San Jose Stage

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Valley of the Heart

by Luis Valdez

World Premiere

San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle

Best Production 2016

A fight to maintain dignity, identity and family

On the heels of WWII, the Yamaguchis and the Montanos 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 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.

Cast


 Lakin Valdez*

Melanie Arii Mah*

Randall Nakano*

Christina Chu

Gustavo Mellado*

Rosa Maria Escalante

Ryan Takemiya 

Anthony Chan

Andres Ortiz 

Christy Sandoval

Rafael Toribio

Lee-Ron