Valley of the Heart
by Luis Valdez
World Premiere
San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
Best Production 2016
“Valley of the Heart is that big: an epic multi-generational story, larger in scope than the Grapes of Wrath...”
““Valley of the Heart” is a sweeping, epic tale”
A fight to maintain dignity, identity and family
On the heels of WWII, the Yamaguchis and the Montanos are two immigrant families struggling to provide a future for their American-born children after the Great Depression. The emotional stakes intensify when the families’ oldest children, Teruko played by Melanie Mah, whose Off Broadway credits include 4,000 Miles at the Lincoln Center Theater, and Ben played by Lakin Valdez, who recently starred in ACT’s critically-acclaimed, Between Riverside and Crazy, fall in love. But the attack on Pearl Harbor and the government’s Japanese-American internment camps threaten everything the families and young lovers have built and believe in. The imprisoned Japanese Americans confront issues ranging from patriotism, rebellion and heroism while Teruko and Ben fight to maintain their love in the face of fear, war, and separation.
