No-No Boy 2018 - Articles Page 26

Set after World War II as Japanese Americans return to the West Coast, NO-NO BOY follows Ichiro Yamada, who struggles to reconnect with the Seattle community, after taking a bold stance on questions of allegiance. NO-NO BOY received critical acclaimed when it was presented in 2014 by Pan Asian Rep, and returned to NYC in 2016 prior to embarking on a national tour where the play received rave reviews in Washington, D.C.

The limited run of NO-NO BOY is running in tandem with the Day of Remembrance (DOR), a day commemorating the Japanese American internment during World War II. Events in numerous U.S. States are held on or near February 19, the day in 1942 that Executive Order 9066 was signed, requiring internment of all Americans of Japanese ancestry.

Ken Narasaki stated, "Even today, the term ["No-No Boy"] can spark bitter explosions amongst people who remain angry about the kinds of real life-or-death decisions they and their generation were forced to make."

John Stoltenberg of DC Metro Theater Arts says: "No-No Boy is an extraordinary and essential play. It's about what happened to innocent people when this country demonized and incarcerated Japanese Americans during World War II. To witness it now-as anti-Muslim rumblings are being trumped up to a roar...I can only urge everyone who cares about how theater connects to this country's past and future to catch Pan Asian Rep's No-No Boy wherever whenever you can."