Support Kunoichi Productions' Pacific Overtures

Kunoichi Productions, in partnership with Brava! For Women in the Arts and Theatre of Yugen, is working hard to present Pacific Overtures by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman. We explore this work as children of a diaspora, looking at how we connect to our heritage, using traditional Japanese theatrical forms such as noh, kyogen, and kabuki, as well as ballet, modern dance, and contemporary visual art. Directed by Bay Area local Nick Ishimaru, designed and choreographed by local Japanese and Japanese American artists, we present an all-Asian cast under the musical direction of Diana Lee.

Telling a tale of Commodore Matthew Perry's 1853 mission to open trade relations with isolationist Japan through gunboat diplomacy, Pacific Overtures explores how structures of power are dislodged and replaced by one another, be it in the name of modernity, imperialism, or survival. It presents a range of characters who see their lives upended in the face of global upheaval. The grandiose aesthetics of kabuki embellish the story in larger-than-life scope as the characters struggle to reconcile tradition with modernity, the world around them rapidly transforming through the inevitable ebb and flow of history.

This is the deep and rich story we want to share with you!!!

Due to some grant funding which we were expecting having fallen through, we are now fundraising to make up our shortfall.

Please help us to bring this beautiful show to you!