Hang A Tale Theater Company (Producers Kim Martin-Cotten, Michael Arden Larson, and Jesse Liebman) will present a special engagement of Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths, a solo play inspired by the life of Gordon Hirabayashi, directed by Lisa Rothe (Science Fair: An Opera with Experiments at HERE), at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street at the corner of Elizabeth Street), December 3-20 with performances on Mon 12/4, Wed 12/6, Thu 12/7, Fri 12/8, Tue 12/12, Wed 12/13, Thu 12/14, Fri 12/15, Mon 12/18, Tue 12/19, and Wed 12/20 at 7:30pm; Sun 12/3, Sat 12/9, and Sat 12/16 at 2pm & 7:30pm; Sun 12/10 and Sun 12/17 at 2pm. Tickets (20 seats at $29; 50 seats at $49; 10 seats at $59) are available for advance purchase at https://sheencenter.org/shows/holdthesetruths/ or by calling (212) 925-2812. The performance will run approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.

During WWII in Seattle, University of Washington student Gordon Hirabayashi fights the US government’s orders to forcibly remove and mass incarcerate all people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast. As he struggles to reconcile his country’s betrayal with his passionate belief in the US Constitution, Gordon begins a 50-year journey toward a greater understanding of America’s triumphs—and a confrontation with its failures.

Hold These Truths is inspired by this true story from a little-known chapter of American history, when civil liberties were under attack, constitutional rights violated, and issues of race hotly debated by a divided country. Joel de la Fuente* (Inspector Kido on Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle) stars as civil rights pioneer and 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, Gordon Hirabayashi.

Hold These Truths originally received its New York Premiere with Epic Theatre Ensemble in 2012 and was nominated for the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.