Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, A New Musical
A sweeping, dual-timeline musical adaptation of Jamie Ford’s bestseller, framing a young Chinese American boy and Japanese American girl as a wartime Romeo and Juliet divided by the 1942 Seattle incarceration camps.
Book & Direction by Lainie Sakakura, Music & Lyrics by Paul Fujimoto
Photo: Sharon Hasegawa
The Narrative
In 1986, the unsealing of Seattle’s Panama Hotel basement uncovers long-lost belongings of Japanese families forced into WWII incarceration camps, opening a floodgate of memories for Henry Lee. He is pulled back to 1942, when he was a young Chinese American outsider caught between his father's fierce nationalistic prejudices and his forbidden connection with Keiko Okabe, a Japanese American girl. When Executive Order 9066 tears their world apart, their young love remains tethered only by a single jazz record. This sweeping, dual-timeline musical adaptation explores the enduring power of first love and Seattle jazz.
The Musical Identity
This is a big, brassy, old-fashioned golden-age musical built for the modern stage. The score organically weaves big band swing, jazz, and contemporary musical theater acting as a bridge between communities, generations, and the shifting timelines of Henry’s life.
Photo: Matt Masuoka
Photo: Sharon Hasegawa
Commercial & Theatrical Viability
Built-In Global Audience: Jamie Ford’s novel has sold over 2 million copies, spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list, and is translated into 35 languages, providing a massive, pre-established fanbase.
Proven Stage Success
Following successful, sold-out developmental presentation runs at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute in Seattle, this high-stakes, emotionally driven piece is fully primed for a regional premiere.
AVAILABLE FOR FULL MUSICAL PRODUCTION