julia izumi

Tonight we welcome Murasaki Shikibu in conversation to kick off the book launch of The Tale of Genji, one of the first novels ever written. Like, in the whole world. Granted, the event is over 1000 years late, but to make up for lost time, Lady Murasaki has a lot to say. If you’re lucky, she might even talk about the book. She will take questions and give autographs following the discussion. Priority seating with book purchase.

Miku wants to be a god. Ephraim wants to be an Olympian. Grandma wants to remember. And Shara wants people to just include him in the conversation, you know? But what do the gods want? What do beings who have everything in the world want? miku, and the gods is an epic and small adventure that braids friendship, death, and power beyond what one could ever desire.

Illy and Neel fall in love and Mora is so upset she decides to go on a journey to find her birth mother. Meanwhile, Neel discovers he’s tone-deaf and decides to go on a journey to find himself. Meanwhile, Illy doesn't go on a journey because she's bought a part of the sky, so what more does she need? Meanwhile Elinore is in jail and Cam is melting . . .? A farcical tragedy that questions the destructive nature of the American need for identity, while trying to wade through the murky waters of Asian-American-ness.

Tonight we welcome Akira Kurosawa, the acclaimed filmmaker, who will give us an exclusive peek into his brilliant mind and the thrilling world of his movies. But, you know, it’s so weird, every time he talks about his films, it kinda sounds like he’s talking about yogurt? Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (With Live & Active Cultures!) is a fantastical lecture/performance hybrid about identity, cultural imperialism, and “healthy” consuming.

A pair of people, one older, one younger, as often is the case. They grow up together, they rely on each other, which is necessary when your Mother has a very, very demanding job. Sometimes they fight, sometimes they don’t. And when it seems it may be this way forever, in comes a little Poison. And then they grow apart. And grow back together. And then apart again. Just a story like any other. Sort of.

The Little Mermaid is Hans Christian Andersen’s most beloved and well-known fairy tale, which is why it’s not the story our friend, Dolan, is going to tell you today. No, he’s going to tell you the story about a Little Rain Cloud who falls in love with a human. They are not the same story at all, he swears.

In 1945 Japan, right before World War II comes to an end, the Tazwa family receives word that the patriarch has died overseas in Manchuria, but his bones are not sent home. The local town take this to mean he has done something dishonorable so Atsuko, second daughter of the family, decides to go to Manchuria alone and find her father’s bones so she can clear her family’s name and properly bury him. Inspired by a true story from the playwright's family history, (An Audio Guide for) Unsung Snails and Heroes is an epic yet personal tale about discovering truth and discovering self.

Welcome to Bunny Isle, home to the happiest bunnies! And when they’re at their happiest moment in life they do the only logical thing: they end it. Speaking of life, pop superstar bunny, Mayda, loves hers. So when her fiance, Duane, proposes to be crushed by the weight of two tons of carrots together at their wedding, she has very, very last minute regrets, hops out of the way, and causes a Rabbit Revolution. In Hot Cross Buns, a twisted new musical, Mayda is forced to confront the meaning of life and what’s worth fighting for. Nothing fluffy about it.

In May of 2001, Kim Jong-nam, who was the heir apparent to Kim Jong-il, was caught sneaking into Japan with a fake passport because he wanted to go to Tokyo Disneyland. Also in 2001, Princess Masako of Japan was pregnant with someone who could not be the heir to the Japanese throne because she was a girl. This was the beginning of both their downfalls. Where Dynasties Come True... interweaves two souls who unknowingly are trapped in the American Dream.

Four people who are not quite friends are led to a stranger’s apartment by the same enigmatic therapist. When the owner, a very old Japanese lady, arrives, she traps them until she gets what she wants: a friend. Chaos ensues as the four struggle to meet her demands and in the process understand human connection. (Oh, and by the way, the old lady has a gun.)