Brava Co-Presents
Pacific Overtures, produced by Kunoichi Productions, co-produced by Brava! For Women in the Arts and Theatre of Yugen
May 30, 2025 -June 15, 2025
Wednesday-Saturday 7:30PM, Sundays 2:00PM
Kunoichi Productions, in partnership with Brava! For Women in the Arts and Theatre of Yugen, presents 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. Aesthetics informed by our connection to our cultural heritage form the cornerstone of the production, including the use of traditional Japanese theatrical forms such as noh, kyogen, and kabuki, but also ballet, modern dance, and contemporary visual art.
Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman (authors of Assassins) mix elements of Kabuki theatre with the conventions of the Broadway musical in Pacific Overtures, a highly original, inventive, powerful, educational and surprisingly humorous theatrical experience. Considered by many to be the artistic pinnacle of the legendary Sondheim/Prince collaborations, this exploration of culture and imperialism pushes the boundaries of musical theatre further than ever before.
Tickets are based off a sliding scale of $25-$75 *fees not included
Thursday, May 29, 2025 7:30pm - PREVIEW Buy
Friday, May 30, 2025 7:30pm Buy
Saturday, May 31, 2025 7:30pm Buy
Sunday, June 1, 2025 2:00pm Buy
Wednesday, June 4, 2025 7:30pm Buy
Thursday, June 5, 2025 7:30pm Buy
Friday, June 6, 2025 7:30pm Buy
Saturday, June 7, 2025 7:30pm Buy
Sunday, June 8, 2025 2:00pm Buy
Wednesday, June 11, 2025 7:30pm Buy
Thursday, June 12, 2025 7:30pm Buy
Friday, June 13, 2025 7:30pm Buy
Saturday, June 14, 2025 7:30pm Buy
Sunday, June 15, 2025 2:00pm Buy
Commodore Matthew Perry's 1853 mission to open trade relations with isolationist Japan through gunboat diplomacy forges an unlikely friendship between the samurai, Kayama, and the Americanized fisherman, Manjiro. Kayama and Manjiro – and all of Japanese society – must face the wave of Westernization that follows.
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.
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