1000 Cranes and Hana's Suitcase Performances

Act One: A Thousand Cranes by Kathryn Schultz Miller is based on the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Elanor Coerr. This inventive telling of the true story of Sadako, a young girl born in Hiroshima during World War II who is diagnosed with “radiation sickness,” or leukemia, a result of the radiation from the bombing. According to an old Japanese myth that claims if a sick person folds 1,000 paper cranes the gods will grant a wish, so Sadako sets out to fold 1,000 cranes. Unfortunately, she becomes too sick to complete the task but her classmates finish Sadako’s cranes and make a wish of their own. In memory of Sadako, the children create a monument to their friend in Hiroshima Peace Park, inscribed with their common wish: “This is our cry; This is our prayer, Peace in the World.” 

Act Two: Hana’s Suitcase by Emil Sher is based on the book Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine. In March, 2000, a child’s suitcase arrives from Auschwitz at the tiny Holocaust Education Centre in Tokyo. Painted on the side are a name, Hana Brady, 1931, and the word “Waisenkind” (orphan). Spurred on by the children at the Centre, the curator Fumiko Ishioka embarks on a relentless search from Tokyo to Prague to Toronto to uncover the story of Hana and her fate. We see the Centre’s students discover a tale of family love and tragedy; and through their learning about this shameful chapter in history, find a key to tolerance and hope for the future.