP has funded nearly 200 projects related to the Japanese American experi ence during World War II.\n\nAbout JCCCNC\nEnvisioned by the Japanese Amer ican community\, JCCCNC will be an everlasting foundation of our Japanese American ancestry\, cultural heritage\, histories and traditions. The JCCC NC strives to meet the evolving needs of the Japanese American community t hrough programs\, affordable services and administrative support and facil ities for other local service organizations. The JCCCNC is a 501(c)(3) no n-profit community center based in San Francisco.\n\n# # # 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