San Jose Stage Company Extends VALLEY OF THE HEART

On track to be one of San Jose Stage Company's biggest hits, the World Premiere of Valley of the Heart, in partnership with El Teatro Campesino, has been extended through March 20 with six additional performances for the second time in one month. Due to rave reviews and tremendous word of mouth resulting in sold out performances and few available seats, the show has been extended for one final week through March 20.

Additional Dates: Wednesday, March 16 @ 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, March 17 @ 7:30 p.m.; Friday, March 18 @ 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 19 @ 2:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 19 @ 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, March 20 @ 2:00 p.m.

Written and directed by Luis Valdez, this American love story is deeply rooted in the fertile Santa Clara Valley. The fight to maintain dignity, identity and family are at the heart of this sweeping epic that illustrates the ironic divide between America's ideals and its actions.

"I think of this play as a Kabuki/Corrido because it blends both cultures. I wanted to capture the multicultural fabric of life in this state," said Valdez. "There's a triangulation in the play - that if you take the Japanese-American experience and contrast it with the Mexican-American experience, what ties them together is the American experience," added Valdez.

On the heels of WWII, the Yamaguchis and the Montaños are two immigrant families struggling to provide a future for their American-born children after the Great Depression. The emotional stakes intensify when the families' oldest children, Teruko played by Melanie Arii Mah*, whose Off Broadway credits include 4,000 Miles at the Lincoln Center Theater, and Ben played by Lakin Valdez*, who recently starred in ACT's critically-acclaimed, Between Riverside and Crazy, fall in love. But the attack on Pearl Harbor and the government's Japanese-American internment camps threaten everything the families and young lovers have built and believe in. The imprisoned Japanese Americans confront issues ranging from patriotism, rebellion and heroism while Teruko and Ben fight to maintain their love in the face of fear, war, and separation.

Three-Year Partnership

The World Premiere of Valley of the Heart kicks off an exciting three-year partnership between San Jose Stage Company and El Teatro Campesino that combines the rich history of two venerable theatre companies and will result in future co-productions and programmatic collaborations.

Valley of the Heart Sponsors: Applied Materials, Alcario & Carmen Castellano, City of San Jose, Distracted Globe Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, SVCreates, Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

CAST: Lakin Valdez*, Melanie Arii Mah*, Randall Nakano*, Christina Chu, Gustavo Mellado*, Rosa Maria Escalante, Ryan Takemiya, Anthony Chan, Andres Ortiz, Christy Sandoval, TJ (Rafael) Toribio, Lee-Ron

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers