Feb. 21-Mar. 2: Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths, Starring Joel de la Fuente, Plays Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s Tenney Theatre

Acclaimed Off Broadway drama HOLD THESE TRUTHS, Jeanne Sakata’s one-man show inspired by the true story of second generation Japanese-American Gordon Hirabayashi, travels to Hawaii for a limited engagement of six performances at Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s Tenney Theatre, February 21 – March 2, 2013.

Joel de la Fuente as Gordon Hirabayashi in Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths. Photo by Lia Chang

Directed by Lisa Rothe and starring actor Joel de la Fuente (the principal talent behind the original Epic Theatre Ensemble New York production in October 2012), the show is presented by producer/actor Daniel Dae Kim and Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY). The production is dedicated to the memory of the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye, an American hero who was directly involved by the themes of the play. Proceeds will support the non-profit theatre and drama education programs of HTY.

OPENING NIGHT Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. The show continues Friday February 22 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, February 23 at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday February 24 at 3:00 p.m.; Thursday February 28 at 7:30 p.m.; and CLOSES on Saturday, March 2 at 8:00 p.m.

General admission is $20 for adults; $15 for students/seniors; limited premium seating available for $30. Tickets may be ordered online atwww.htyweb.org or by calling HTY at (808) 839-9885.

HOLD THESE TRUTHS is set in Seattle during World War II, where Hirabayashi, a University of Washington student, is agonizing over U.S. government orders to forcibly remove and mass incarcerate all people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast. As he fights to reconcile his country’s betrayal with his passionate belief in the U.S. Constitution, Hirabayashi journeys toward a greater understanding of America’s triumphs-and a confrontation with its failures.

President Obama posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Hirabayashi (1918-2012), the nation’s highest civilian honor, in April 2012.

Joel de la Fuente, Jeanne Sakata and Daniel Dae Kim. Photo by Lia Chang

Daniel Dae Kim said, “I was deeply moved by HOLD THESE TRUTHS when I saw it in New York. Having lived in Hawaii for almost nine years now, I recognized how inspiring Gordon Hirabayashi’s story would be to our community. Given the islands’ unique connection to World War II through the 442nd Infantry and 100th Combat Battalion, bringing this production seemed to be a natural fit. It’s a beautifully written, expertly acted and directed piece that ultimately reaffirms what it means to be American. I’m honored to have the opportunity, with HTY, to bring it to Hawaii.”

Kim and de la Fuente have been close friends since their days together in the Graduate Acting Program at NYU. Kim said, “Not only is he a very dear friend, but a superb actor who’s deserving of all the success he’s enjoyed with HOLD THESE TRUTHS. Watching an artist of his caliber perform live is a great opportunity for people of Hawaii to see a world class performance.”

Reviewing the NY production, Japan Culture NYC said, “Hold These Truths is lighthearted, witty, and laugh-out-loud funny…Joel de la Fuente does a tremendous job as Gordon, endearing himself to the audience with Gordon’s exuberance…Both Sakata and de la Fuente emphasize the no-nonsense firmness within Gordon, whose deeply patriotic spirit and uncompromising faith allowed him to take on the US government as an American citizen.”

Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi (1918-2012) was an American sociologist best known for his resistance to the Japanese-American internment during World War II. He was one of the only three to openly defy it. After being convicted for curfew violation he was sentenced to 90 days in prison. The verdict was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Hirabayashi v. United States (1943). They unanimously ruled against him. He later spent a year in federal prison for refusing induction into the armed forces after they had sent out a racially discriminatory survey to Japanese-Americans demanding renunciation of allegiance to the emperor of Japan. In 1987, the U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit overturned his conviction from 1943. In 2012, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Hirabayashi for his principled stand against Japanese-American internment.

Joel de la Fuente (Photo by Lia Chang)

Joel de la Fuente’s (Gordon Hirabayashi) NY theatre credits include: Ivanov inIvanov; The Downtown Plays; Claudio in Beatrice and Benedict, with the NY Philharmonic;The Square; America Dreaming and Valentine in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. In 2005, Joel served as the Artistic Associate of the National Asian American Theater Company and also appeared in their world premiere of Cowboy v. Samurai, among others. Other theatrical credits include Vershinin in The Three Sisters; Ariel in The Tempest; Florizel in The Winter’s Tale; Chay Yew’s Red and Liu Mengmei in The Peony Pavilion. On television, Joel has spent ten seasons in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” He was a series regular on the Fox drama, “Space: Above & Beyond;” and is recurring in the upcoming series “Hemlock Grove,” exclusively available on Netflix. On screen, he stars in Brief Reunion (Audience Choice Award Winner) and in the upcoming film,Forgetting The Girl. Additional film credits include: Personal Velocity; The Adjustment Bureau; The Happening; Heights; Return to Paradise and From Other Worlds. Joel’s essay on his experiences as an Asian American actor is published in Pyong Gap Min’s “Struggle for Ethnic Identity.”

Lisa Rothe

Lisa Rothe (Director). Recent Credits:Penelope (Playmakers Repertory Theatre); Ada (Center for Contemporary Opera). Directed and/or developed in NY: The Foundry, New Georges, Epic Theatre Ensemble, Lark Play Development Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST), 52nd Street Project, Naked Angels, New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater, BAM, Summer Play Festival (SPF), NYMF, Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival (Best Director), The Women’s Project, National Actors Theater, Keen Company (Keen Teens), Orchard Project, Voice & Vision, HERE, Dixon Place. Regionally: Synchronicity Theatre, Chautauqua Theatre, Vermont Stage Company, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Shakespeare Theatre, The New Harmony Project, Riverside Theatre, Seaside Shakespeare (Nantucket), among others. Director of Offsite Programs and Partnerships at the Lark Play Development Center.

Jeanne Sakata (Photo by Lia Chang)

Jeanne Sakata’s (Playwright) Hold These Truths had its world premiere in 2007 at East West Players, co-presented by the Japanese American National Museum, UCLA Department of Asian American Studies, and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. It was subsequently developed with the Epic Theatre Ensemble, the Lark Play Development Center, and the New York Theatre Workshop. It was presented in 2011 in Chicago with Silk Road Rising/Millennium Park, and is now part of the Library of Congress Playwrights Archive in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection in Washington DC. Jeanne is also a renowned actress whose many accolades include an LA Ovation Award for Best Lead Actress for Chay Yew’s Red at EWP, and a 2011 Outstanding Artist Award for career achievement by Los Angeles’ Asian Pacific American Friends of the Theatre.

Honolulu Theatre for Youth is Hawaii’s non-profit professional theatre company providing theatre and drama education programs that make a difference in the lives of Hawaii’s young people and families. Founded in 1955, HTY is recognized the world over as one of America’s most honored theatres.

Below are interviews with Hold These Truths‘ playwright Jeanne Sakata, star Joel de la Fuente and director Lisa Rothe.

Hold These Truths‘ playwright Jeanne Sakata talks about her inspiration to write Gordon Hirabayashi’s life story, how she did her research, why she chose the solo show format and what she hopes audiences will take away from de la Fuente’s performance.

Hold These Truths‘ star Joel de la Fuente talks about the challenges of playing 30+ characters and the impact playing Gordon Hirabayashi has had for him.

Director Lisa Rothe discusses how she first became involved with Hold These Truths, her history with Joel de la Fuente, how attending a Quaker meeting influenced her design and concept of the set, her prior knowledge of Gordon Hirabayashi, and her exposure to the internment camps.

Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.