“A multilayered portrait… this well-crafted and beautifully acted piece offers not just a glimpse of the past but an extraordinarily relevant message for today”

“Sakata’s play is not a polemic but rather a multilayered portrait arising from anecdotes, memories and telling details. The most striking aspect of Hold These Truths is de la Fuente’s portrayal of Hirabayashi as a cheerful warrior. He seems to relish the opportunity to be the nail that sticks up and his story is peppered with humor and humanity. As his character faces a prison sentence and numerous betrayals and rejections, de la Fuente’s puckish grin and delicate sense of comic timing convey the outrage of this dark moment in American history with powerful irony.

Hirabayashi’s vindication when his verdict is overturned 45 years later hardly seems sufficient in the face of what his courageous ordeal reveals about the havoc fear can wreck upon the most basic human rights. This well-crafted and beautifully acted piece offers not just a glimpse of the past but an extraordinarily relevant message for today.”

Star Tribune
Lisa Brock