Kumu Kahua presents JIVE BOMBER CHRISTMAS (Nov11)

‘A Jive Bomber’s Christmas’ remembers a difficult time through song and dance

WHAT: A Jive Bomber’s Christmas
WHERE: Kumu Kahua Theatre, 46 Merchant St.
WHEN: Nov. 10-Dec. 10 (see full schedule below)
How much: Thursdays-Sundays, tickets range from $5-$20
INFO: 536-4441,www.kumukahua.org; box office open Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Kumu Kahua Theatre gets the holiday season off to a boogie woogie start with A Jive Bomber’s Christmas, a lively musical that tells a story of high spirits in the face of adversity.

Bringing together 1940s chestnuts—such as “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company C”—and original songs, A Jive Bomber’s Christmas takes the audience to an American concentration camp in a California desert. There, twentysomething Kei’s (Regina Lazano) brother goes off to join the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT). His earnest sister promises to do what she can to keep the other internees spirits up as Christmas approaches.

But with everyone in despair and roiling with political differences, she meets resistance. When slick zoot suiter, Jackson (Chevy Martinez)—nicknamed “The Jive Bomber”—suggests putting on a Christmas dance, the plot thickens.

Premiered in 1993, this work by California-based Sachiko and Dom Magwili has become a staple of Japanese-American theater, and somewhat of a holiday tradition at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

Many families in Hawai‘i can recount stories of grandaparents and great-grandparents being apprehended in the wake of Pearl Harbor and shipped to the mainland, to find themselves interned or packed onto trains for long, circuitous journeys.

And, of course, Hawai‘i was well represented in the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd RCT. The musical touches on the heroism of these units’ men, many of whom had been forcibly relocated to internment camps.

The Magwilis created the musical as an enduring testament to a period of U.S. history that is worth remembering. For Sachiko Magwili, how the 120,000 Japanese Americans—especially the thousands of soldiers who fought for their country—endured the hardship and loss during this time is astounding.

Cast of A Jivebomber’s Christmas
Thanh Apostolides, Jarod Kamamo Bailon, Nahe Bailon, Maka Bailon, Ron Encarnacion, Jessica Yuki Leolana Kauhane, Daren Kimura, Jenny Kimura, Regina Lozano, Mike Malone, Chevy Martinez, Christianne Michel, Royce Okazaki, Henry Zane Gulliver Williams

A JIVE BOMBER’S CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE
Thursday, Friday & Saturday 8pm: November 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 25, 26; December 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 2011
Sundays 2pm: November 13, 20, 27; December 4, 11, 2011
(No show Thursday, November 24, because of Thanksgiving)

Coming up at Kumu Kahua
In January, Kumu Kahua presents the world premiere of its theatrical adaptation of Lois-Ann Yamanaka’s book Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre. Kumu Kahua artistic director Harry Wong calls Yamanaka “one of Hawai‘i’s bravest writers,” recalling the controversy her first major work stirred in the islands, for its use of pidgin and frank portrayal of the issue of race in Hawai‘i.

“It’s a girls coming-of-age story, and it’s basically told through four different perspectives, centering around a single characeter,” explains Wong. “Nothing is being added or changed to Lois-Ann’s text. We’re using the poem, and staging it. The play makes physical those voices. I hope that it has an empowering effect, that it portrays these girls as taking control of their story. By the end they don’t grow up but they’ve gained self-knowledge.

ABOUT KUMU KAHUA THEATRE
Forty-year-old Kumu Kahua is the only theater group in the state that nurtures local playwrights, offering them a sounding board and venue, and telling Hawai‘i’s story through plays about these islands, its people, its cultures and contemporary life. Without Kumu Kahua, seminal works about Hawai‘i by Hawai‘i playwrights—such as Lee Cataluna’s Folks You Meet in Longs and Edward Sakamoto’s Aloha Las Vegas—would not have made it to the stage, and into people’s hearts. Founded in the early 1970s by University of Hawai‘i graduate students, Kumu Kahua has gained national and international recognition for its regional program.

With more than 200 plays to its credit, the theater’s artistic and technical experience attracts some of Hawai‘i’s most talented playwrights, actors, directors, designers and other theater artists. The audience at Kumu Kahua is treated to the unique experience of hearing their voice on stage and seeing their lives unfold in the action of the play.

Kumu Kahua productions are made possible with support from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, celebrating more than 30 years of culture and the arts in Hawai‘i, and the National Endowment for the Arts; The Annenberg Foundation; Paid for in part by the taxpayers of the City & County of Honolulu; the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts; and foundations, businesses and patrons.

