Photo Flash: First Look at BPA's SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS, Opening Tonight

Against the backdrop of an America torn by World War II, cultures and communities clash when a Japanese American islander is accused of murder. This hauntingly lyrical saga-adapted from David Guterson's acclaimed story of mystery, love, and identity-deftly shifts from courtroom to strawberry fields to bloody battlefront, digging for hard truths buried in a forgotten history. Set in 1954 in a Puget Sound community divided among fishermen and farmers, whites and Japanese, SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS is at once a courtroom drama, a mystery, a love story, and, in flashbacks, a social history freighted with the angry residue of World War II and the exclusion of Japanese Americans. SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS appears at BPA tonight, March 13 - 29, 2015. Scroll down for a first look at the cast onstage!

The exclusion began on Bainbridge Island on March 30, 1942, when 227 men, women and children - two-thirds of them American citizens - were removed from their homes by U.S. Army soldiers and sent to relocation camps in the California desert. While their departure was mourned by many of their neighbors, not all welcomed their return after the war. The exclusion and its aftermath thus form a crucial part of the Island's history as well as a reminder of the ongoing need for diversity, justice, and vigilant protection of our civil and constitutional rights.

Director Kate Carruthers, whose BPA directing credits include The Kentucky Cycle, Distracted, Private Eyes, Arcadia, The Grapes of Wrath, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, More Fun Than Bowling, Anton in Show Business, Art and The Philadelphia Story, says "If we don't repeat these stories, we forget. The theatre is where stories are meant to be shared, and the best theatre grows out of the experiences of the originating community."

Carruthers leads a stellar cast, including Craig Peterson, Ruth Yeo-Peterman, Tim Takechi, Tell Schreiber, Sam McJunkin, Anthony Gasbarri, Eva Burgeson, Shirley Oliver, Victoria Brown, Rob Burke, Austin Bennett, Barbara Wells ten Hove, Matt Eldridge, Christopher Wong, and Rowan Lanning.

SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS appears at BPA tonight, March 13 - 29, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. plus Sundays at 3:00 p.m. and an Industry Night performance on Monday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. A special Pay-What-You-Can Preview will be held Thursday, March 12 at7:30 p.m., and the Opening Night Reception is Friday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, $27 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $19 for students, youth, military, and teachers, may be purchased online at www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org, by phone at 206.842.8569 or in person at BPA, 200 Madison Avenue North, Bainbridge Island. BPA Box Office hours are 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and one hour prior to each performance.

Photo Credit: Kim Scott-Olson