CATS’ “Snow falling on Cedars” to debut in March

Snow Falling on Cedars
A Play adapted by Kevin McKeon
Based on the best-selling novel by David Guterson.
March 18 – April 20, 2010
Nevada Theatre
401 Broad Street
Nevada City, California

“A gripping story of enduring love, cultural conflicts, and the search for truth”

The Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra (CATS), a multicultural theater company in the Sierra Foothills of Nevada City, is dedicated to promoting diversity in the arts, opens its 16th season with Snow Falling on Cedars, a play adapted by Kevin McKeon and based on the best-selling novel by David Guterson.

This compelling drama begins with the discovery of the body of a local fisherman tangled in his net, and a Japanese-American fisherman is arrested for his murder. For the residents of an island in the Pacific Northwest, the wartime internment of the Japanese has left a bitter legacy, and the trial of Kabuo Miyamoto polarizes the community even further.

A white newspaperman may hold the key to the accused man’s guilt or innocence. But Ishmael Chambers’ sense of right and wrong is clouded by his enduring love for Kabuo’s wife, Hatsue. Their biracial romance as children had been destroyed by fear and cultural prejudices. Still wounded, Ishmael must conquer his feelings before simmering pressures from all sides upend the scales of justice and tear the community apart.

Based on the 1994 best-selling novel and winner of the 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, Snow Falling on Cedars, the play, premiered at Book-it Repertory Theatre in Seattle in 2007. Prior to the stage adaptation, it was made into a movie in 1999, which was directed by Scott Hicks and starred Ethan Hawke and Youki Kudoh. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. CATS is proud to be the premier theatre company in California to produce this show on the Nevada Theatre stage, and it’s a privilege to have Mr. McKeon, the playwright, as its director.

The Nevada County Superintendent of Schools (NCSOS) has chosen the book as its “Nevada County Reads” for 2010 for high school students, and festivities and events are being planned by NCSOS to promote the book.

The Wednesday, March 20, 8:00 p.m., show is a benefit for Friends of the Nevada County Libraries. Tickets to the benefit may be purchased at any western Nevada County library branch or by calling 530-265-1407. For more information on the benefit, please contact friends@ncfol.org.

The cast of Snow Falling on Cedars includes Tucker Braga, Lyra Dominguez, Vann Dart, Ron Sasaki, Tucker Braga, Jed Dixon, Scott Young, Darryl Stines, Andrew Kerr, Diane Fetterly, Lisa Moon, Kerri Fulton, Allison Chan, Jez Freeman, John Bush, and Virgil Wong. These 15 cast members portray an ensemble of 44 roles. With Mr. McKeon at the helm, CATS is embarking on a new theatre art form of bringing great literature to the stage, where narration and dialog are seamlessly woven into the context of the scene.

Tickets to Snow Falling on Cedars are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com and at local outlets. In Grass Valley, tickets are available at the Book Seller and the Briar Patch Coop. In Nevada City, tickets are available at Gold Mountain and at the Nevada City Postal Company.

Contact info@catsweb.org or 530-265-2990 for gift certificates and groups of 10 or more. Visit www.catsweb.org for a listing of detailed performance dates and times.

Submitted by,
Jeannie Wood
Executive Director
Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra (CATS)