The National Cherry Blossom Festival is sponsoring a fundraising event called Stand with Japan at the Washington Monument on March 24, 2011. Meet at the Sylvan Theater, 15th Street & Independence Avenue, SW at 6:30pm and join others who are gathering to reflect and participate in the walk around the Tidal Basin, where the cherry blossom trees, gifted to Washington, DC from Tokyo in 1912, have stood the test of time for 99 years. The relationship with Japan is at the heart of the Festival, and the evening of hope and perseverance occurs before the 16-day celebration begins on Saturday, March 26. All donations will go directly to the American Red Cross and their Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund.

A ful list of Festival participants and partners holding events to benefit the fund can be found at www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

Hotline: (877) 44-BLOOM

  On Monday, March 21, 2011, Working Theater presents a staged reading of Visible Cities by Chay Yew, directed by Mike Donahue, at The Studio Theatre on Theatre Row, 410 W 42nd St. (between 9th & 10th Aves in New York. The cast features Joanna Adler, Josh Barrett, Jackie Chung, Jennifer Ikeda, Natalie Martin, Quentin Maré, Orville Mendoza, Steve Park and Gordana Rashovich.

Chay Yew’s plays include Porcelain, A Language of Their Own, RED, Wonderland, Question 27 Question 28, A Distant Shore, 17, America and A Beautiful Country. His other work includes adaptations, A Winter People (based on Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard) and Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, and a musical Long Season. His plays have been produced at the Public Theatre, Royal Court Theatre (London), Mark Taper Forum, Manhattan Theatre Club, Long Wharf Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Intiman Theatre, Wilma Theatre, Studio Theatre, Portland Center Stage, East West Players, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Perseverance Theatre, Dad’s Garage, La Mama (Melbourne, Australia), Singapore Repertory Theatre and TheatreWorks Singapore, amongst others.