A Hopeful Glimpse into Difficult Times — A JIVE BOMBER'S CHRISTMAS at KKT
The year is 1943, and as war rages overseas, the American government commits its own atrocities at home. All around the country, internment “camps” fill with Japanese Americans—camps surrounded by fences and posts where soldiers guard the “campers” with guns. A Jive Bomber’s Christmas , by Dom & Sachiko Magwili, is set, primarily, in one such camp. Jive Bomber’s is part play part musical revue, with the change coming at intermission. The first act—though there is music and some singing—is the drama half, also functioning as the setup for the second-act variety show, something the camp resident prisoners decide to put on in the name of Christmas cheer, despite the fact that everyone involved is dealing with their own personally painful subplot. Director Stephanie Conching has her work cut out for her with only one act to develop numerous characters and plotlines that should all be resolved in the end, and hardly any dialogue or scene work in the second act that isn’t part of