Hold These Truths
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States decided to intern its citizens of Japanese ancestry. Gordon Hirabayashi, a student at the University of Washington, was one of a handful who resisted. He was imprisoned for a curfew violation. But justice triumphed in the end, when, in 1987, that verdict was overturned. Hirabayashi, a sociologist who died in 2012, was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama. His principled resistance is the subject of Jeanne Sakata's 2007 play "Hold These Truths," which continues the Guthrie Theater's civic-themed Level Nine programming. A solo show, "Truths" stars Joel de la Fuente as Hirabayashi, a Quaker who fought for the sanctity of the U.S. Constitution, and the protections it affords all citizens. Hirabayashi lived at a time when fear gripped the country and the nation sought to root out perceived enemies through blanket targeting of ethnic groups. Lisa Rothe directs the Guthrie staging of a play whose run in Seattle a year ago was lauded as "absorbing." (7:30 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1 p.m. Sun., ends Oct. 23. Guthrie Theater, 818 S. 2nd St., Mpls. $9. 612-377-2224 or guthrietheater.org.)
Rohan Preston
