The intertwined history of two minority groups in California, Latino and Japanese, is the basis for Valley of the Heart, the latest work by Luis Valdez, founder of El Teatro Campesino and author of Broadway’s first Chicano play, Zoot Suit. Valdez, the child of Mexican migrant workers, grew up in the Central Valley, where his father toiled for a Japanese-American family until the attack on Pearl Harbor. After FDR signed the shameful Executive Order 9066, the Japanese-American family was forcibly relocated to an internment camp. The Farm Security Administration then encouraged the Mexican family to take over the property that once belonged to its employers. Valley of the Heart was first performed at El Teatro Campesino’s theatre in northern California in 2013, then had its world premiere at the San Jose Stage Company in 2016. Now the Taper has remounted the play, using many of the actors and craftsmen who contributed to its success in San Jose. There are elements of Romeo and Juliet in Valley of the Heart. Benjamin Montano (Lakin Valdez), son of Cayetano (Daniel Valdez), a sharecropper toiling for Ichiro Yamaguchi (Randall Nakano), falls in love with the latter’s daughter, Thelma (the spunky Melanie Arii Mah). Their star-crossed romance kindles family and ethnic disapproval but they stick it out and eventually marry. But just as they are finally able to enjoy a bit of connubial bliss, WW II breaks out and the Yamaguchis are rounded up and sent to a concentration camp in Wyoming. That includes Thelma. Even though she is married to a non-Japanese and pregnant with his child, the government treats her like a criminal. Locked up in a filthy, unheated shack (in the middle of winter), she gives birth there with minimal medical care. So separating immigrant mothers from their children is nothing new. It’s an American tradition. The Montanos—Ben, his mother Paula (Rose Portillo), his brother Tito (Moises Castro) and his sister Maruca (Christy Sandoval)—then move into the Yamaguchis’ house and begin to thrive (knowing full well, though, that they are living on borrowed time).> The war also has tragic consequences for both families. But when it finally ends, the Yamaguchis are released from captivity and return to their farm, which the Montanos graciously and honorably cede to them. Ben and Thelma, though long separated and at odds with each other, manage to save their marriage and start a new life together. Valdez writes about his two minority families with deep humanity, humor and affection. For all their failings, conflicts and differences, these are the immigrants, the refugees, who have helped make America great. Please take note, Mister President. Valdez’s sweeping historical tale takes place on John Iacovelli’s rustic, multi-layered set which is framed by David Murakami’s video projections and tall, upstage Japanese screens. The playwright directs the talented ensemble with his customary skill and bravura.
