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Peace On Your Wings – An Inspirational Musical

By THIRSTY

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Peace On Your Wings is a new musical set in 1950s post-war Japan that was inspired by the real-life story of Sadako Sasaki.

After hearing the legend that a person will be granted one wish if they fold 1,000 paper cranes, Sadako Sasaki and her friends began making hundreds of origami birds out of needle wrappings, scraps and any other paper they could find. Sadako was two years old and a healthy active child when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. She and her mother ran through the black rain to safety without so much as a scratch. However, Sadako was diagnosed with Leukemia resulting from radiation at age eleven and died at age 12. Sadako's life has come to symbolize peace and her death inspired a youth movement to have a Hiroshima memorial built in honor of the children who died.

The musical follows the lives of middle school students in Hiroshima. When one of them falls seriously ill, the children's lives and their tenuous bonds with each other seem to unravel. But one girl's struggle and dreams for a better tomorrow teach the children and the world about courage, love and peace. The play's original musical score, composed by Ohana Arts Artistic and Executive Director, Jennifer Taira, with lyrics by Ohana Arts Associate Artistic Director, Laurie Rubin, combines modern pop with Japanese influences to create a unique, uplifting and inspiring show that premiered in Hawaii in November 2014.

Peace On Your Wings makes its North American premiere in Los Angeles, presented by the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center and Ohana Arts, on September 18 and 19, 2015, just days before International Peace Day (September 21) that commemorates the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

 

From Peace On Your Wings (credit: Mark Orbito)

 

Links:

Ohana Arts
Japanese American Cultural & Community Center