“Home for the Holidays,” a show featuring favorite songs of the season and a fond look back at Japanese American family gatherings, will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. at the St. Francis Xavier Chapel Japanese Catholic Center (formerly known as Maryknoll) in downtown Los Angeles.
Presented by the Grateful Crane Ensemble, this year’s show takes place in the living room of Uncle Jack, an elderly Nisei who is invited to Christmas dinner by his favorite niece, but turns it down due to him being too old and it being too cold to go out. Rather than leaving him all alone at Christmas, Uncle Jack’s niece decides to gather up her cousins and bring Christmas dinner to him.
“Everyone is so busy these days that sometimes we forget our holiday traditions of getting together as a family,” said Soji Kashiwagi, executive producer/writer of Grateful Crane. “During this show, various family members look back at their favorite Christmas memories dating back to their childhoods in the ’50s and ’60s. And in between the stories, some of the most famous and favorite Christmas songs will be sung.”
Performers include long-time Grateful Crane regulars Keiko Kawashima, Kurt Kuniyoshi, Haruye Ioka, Jason Fong, Helen H. Ota, Michael C. Palma and 2011 Nisei Week Queen Erika Mariko Olsen. Grateful Crane musical director Scott Nagatani will accompany the group on piano.
The St. Francis Xavier Chapel Japanese Catholic Center is located at 222 S. Hewitt St. near Little Tokyo. Tickets are $25 general admission, $20 for seniors and groups of ten or more. Kids age 5 and under are free. To make a reservation, call the Grateful Crane ticket line at (310) 995-5841.