Questions? Email



	Japanese American Resilience And 442nd Heroism Celebrated In Kumu Kahua’s Holiday Production ‘A Jive Bomber’s Christmas’ remembers a difficult time through song and dance WHAT: A Jive Bomber’s Christmas WHERE: Kumu Kahua Theatre, 46 Merchant St. WHEN: Nov. 10-Dec. 10 (see full schedule below) How much: Thursdays-Sundays, tickets range from $5-$20 INFO: 536-4441,www.kumukahua.org; box office open Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Kumu Kahua Theatre gets the holiday season off to a boogie woogie start with A Jive Bomber’s Christmas, a lively musical that tells a story of high spirits in the face of adversity. Bringing together 1940s chestnuts—such as “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company C”—and original songs, A Jive Bomber’s Christmas takes the audience to an American concentration camp in a California desert. There, twentysomething Kei’s (Regina Lazano) brother goes off to join the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT). His earnest sister promises to do what she can to keep the other internees spirits up as Christmas approaches. But with everyone in despair and roiling with political differences, she meets resistance. When slick zoot suiter, Jackson (Chevy Martinez)—nicknamed “The Jive Bomber”—suggests putting on a Christmas dance, the plot thickens. Premiered in 1993, this work by California-based Sachiko and Dom Magwili has become a staple of Japanese-American theater, and somewhat of a holiday tradition at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. Many families in Hawai‘i can recount stories of grandaparents and great-grandparents being apprehended in the wake of Pearl Harbor and shipped to the mainland, to find themselves interned or packed onto trains for long, circuitous journeys. And, of course, Hawai‘i was well represented in the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd RCT. The musical touches on the heroism of these units’ men, many of whom had been forcibly relocated to internment camps. The Magwilis created the musical as an enduring testament to a period of U.S. history that is worth remembering. For Sachiko Magwili, how the 120,000 Japanese Americans—especially the thousands of soldiers who fought for their country—endured the hardship and loss during this time is astounding. Cast of A Jivebomber’s Christmas Thanh Apostolides, Jarod Kamamo Bailon, Nahe Bailon, Maka Bailon, Ron Encarnacion, Jessica Yuki Leolana Kauhane, Daren Kimura, Jenny Kimura, Regina Lozano, Mike Malone, Chevy Martinez, Christianne Michel, Royce Okazaki, Henry Zane Gulliver Williams *A JIVE BOMBER’S CHRISTMAS* SCHEDULE Thursday, Friday & Saturday 8pm: November 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 25, 26; December 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 2011 Sundays 2pm: November 13, 20, 27; December 4, 11, 2011 (No show Thursday, November 24, because of Thanksgiving) Coming up at Kumu Kahua In January, Kumu Kahua presents the world premiere of its theatrical adaptation of Lois-Ann Yamanaka’s book Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre. Kumu Kahua artistic director Harry Wong calls Yamanaka “one of Hawai‘i’s bravest writers,” recalling the controversy her first major work stirred in the islands, for its use of pidgin and frank portrayal of the issue of race in Hawai‘i. “It’s a girls coming-of-age story, and it’s basically told through four different perspectives, centering around a single characeter,” explains Wong. “Nothing is being added or changed to Lois-Ann’s text. We’re using the poem, and staging it. The play makes physical those voices. I hope that it has an empowering effect, that it portrays these girls as taking control of their story. By the end they don’t grow up but they’ve gained self-knowledge. ABOUT KUMU KAHUA THEATRE Forty-year-old Kumu Kahua is the only theater group in the state that nurtures local playwrights, offering them a sounding board and venue, and telling Hawai‘i’s story through plays about these islands, its people, its cultures and contemporary life. Without Kumu Kahua, seminal works about Hawai‘i by Hawai‘i playwrights—such as Lee Cataluna’s Folks You Meet in Longs and Edward Sakamoto’s Aloha Las Vegas—would not have made it to the stage, and into people’s hearts. Founded in the early 1970s by University of Hawai‘i graduate students, Kumu Kahua has gained national and international recognition for its regional program. With more than 200 plays to its credit, the theater’s artistic and technical experience attracts some of Hawai‘i’s most talented playwrights, actors, directors, designers and other theater artists. The audience at Kumu Kahua is treated to the unique experience of hearing their voice on stage and seeing their lives unfold in the action of the play. Kumu Kahua productions are made possible with support from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, celebrating more than 30 years of culture and the arts in Hawai‘i, and the National Endowment for the Arts; The Annenberg Foundation; Paid for in part by the taxpayers of the City & County of Honolulu; the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts; and foundations, businesses and patrons. Home \| News \| Calendar \| Directory \| Plays \| Library/Storefront \| Timeline Copyright 2011, Roger W. Tang Questions? Email

Japanese American Resilience And 442nd Heroism Celebrated In Kumu Kahua’s Holiday Production