Yellow Fever (play)

Yellow Fever

Written by| R. A. Shiomi
Characters| Sam Shikaze
Date premiered| 1 December 1982[1]
Place premiered| Pan Asian Repertory
New York, New York[1]
Original language| English
Subject| Japanese Canadian Culture
Genre| Comedy, Mystery, Parody
Setting| Powell Street in Vancouver, CAN in the early 1970s

Yellow Fever is a play by R. A. Shiomi, which takes place on Powell Street in Japantown, Vancouver, a gathering place for the local Japanese-Canadian culture. Set in the 1970s, the Sam Spade-like main character, Sam Shikaze, must work to unravel the mysteries that surround him.[2] First produced by the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre in 1982, it received positive reviews[2] and had a successful run off-Broadway.

## Plot summary

[edit]

Sam Shikaze, a smooth private eye, narrates his own story about what happened when he was hired to find the missing Cherry Blossom Queen. He is soon trapped in a web of racism and political intrigue that seems to lead back to the Hong Kong tongs. Chuck Chan is a lawyer who tried to help solve the case, while Nancy Wing is a beautiful reporter who is searching for a story. Captain Kadota, an old friend of Sam's, offers his aid as a member of the police force, although Sam and Kadota do not see eye-to-eye on politics.

Characters and actors in the premier production
[1]

* Sam Shikaze (Donald Li)
* Rosie (Carol Honda)
* Goldberg (James Jenner)
* Chuck Chan (Henry Yuk)
* Nancy Wing (Freda Foh Shen)
* Sergeant Mackenzie (Jeffrey Spolan)
* Capt. Kenji Kadota (Ernest Abuba)
* Superintendent Jameson (James Jenner)

Presented by the Pan Asian Repertory Theater:

* Raul Aranasm, stage director
* Tisa Chang, artistic director
* Susan Socolowski, administrative director

## Awards and honors

[edit]

* 1982: Bay Area Theater Circle Critics Award
* 1982: "Bernie" for new play from the San Francisco Chronicle
* 1983: Obie Award to Ernest Abuba for performance[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Gussow, Mel. "Yellow fever." The New York Times 132 (2 December 1982): 24(N) pC21(L). General Reference Center Gold. Gale.
2. ^ a b Oliver, Edith. "Rosie's cafe." The New Yorker 63.n36 (26 October 1987): 130(1). General Reference Center Gold. Gale.
3. ^ "OBIE AWARDS PRESENTED". The New York Times. 24 May 1983. ISSN 0362-4331.

## External links

[edit]

* http://www.panasianrep.org
* http://www.panasianrep.org/panasian/pastplays.htm
* http://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/02/theater/theater-yellow-fever-by-the-pan-asian-rep.html

* v
* t
* e

Canada–Japan relations

Diplomatic posts|

* Embassy of Canada, Tokyo
* Ambassadors of Canada to Japan
* Embassy of Japan, Ottawa

Diplomacy|

* North American Task Force
* Japanese Instrument of Surrender

Incidents|

* Internment of Japanese Canadians
* 1985 Narita International Airport bombing

Related|

* John Powles
* Canadian Academy
* Canadian International School (Tokyo)
* Columbia International School
* Montreal Hoshuko School
* Toronto Japanese School

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template