A couple of weeks ago in San Jose, I caught the latest ‘docu-theater’ version of Defining Courage. It is an engaging, live, multi-platformed, high-value production which immerses one into the legacy of the Nisei segregated military units of World War II. With Los Angeles Emmy-Award winning ABC7 anchor David Ono narrating, buoyed by a live 6-person chorus and trio of musicians playing originally composed music by Chris Wade, the show takes one on a journey. By combining historic footage, recent interviews, and archived eye-witness interviews, along with fly-overhead footage of battlefield areas in France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, the stories create a compelling experience.
David Ono went researching in Europe and recorded interviews with French survivors in the town of Bruyeres where the Nisei soldiers rescued the Texas “Lost Battalion.” He recorded touching stories from people who were youths back then when they met the 100th Battalion soldiers from Hawai‘i. There are also human stories such as when David Ono finds on the actual battlefield area a Honolulu high school class ring only to find out later that the soldier who lost it died during the battle.
Ono has created a non-profit for the project and he is not getting paid for all his work on “Defining Courage”. He has been quoted as saying “I’m not going to make money on the backs of our heroes. No way.” And Ono is already quite busy with his regular full-time television journalism job which requires special projects.
The profits from ticket sales get immediately invested back into the show, which keeps evolving and being refined. One chapter that was added since the earlier versions is the inclusion of Nisei who served in the Pacific, in the Military Intelligence Service or MIS, and their role in the Battle of Okinawa.
Working closely with co-producer and director Jeff McIntyre, the show continues to expand. By the end of November, it will have played in Hawai‘i, San Jose, Los Angeles, and The Kennedy Center of Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. They are hoping to book performances in San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Denver, Chicago and Dallas or Houston, and in New Orleans at the World War II Museum.
It is a huge lift to re-start the show each time in a new city, so they rely on local community members to help find venues and sponsors and figure out the logistics of bringing the show to the new town.
The version which I saw had Kristi Yamaguchi in the audience. That particular show was presented by Story Boldly (an innovative theatrical company), the Japanese American National Museum, Outside In Theatre, and numerous local partners in the San Jose Japantown community such as the San Jose Japanese American Citizens League and the Japanese American Museum of San Jose among others. And yes, the NVC Foundation has been asked to help with the Seattle show.