Breaking Barriers Through Song: A Behind-the-scenes Look at the “Peace on Your Wings” Musical:
In a world still haunted by the effects of the Hiroshima bombing and all its after effects, the “Peace On Your Wings” musical reminds us that even the smallest acts of hope can turn into something much greater.
Peace in Your Wings is a long running, locally written and produced musical which recently featured several students from our school.
The musical is based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who developed leukemia after the Hiroshima bombing and began folding 1,000 paper cranes for herself and a friend in the hopes it would heal them.
Though she did pass away before completing all the cranes, her story created an international sign of harmony. This show highlights how young people can respond to tragedy with both hope and action, offering a powerful message to everyone about unity, perseverance, and the impact of even the smallest voices.
“What I want people to understand from Peace on Your Wings is that, despite in times of war and hardship and death, people should come together and create peace,” said freshman Ayami Kinoshita,who played Aiko, one of Sadako’s close friends in the musical.
Many of the students at Ohana Arts did know some other students from previous plays but, over time deep bonds were created among all the 32 performers during rehearsals and emotional scenes.
Junior Maya Lai, who performed in the ensemble and played as a background character, agreed that the connection between cast members was one of the most memorable parts of the whole experience.
“My favorite part was meeting all the cast members and just making memories with all these people, especially while touring in Japan,” Lai said.
During this latest production of Peace On Your Wings, the performers were lucky enough to perform and tour in Japan, even getting to act in front of the Princess of Japan herself, Aiko, as well as her daughter and, later on, Masakiro Sasaki, Sadako’s sister.
For the cast, performing for such an important audience was quite stressful, but also fulfilling.
“You feel the responsibility to do everything perfectly, because we had the crown princesses watching, we had Masakiro Sasaki watching, which is Sadako’s older brother, and so many other important people. And we were always told how much they support us, how much they've been supporting us, how much this means to them. So, you've got to do it perfectly,” Lai said.
“This is their history and you have to respect that. This is a real tragedy that happened, and the effects of it are still long lasting.” Junior Pono Wong, who played Minoru, one of Sadako’s classmates, also recalls how performing for the audiences in Japan was quite scary and how he wanted to get every last line right.
But performing for the Princess and the numerous audiences in Japan also turned out to be most of the cast members’ favorite part of the whole experience.
“My favorite part about the tour was just going to Japan with all my friends and cast members, because we're so close, and making even more memories with these people was amazing,” Lai says.
And while Lai loved the tour overall, another cast member had a particular moment that brought the story even closer to heart.
“My favorite part was getting to go to the Peace Memorial,” said 8th grader Danica Yamaguchi, who played Aiko, Sadako’s best friend. “And I liked going there because I saw the monument that Sadako’s friends had built and that just made everything feel more real.”
Besides Yamaguchi, the meaning of Sadako’s story and the importance of peace has really had an impact on everyone in the musical.
“I feel like as I kept going through the script, I think it really hit me when we did our first couple of shows. Peace on Your Wings is the embodiment, a message of peace. While it is only one person's story, the message of peace is still very heavy,” Kinoshita said.
There are many things you can take away from this musical: the meaning and need for peace, the importance of strong friendships, or mending said friendships before it’s too late.
“There is a sense of responsibility in covering such heavy topics, and I feel if you don't deliver it right, it doesn't do the story justice. You have got to tell it in the way that it was meant to be told, so everybody that leaves the theater, they leave with a heavy sense of emotion. It doesn't matter if the emotion is elation, it doesn't matter if it's bittersweet. All that matters is that it's emotion that can inspire them in some way,” Kinoshita said.
Peace On Your Wings presents a meaningful reflection on the impact of war, the value of friendship, and the importance of choosing hope in difficult times. Through the story of Sadako and the emotions shared by the cast, the musical encourages the audience to think deeply about how peace can begin with individual actions.
“The message of Peace On Your Wings, and the message that I would want people to take away from this musical, is that in the world, there's going to be fear and pain, but the best way to handle it is to look at life with a positive perspective,” Wong said.
