text: Peace On Your Wings - A New Musical by Ohana Arts — Kickstarter
  Sacramento premiere of a new musical inspired by the life of Sadako Sasaki and her thousand paper cranes.
  113 backers pledged $32,110 to help bring this project to life.
  Sacramento, CA Musical
  Click to view photos from the October 2017 San Jose performances!
  Music by Jenny Taira, Lyrics by Laurie Rubin
  Directed by Cari Taira
  Choreography by Danielle Bensky
  "Peace On Your Wings" is a new musical inspired by the story of Sadako and her One Thousand Paper Cranes. Set in post-war 1950′s Japan, it explores the lives of students at a middle school in Hiroshima as they face the terminal illness of their friend amidst their own adolescent drama. The musical score combines modern pop and Japanese influences to create a unique, uplifting, and inspiring show. Though the students have to grapple with issues of terminal illness and death at such a young age, they also learn the power of their own strength, and their ability to connect deeply with others who remain positive, focusing on living every precious moment of their lives to the fullest.
  "Peace On Your Wings" premiered with an all-youth cast from Hawaii in 2014 to enthusiastic and sold out audiences. The show subsequently toured the neighbor islands in the Spring of 2015, and gave it's Los Angeles premiere at the Aratani Theatre in partnership with the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center in September 2015. In 2016, "Peace On Your Wings" gave its New York premiere at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College in Lincoln Center, and in 2017 made its Bay-Area debut at the Cowell Theatre in San Francisco and the Hammer Theatre in San Jose. "Peace On Your Wings" has received numerous awards from the Honolulu City Council, the United Nations Association of Hawaii, and was given a proclamation by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, announcing August 6, 2015 official "Peace On Your Wings Day."
  In 2014, when we first premiered "Peace On Your Wings" in Honolulu, we never would have dreamed that it would reach so many audiences and provide a myriad of opportunities for youth to have a hands-on experience spreading the global message of peace through musical theatre. Over the past 3 years, we have already witnessed over 62 youth cast members have a transformative experience through performing and touring Sadako's story around the country. Our current cast hails from all over Northern California and Hawaii, and just completed a successful run of performances in San Francisco and a sold-out run in San Jose! Due to the overwhelming audience response and feedback, other communities in California are now rallying support to have the opportunity for the show to be presented in their community. We are therefore once again seeking your support in helping to continue Sadako's legacy by bringing the show to California's capitol, Sacramento!
  Funds donated towards this project will go towards securing the production's Sacramento premiere on March 29th-31st, 2018.
  We are so excited to invite all of you who are our friends, family, and supporters to play an active role in making this project possible. In order to cover all the costs of bringing this show to life in a new theater, we need your help. Some of our expenses include:
  Theater Rental & Technical Labor: $15,000
  Audio/Lighting Equipment Rental: $12,000
  Set/Prop Shipping & Construction: $3,000
  In 2020, Ohana Arts plans to once again produce a national tour of "Peace On Your Wings" in commemoration of the 75th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Our dream is to also bring the production to Hiroshima to pay homage to Sadako whose spirit lives on, and her classmates who came together to build the beautiful peace memorial in honor of Sadako. In addition, we will soon be in talks with schools, youth theater companies, and performing arts centers around the country to encourage them to perform the show to commemorate this important historical anniversary, and will launch a national PR campaign to recognize all the cities and organizations sharing Sadako's story through "Peace On Your Wings" as part of a larger movement.
  We at Ohana Arts are very excited about the journey ahead of us, and we look forward to sharing this experience with you all. We thank you in advance for becoming active participants in making this show a reality!
  Ohana Arts has been putting on productions for seven years, and also produced a full week line-up for our Fall Festival of Music in November 2011. Our team is garnering a substantial amount of experience in PR, marketing, scheduling, and organizing a successful theatrical team to put on high quality productions to be performed for enthusiastic audiences which are increasing in size every year. As founders of Ohana Arts, as well as teachers who work with the students in the program daily, we are always faced with challenges and their corresponding risks, such as worry about ensuring sizable audiences, ensuring our students can perform at a high artistic and musical standard given the short rehearsal periods we have, being capable of dealing with emergencies such as injured or ill students during production week, and a myriad of other worries and situations that come up. We have always pulled through these challenges and put on great shows. Our audiences often comment on how impressed they are that we can put on such a high caliber of performance in such a short amount of time, and we know it's because we have incredibly talented students, a fantastic faculty with a lot of theater experience, and loyal parents and board members who can all work together in making our shows a success. We believe that no matter what the risks are, we have the wherewithal to put up this production the way we have done these past seven years, and are excited to present this original musical with a brand new cast in three cities.
  Reward #1 plus "Ichi-go ichi-e" wristband.
  Rewards #1, #2, and a copy of the "Peace On Your Wings" Cast Recording.
  Paper Crane Circle
  Rewards #1, #2, #3, and a special invitation to a "Peace On Your Wings" dress rehearsal and opportunity to meet the artists during the week of March 26th, 2018.
  Ichi-go Ichi-e Circle
  Rewards #1, #2, #3, #4 and your choice of either 2 tickets to a "Peace On Your Wings" live performance of your choice with prime seating OR a quarter-page ad in the "Peace On Your Wings" playbill.
  Hiroshima Circle
  Rewards #1, #2, #3, #4, and your choice of either 2 tickets to a "Peace On Your Wings" live performance with prime seating, a "Peace On Your Wings" T-Shirt and Tote Bag OR a half-page ad in the "Peace On Your Wings" playbill.
  Bamboo Class Circle
  Rewards #1, #2, #3, #4, 2 tickets to a "Peace On Your Wings" live performance of your choice with prime seating, a "Peace On Your Wings" T-Shirt, Tote Bag, and a half-page ad in the "Peace On Your Wings" playbill.
  Masahiro Circle
  Rewards #1, #2, #3, #4, plus 5 tickets to a "Peace On Your Wings" live performance of your choice with prime seating; a "Peace On Your Wings" Official T-Shirt and Tote Bag, and a full-page ad in the "Peace On Your Wings" playbill.
  Sadako Circle
  Rewards #1, #2, #3, #4, plus 5 tickets to a "Peace On Your Wings" live performance of your choice with prime seating; a "Peace On Your Wings" Official T-Shirt and Tote Bag; a full-page ad in the "Peace On Your Wings" playbill; and a special invitation to a private dinner with the composer, lyricist, director, and choreographer.
  Sadako's Legacy Circle
  Rewards #1, #2, #3, #4, plus 5 tickets to a "Peace On Your Wings" live performance of your choice with prime seating; a "Peace On Your Wings" Official T-Shirt and Tote Bag; a full-page ad in the "Peace On Your Wings" playbill; logo placement on the cover of the playbill; special pre-show backstage pass and photo with the cast before a performance of your choice; a special invitation to a private dinner with the composer, lyricist, director, and choreographer; and a signed copy of the "Peace On Your Wings" libretto.