North American Premiere: Peace on Your Wings The Musical

Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19, 2015

Aratani Theatre
Japanese American Cultural and Community Center
244 S. San Pedro Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

“Peace On Your Wings” is an original musical inspired by the life of Sadako Sasaki, a 12-year old girl who died from leukemia resulting from radiation caused by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. She was made famous for having folded over a thousand paper cranes to fulfill an old Japanese legend that would grant one wish to anyone who would fold one thousand cranes. To this day she is a reminder of innocent victims of war, and her story of her thousand paper cranes have inspired a movement of folding cranes for peace. The musical juxtaposes Sadako’s true story and the events leading up to her death in November 1955 with a fictional story about a group of her friends who rallied support from around Japan to have a monument built in Sadako’s memory to honor the children victims of the atomic bomb.

The fictional elements of the musical provide an opportunity to weave in issues that affect children in middle school today. In creating a piece of theater that shares an important historical element, and keeping it relatable to current young audiences, “Peace On Your Wings” is able to effectively impart Sadako’s message, and the important contributions of a group of young students who were able to make a difference. It is because of Sadako’s young friends that people around the world know Sadako, and why the origami crane has become an internationally recognized symbol of peace.

Tickets start at $15.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.peaceonyourwings.com