First, there were the Rashomon short stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, published in Japan in 1915. Then came Akira Kurosawa’s film in 1950, by the same name. Upon winning the Golden Lion award at the 12th Venice International Film Festival, Rashomon became the first Japanese film to attain significant international reception, garnering critical acclaim, especially for its “experimental” direction and cinematography. It later won Best Foreign Language Film at the 24th Academy Awards. Rashomon, the play, by Fay and Michael Kanin, premiered on Broadway in 1959, staring Rod Steiger and Claire Bloom, and was nominated for three Tony awards. Since then, Rashomon has been performed by both professional and community theatres, nationally and internationally. What a rich history for Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra’s (CATS) annual production in April-May 2026!
As a prelude and fundraiser to our upcoming play, and in collaboration with The Onyx Downtown at the Nevada Theatre, CATS is showing the acclaimed, restored film on Wednesday, March 18, 7:00 p.m., starring Toshirô Mifune. It is promoted as a “Bento Box Dinner and Movie”. Patrons have the option to purchase a Bento Box outside the Theatre from Kaliko’s Hawaiian Kitchen food truck, which will be parked in front of the Nevada Theatre at 6:00 p.m. and then enjoy the dinner inside the Theatre. Concessions will also be available.
Advance $20 tickets to the movie are available at The Onyx at https://www.theonyxtheatre.com/movies/773-rashomon-1950/. Tickets will also be available at the door.
A Japanese sword fight demonstration by Grass Valley Aikikai, under the direction of Cecilia Ramos, will take place before the movie, followed by a brief talk and Q&A after the movie with director Sonny Alforque, who will explore how the movie has been interpreted and reimagined for the stage.
This special screening offers a thoughtful introduction to the live theatrical performance of Rashomon. See the movie to “whet your appetite” for CATS’ upcoming play from April 23 – May 16, at the Nevada Theatre.
Tickets to the play are available at https://catsweb.org/.